Development of Power

The Development of Power

What is power and why is it important to you as athlete or even as a human being.  Power in the athletic context is the ability to exert maximum force in a short space of time ie the combination of strength (the amount of force you can generate) and speed. This is sometimes expressed as force x velocity (velocity being speed in a specific direction).  The ability to generate power is what allows us to sprint, throw an object and jump.  It’s also a quality that we lose first as we age. This is why in many sports athletes retire by the time they reach their mid-thirties, because the ability to generate power has begun to decline, and at elite level that can make all the difference.

Generating Power

So how can we develop our ability to generate power? Well to start we can move weight with speed and intention. The lifts used within the sport of Weightlifting (The Snatch and the Clean and Jerk) are often referred to as the quick lifts and with good reason. Anyone who’s ever watched a modern weightlifting competition will be impressed with the speed and power of the athletes. In fact the strength sports are really misnamed, the sport of Powerlifting (Squat, Bench press and Deadlift) is more about lifting weights whilst the sport of Weightlifting is much more about Power. They are often used by athletes of many different sports to help generate power.  If you have access to good quality coaching, learning the weightlifting moves will really help. They are not the be all and end all though.  The snatch, performed with one hand at a time and a single implement (dumbbell or kettlebell) can be mastered quite quickly and is another great explosive exercise. The clean as performed with dumbbells or kettlebells can also be mastered relatively quickly, with the focus on speed and a lighter weight rather than trying to whip as heavier weight up as you can. The kettlebell swing, one or two handed is a great way to train to be explosive, focusing on a snappy hip drive.

Increase absolute strength

If you’re already older or you are a beginner to strength training and regular exercise and don’t quite feel ready to start jumping again one way to re-develop that ability is to increase your absolute strength.  By absolute strength I’m talking intensity, real intensity, not a grimace and working to muscle failure, but the amount of weight you can lift once or your 1 rep max (1RM).  By increasing your absolute strength, you increase the amount of force you can generate (the first part of the equation) so even with no increase in the speed (the second part) you will still end up with a net increase in your ability to generate power (as it is the combination of the two). This is particularly noticeable in the beginner, I remember being in my early twenties and having been squatting consistently for a while (but not doing any running) when I had to run to catch a bus. I suddenly realised I could run considerably faster than I had been able to previously. The only change I had made was the increase in strength.

If you’re not currently including some power work in your training, hopefully this has given you some ideas of how to start. Power training is best done first in a session, whilst you are fresh as it requires more from the co-ordinated effort, but it is well worth the time you invest in it.
For more information have a look at my book Strength training for life.