Accessory or supplemental exercises are the smaller exercises that we do after our main lifts and jumps…

For example, after warmups we start with our main exercise of the day.. On Max Effort lower body day we might do a squat or deadlift variation, then jumps, then supplemental work.

The supplemental work plays a major role in the overall training process and it typically gets neglected…

The role of the supplemental lifts is to build weaknesses that are found when performing the heavy main lifts or weaknesses that are spotted sprinting, jumping, or playing a particular sport. Usually the weaknesses that are found running, jumping, or competing will manifest themselves when attempting a maximum effort lift.

For example, we may find that an athlete has weak hamstrings so we will attack the hamstrings first during the accessory period of the session and then fill in with the rest of the work from there (abs, back, etc). Typically, we will not use a barbell for accessories as we are looking for higher volume on these exercises and I don’t believe in using barbells for high volume (sets x reps) training… it becomes dangerous to use barbells to fatigue the muscles in that manner. Instead we use machines, bodyweight, dumbells, kettbells, sleds, etc.

Now, people usually screw this part of the training process up by either not finding their weaknesses or not pushing up the accessory lifts. For example, lets say our main supplemental lift is dumbelll chest press and we prescribe 5x 8-12 reps…(we always give the kids a range and we want them to learn how to chose weights, and feel when they need to move up or switch exercises)… There are a few ways to push up the accessories:

1- add weight

2- add reps

3- add sets

4- decrease rest

Too many times coaches and kids don’t realize that these accessories need to be pushed up. They will do the same weight for the same reps and sets for 3 or 4 (or more) weeks in a row… basically totally wasting their time!

In general, many times on these smaller exercises reps or sets (volume) needs to be added before adding weight especially with smaller athletes or females.

Another, problem is not switching exercises when progress halts. We rotate our main lifts every session but accessories will stay the same until progress slows. The more advanced a trainee is the more often they need to switch. An athlete new to training can repeat something 6-8 weeks or more in a row and continue to make progress. Somebody with years of training might need to switch every 1-4 weeks. I see a ton in HS weight rooms where the same workout is done for 6 months or more at a time.

This stuff may seem like it’s not a big deal but it’s these small things that add up to athletes making huge progress in a short time.