What does it take to break through a strength plateau after 10+ years of high-level training? For coach Stefan Ågren and World Champion powerlifter Emil Norling, some of the first coaches/athletes in the world to use the 1080 Cable, the answer came down to one thing: precision.
In this webinar, Stefan shared how motorized resistance has changed the game. Not by applying sound training principles, but by making them more specific, more measurable, and more effective.
From Plateau to PR: Precision and Intensity
After two years of stalled progress, Emil hit a new bench PR within one training block using the 1080 Cable. The difference? Better intent, data, and feedback on every rep.
🎥👉 Watch the full webinar here
That’s the power of motorized resistance:
-Isokinetic resistance: set the exact concentric speed limit you want (e.g. 0.3m/s)
-Track speed, force, and power on every rep getting real-time feedback
-Apply eccentric overload to safely increase hypertrophy and motor control
-Build strength with consistent and measurable outputs, not guesswork
“It’s not about finding some secret,” Stefan said. “It’s about using the data to keep the quality high, over and over again.”
Isokinetics: The Hidden Advantage
By fixing the concentric speed, Stefan ensures Emil produces maximal force throughout the entire range of motion. Unlike traditional lifts that get easier at the top and only require just enough force to make the lift, isokinetics remove momentum and reveal true output.
This gives coaches a powerful tool for:
-Simply monitoring both max force and fatigue
-Adjusting effort day to day without needing to change loads
-Teaching athletes to push at max intent, even with what appears to be light weight
And the best part?
The 1080 Cable gives you the data to know when output drops, when to stop, and how to structure training over time.
Eccentric Overload That Works
Stefan also uses the 1080 Cable to apply greater load on the way down than on the way up. Another benefit of motorized resistance: independent control of the loads (and velocities) of both the concentric and eccentric phases). This gives Emil more muscle-building stimulus without extra concentric fatigue. It’s a simple tweak with big returns for strength and tissue quality.
The motor handles the complexity, set up with just a few taps of the screen, and the athlete just trains hard.
It All Comes Back to Sport
Although the 1080 Cable is both simple and precise with it's loading and data, we still must make all training transfer and come back to the sport we're training for. That's where motorized resistance supports good coaching and works best with creativity.
To address a specific need for greater triceps strength to help Emil's bench press, something Stefan identified from his own analysis, he programmed overhead extensions with eccentric overload to target that weak point. This wasn’t just isolation work for the sake of it, but it was a high-intent and data-informed decision.
Beyond that, Stefan used the 1080 Cable to load more sport-specific patterns by attaching it directly to a barbell for deadlifts and to a chest harness for squatting, allowing Emil to train the key lifts with added resistance while still moving naturally through the competition positions.
Takeaways
Whether you’re a powerlifter chasing your next PR or a coach looking to individualize strength work, the 1080 Cable lets you create the exact resistance your athlete needs and quantifies every rep.
Motorized resistance makes great training even better.
🎥👉 Watch the full webinar here
Published: December 9, 2025