The Benefits of Powercranks for Weightlifters

I have a few very important points to make in regards to the benefits of Powercranks for weightlifters:

1) First, the facts. Since beginning Powercranks, my Front Squat has improved from 155lbs to 205lbs (a 32% improvement). My Deadlift has gone from 305lbs to 355lbs (16% improvement). My box squat has gone from 175lbs to 215lbs (a 23% improvement). During the same time frame, my bench press has gone from 205lbs to 225lbs (a 10% improvement), and my chinup has gone from doing bodyweight plus 25lbs to bodyweight plus 40lbs (a 16% improvement). In conclusion, the average improvement for my lower body exercises has been 24%, and average improvement for upper body exercises is 13%. This is over a 2 month period.

2) There has been a tremendous amount of internet discussion about the Powercranks, and this discussion usually focuses on 'proving' whether Powercranks are more effective for cycling training than is training on regular cranks. Proponents of the PC's say that they've experienced big gains in their cycling while using the cranks. Opponents of the PC's say that these gains don't prove anything. The reason these people have improved, say the opponents, is because they've been training, and any training leads to improvement.

3) The powercranks train the posterior chain like no other training technique. They also hit the hipflexors hard. There's no debating this. Also, big, heavy, barbell lower body exercises (such as the deadlift, front squat, and box squat) demand a strong posterior chain.

4) During a two month period, the average improvement in my lowerbody lifts was 24%, and the average improvement in my upper body lifts was 13%.

My case study suggests that weightlifting with supplemental powercranking can lead to bigger gains in the weightroom than weightlifting without supplemental powercranking. Were the powercranking not doing anything special, it would seem that my lowerbody improvements would be similar to my upper body improvements.

Even if you don't this my data supports my conclusion, you have to admit that a 26% improvement in lowerbody lifts over a 2 month period is f-ing awesome work.

My case study does not prove anything about cycling improvements, however.

On the anecdotal side, I can feel a significant relative strength improvement in my posterior chain compared to my quadriceps. For example, when I sit into a squat, I can feel my glutes and hamstrings firing atleast as hard (or perhaps harder) than my quads, whereas before using the PC's, I felt little action in the glute/hamstring complex.

Basically, if you're a weightlifter interested in becoming less of a wuss, you need a stronger posterior chain. The PC's will kick that chain into gear and make you less of wuss.