"Chaos" Training

Updated: Nov 8, 2020

In this article you will learn:

1. The idea behind “Chaos method”

2. How to implement Chaos training in your exercise schedule?

3. The problem that most of us face today

4. How can this method provide the solution to that problem?

The "Chaos" Method:

Life doesn’t occur in a single dimension and most definitely not your sport. Pushing, pulling, running, jumping, hitting, everything’s happening together simultaneously in multiple planes – sagittal, frontal, and transverse. Only training in either planes may limit you in ways you wouldn’t think of on the field while you’re performing.

The idea behind this training method is that while your focus is on one plane, you are simultaneously being challenged on another plane or maybe couple other planes and hence 3-dimensionally. Imagine trying to kick the ball towards a goal in front of you while simultaneously running laterally and defending the opponents off by rotating through the hips. This system prepares you for the chaos and hence the name “Chaos method”.

One of the most important areas where chaos training comes into play is activation of the stabilizer muscles, the smaller muscles that help stabilize the body during impact or high intensity lifting. This effect is greatly helpful post injury when the injured tendon or joint and surroundings are inactive and cannot take heavy loads. Hence for rehab purposes, it is recommended to use chaos method.

Another important way one could implement Chaos is to make light weights feel heavy and get similar training effect without frying the nervous system and thus recover well and perform better the next day.

How to Implement Chaos Training in your schedule?

To add “chaos” component with your exercises there are a lot of innovative ways to do so. A very common way is to hang kettlebells or weight plates with bands on either side of the standard barbell. This chaotic weight can be used with bench press, squat, deadlift, rows and what not. The barbell doesn’t need to be loaded, you can add this setting to an empty barbell and gain the benefits. A specialized barbell known as the "bamboo" bar or "Earthquake" bar or "Tsunami" bar, often implemented at Westside barbell and manufactured by Bandbell and EliteFTS in the USA, is an oscillatory bar which, when loaded provides the same chaotic agitations during an exercise.

The trainee needs to stay “tight”, engage their core for the entire rep and entire set to keep the weight in place and not get pinned under it.

EliteFTS Bamboo Bar. Source : elitefts.com

Another way is to loop in rubber bands to kettlebells or other weights and make “banded handles” and perform the standard exercises with them.

As a bodyweight alternative, the athlete can perform pull-ups on banded handles and push-ups on bands. The shaking and vibrating caused during the rep will have to be overcome by keeping the entire body tight while engaging the core. Suspension trainer is another great way to overcome agitation.

We also implement chaos method with core exercises. For example, a single-leg plank with a single-arm rubber band pull will challenge you with rotation and activation of the lats with the band pull. This is indeed a multi-dimensional challenge. With a partner, one can provide manual agitations to the other while he is in a plank pose or a bird dog pose. To overcome such a resistance will take a lot of core engagement and ultimately, the athlete learns how to stay tight!

These are just few examples; you are only limited by your imagination.

Science Behind Chaos :

The science behind the “Chaos” is that the bands looped around a barbell or band handles on kettlebells/dumbbells cause multiple oscillations when reps are performed, these oscillations are “mini-muscle-contractions” as quoted by James Smith from Diesel Strength and Research. These mini contractions are the reason why a sub-maximal load can be quite a challenge on the body, add to that the activation of the stabilizers and hence it is a great way to incorporate in your exercise regime as a supplemental lift that will help to build the main life – A Press, a squat or a deadlift variation respectively. Also, there are studies done by the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research which indicates a direct correlation of unstable sub-maximal load and activation of antagonist(opposing) muscles. Thus, be it training the beginner to supporting the recovering athlete with rehab to learning how to stay tight under load, chaos method has umpteen benefits.

Chaos method can be used frequently in your programming if you want to learn how to stay tight or are recovering from an injury(in this case the major focus could be chaos type training) or if an athlete is on a deload or recovery phase from heavy lifting.

Use a sub-maximal weight around of your max and you can add oscillators with hanging kettlebells or weight plates with bands.

The Problem and the “Chaos” solution:

A) Multi-dimensional nature of sports:

Sports are multi-dimensional, there are multiple forces acting on you while you try to dunk that basketball or while you’re trying to climb that boulder. One needs to train themselves in ways that challenge in multiple directions at the same time. A simple example would be a single-leg plank with a torso pull sideways causing agitation or a kettlebell row with banded handles in a split stance as shown above.

B) Activation of smaller stabilizers:

As a beginner, one cannot emphasize the need to activate the smaller stabilizer muscles enough to balance out the musculature and maintain a stable posture and neutral alignment of the spine thus creating an ideal environment to lift and grow. However, the beginner trainee cannot lift very heavy loads from the word go since their nervous systems are not that efficient and thus, they cannot readily activate the stabilizer muscles with standard barbells or dumbbells. Studies have shown that there is a correlation between agitation-based chaos training and activation of the stabilizer muscles. For example, there is a great deal of activation of the lats and shoulders during a heavy bench press while lesser activation with sub-maximal weights. The same can also be achieved using submaximal weights with agitation i.e. “Chaos” and hence it is helpful for the beginner trainee(Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research).

Source : Journal of Strength and Conditioning research

C) Rehab Protocol:

On similar grounds if an athlete has just come out from an injury, their strength and conditioning coach needs to be smart to help them with their rehab protocol. Chaos training should be an integral part of their training to activate the sleeping stabilizers and nearby tendons to gradually get them back to work.

D) Make light weights feel heavy:

In the early years of your training career, things go well. You are made to do the standard exercises and made to increase your work volume and heavier weights. As the training age increases, so is the ability of the nervous system to fire and hence lifting heavy for long periods of time will not only be not recommended but could also be detrimental to your athletic prowess. Hence, we need to find ways to make light weights feel heavy. Chaos based weights do this job very well. The mini contractions with a sub-maximal weight put enough stress on the muscles and activate the stabilizers enough to provide an equivalent training stimulus. Thus, an athlete can perform more volume and still recover faster.

E) Stay tight:

Beginners also have a hard time staying tight under load and really engage their core muscles to fully realize their athletic potential. Chaos training helps them to learn how to stay tight and engage your core while under a moving weight. This can also be extremely useful for novice lifters wanting to excel in bench press, squat, and deadlift basics by practicing getting tight under unstable loads and train their nervous systems.