Imagine walking into your local gym and seeing someone benching not with weight plates but kettlebells hanging from resistance bands. This isn’t a circus act; it’s chaos training, a unique and innovative approach that introduces a whole new level of challenge to your workout.
Chaos training introduces instability and unpredictability into exercises like the bench press. This novel approach keeps your routine fresh and challenging and effectively engages your stabilizer muscles. Despite using less weight, the constant unpredictability of the bouncing weight makes a light weight feel heavy, honing your technique and increasing your muscles’ time under tension.
With the help of three well-respected coaches, let’s break down the critical aspects of chaos training and explain how it can benefit your workouts.
What is Chaos Trianing
To clear up any misconceptions about this training method, Tasha Whelan, coach, and world champion powerlifter, breaks down what chaos training is and isn’t:
Chaos Training is a method that introduces instability and unpredictability into traditional exercises. By adding unstable elements like hanging weights or balance boards, chaos training improves muscle activation, functional strength, and mental engagement. Chaos training is a
- A method to enhance stabilizer muscle strength and improve overall body control.
- A way to increase core activation and proprioception.
- It is helpful for rehabilitation and recovery, allowing controlled movement without overstraining injured areas.
- A means to diversify training and prevent plateaus.
What Chaos Training Isn’t
This training method isn’t a replacement for all traditional strength training. It’s unsuitable for maximal-effort lifts or beginners lacking foundational strength and stability. It should be used as accessory exercises within a balanced training program rather than the bulk of your workout program. So, chaos training isn’t
- A replacement for all traditional strength training.
- Suitable for all fitness levels without proper progression.
- A method to lift maximal weights.
The Benefits of Chaos Training
If you’re new to chaos training, it pays to know the pros and cons before you start. Here’s why you might want to consider or not adding it to your current routine:
More Muscle, Less Weight
One of chaos method standout advantages is improving muscle activation. Studies showed that adding instability to the bench press leads to higher engagement of stabilizing muscles. The studies suggest performing a bench press with unstable loads; muscles such as the latissimus dorsi and deltoids are more involved than in the regular bench press. Justin Farnsworth, DPT, and PT, adds this about Chaos training. “Chaos training is great for improving the firing patterns of local stabilizers and teaching stability in a pattern, especially around the shoulders, forearms, wrist, grip, and hips,” explains Farnsworth
Improved Functional Strength
Chaos training mimics real-world scenarios where balance and stability are crucial. By incorporating instability into your workouts, you’re training your body to handle unpredictable situations, which translates to improved functional strength.
Break Through Plateaus
Hitting a plateau is frustrating, but chaos training can help you push past these sticking points. The new challenges the unstable elements introduce force your body to adapt differently, breaking the monotony and encouraging progressive overload.
Disadvantages of Chaos Training
Increased Risk of Injury
The nature of this type of training, with its emphasis on instability and unpredictability, may increase the risk of injury. If exercises are not performed with proper form and control, the likelihood of strains, sprains, or other injuries goes up. This is especially true for beginners needing more foundational strength and coordination for chaos training.
Not Suitable for All
This training method is challenging and may not be suitable for everyone, especially beginners. Those new to fitness or recovering from an injury should approach this method cautiously. They may need to build strength and stability with more traditional exercises before incorporating Chaos training.
Not Ideal For Absolute Strength
Due to its instability and unpredictability, chaos training is not recommended for maximal-effort lifts. Stability and control are paramount when lifting heavy weights to prevent injury and ensure proper form. Chaos training is better suited for accessory lifts and conditioning work rather than attempting your one-rep max. Mike T Nelson, Ph.D., educator, and coach, agrees.
“Your lower body is rarely exposed to instability unless you are training in an earthquake and have other issues. The cons are that the overall load tends to be lighter, so I like it more for accessory work than a main lift,” explains Nelson.
How and When To Incorporate Chaos Training
Implementing chaos training into your routine requires thoughtful programming to ensure safety and effectiveness.
Chaos training can be programmed by modifying traditional exercises to include unstable elements. These modifications can be included in accessory work, warm-ups, or conditioning circuits. Here are some examples:
Accessory Work
Chaos Bench Press: Attach kettlebells with resistance bands to the barbell. As you press, the kettlebells move unpredictably, engaging your stabilizer muscles.
Chaos Overhead Press: To perform the press, use a pair of hanging kettlebells attached to a barbell, challenging your core and shoulder stability.
Warmup & Conditioning
Chaos Pushup: Hook a heavy looped resistance band around a squat rack and feel the Chaos magic.
Unstable Plank: To increase your core strength, perform planks with your feet or hands on a stability ball or a resistance band looped around a squat rack.
Chaos Farmer’s Carry: Hold kettlebells or dumbbells with resistance bands attached and walk a desired distance, maintaining balance and control.
Nelson explains that this type of training is an excellent method to increase your core strength.
“I love doing it [chaos] for more “abdominal/core” as you have to reflexively stay stable when you are, say, doing a farmer walks in a Zercher position (where the barbell is in the crook of your elbows) with some lifts KBs bouncing along off bands on the end. Trust me, you will feel your core the next day, too.”
For Rehab
The Chaos method benefits prehab (preventiverehab) and rehabilitation (injury rehabilitation) training. Here are some examples.
Prehab Exercises: Incorporate single-leg deadlifts on a balance board or split squats with your foot on a resistance band to strengthen stabilizer muscles to improve balance and prevent injuries.
Rehabilitation Exercises: Use controlled chaos training exercises, such as light chaos bench presses or unstable rows, to aid rehabilitation and regain stability and strength post-injury, which Farnsworth uses in his practice.
“Chaos training is a great way to retrain the proprioceptors after an acute injury. As we know, swelling plus pain both limit muscle firing and proprioceptive feedback. So, in a rehab sense, it is really good to use early, mainly because the relative external load will be limited, and many people in pain aren’t very load-tolerant,” says Farnsworth
How To Progress With The Chaos Training Method
Start with straightforward variation and gradually increase the complexity and instability as you become stronger. This progression ensures you build the strength and stability to handle more challenging exercises safely.
Basic Instability
Beginner: Start with a simple instability exercise like the Chaos Pallof Press.
Moderate Instability
Intermediate: Progress to exercises that involve more movement and coordination, such as a Chaos Push Up.
Advanced Instability
Advanced: Adding hanging weights on a barbell and performing an overhead press.
Reps, Sets, and Rest Times
Now you know how and why, but what about sets and reps? Whelan explains the details.
Reps and Sets: Start with a moderate number of reps per set (around 8-12 reps) and perform 2-4 sets per exercise. Iron Wolf suggests individualizing the volume and intensity based on your goals, abilities, and overall workout structure.
Rest Time: As chaos training typically involves neuromuscular challenges and stability work, shorter rest intervals (30-60 seconds) between sets can help maintain the training stimulus and replicate real-world situations where quick reactions are needed.
Safety Tips When Using The Chaos Training Method
Safety is king when performing chaos training, and here is what you should watch out for.
Importance of Form and Control
Maintaining form and control is crucial to avoiding injury and getting on a workout blooper video. Focus on controlled movements and avoid rushing through any chaos exercise. It’s better to perform fewer reps with the correct form than to compromise the form for higher reps.
Safety First And Last
When using unstable elements like hanging kettlebells, ensure that the equipment is securely fastened and that you have a clear, unobstructed workout area. Use appropriate weights that you can handle with control, and don’t hesitate to reduce the load if it feels too unstable. Using heavy bands makes some chaos exercises easier as unpredictability is diminished.
Avoid Overuse
You should use chaos training sparingly and balance it with traditional methods to avoid overuse injuries. Incorporate it as an accessory exercise rather than the primary focus of your workouts, ensuring a well-rounded and safe training regimen. As a side note, performing a hanging band overhead press is excellent, but performing it on a balance board is overdoing it. Some instability is good, but too much is dangerous.