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Thread: "Assistance exercise" correlations with primary lifts

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2022
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    Default "Assistance exercise" correlations with primary lifts

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    I am curious to hear others thoughts on how far I should push it when an 'assistance' movement has a strong correlation with a primary lift. In my case, for some reason I am not sure, the Barbell Row seems to correspond to growth in my Squat. To a lesser extent, the bicep curl has helped my deadlift and the close grip bench press has helped my bench a lot. Are these things signs of genetics or imbalances or something else? Should I just do 3x10 Barbell Row every single workout? It seems like the biggest bang for buck, but I might be missing something.

    As background I am an intermediate lifter. I think my form is good, have had it checked multiple times.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
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    2,631

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    Quote Originally Posted by AFNick68 View Post
    I am curious to hear others thoughts on how far I should push it when an 'assistance' movement has a strong correlation with a primary lift. In my case, for some reason I am not sure, the Barbell Row seems to correspond to growth in my Squat. To a lesser extent, the bicep curl has helped my deadlift and the close grip bench press has helped my bench a lot. Are these things signs of genetics or imbalances or something else? Should I just do 3x10 Barbell Row every single workout? It seems like the biggest bang for buck, but I might be missing something.

    As background I am an intermediate lifter. I think my form is good, have had it checked multiple times.
    I'd be interested if anyone else had experienced carryover between lifts you describe. The only one that seems to make sense is close grip and standard bench. I'm having trouble even imagining how a barbell row could improve a squat, at least in actual weight you can lift with it. Might help with keeping the right back posture through the movement, I guess. And bicep curls improving the deadlift? I've heard of guys doing bicep work to hopefully avoid the dreaded pop from a heavy mixed grip deadlift, but never heard of them actually improving the weight with it.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
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    Yes, the close grip helps the conventional bench press; look at the anatomy. It’s one of the first lift variations programmed for intermediates.

    The other lifts are likely artefacts of you getting stronger on the primary lifts. There is an isometric component to the deadlift that can impact the biceps, but vice versa doesn’t make sense. One would think the row and the deadlift would have more carry over due to the similar isometric recruitment of the back musculature, but less so the squat.

    Hard to really say conclusively without seeing your programming history and what your lifts look like.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
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    337

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    I guess you want to train these lifts for as long as you can (which may not be much, since they are assistance exercises...) and/or for as long as they benefit the main lift. Also, make sure the reason the main lifts are going up is because of the assistance exercises effect, not because you accidentally deloaded and peaked.

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