Many coaches use the word power in their training, often combining it with another word: power-endurance, speed-power, anaerobic power, aerobic power and so forth. Athletes are encouraged to become more ‘powerful’ and to develop their power.
They are then encouraged to take a power-nap.
I get confused by all the terminology and I am sure athletes do too.
Power can be expressed in many different ways.
There is a simple physics equation that explains power that I share with the athletes that I coach. They grasp the concept quickly and it helps them understand why we are training in a certain way and how the exercises will help them.
Here it is:
P= (fd)/t
Power = ( force x distance)/ time.
That is Power = (the amount of force used multiplied by the distance travelled) then divide that by the time it took.
Any or all of the following can increase power:
Increasing the force applied. P= (Fd)/t
Increasing the distance travelled. P= (fD)/t
Reducing the time it takes. P= (fd)/T
Or, a combination of all three.
For example, when driving down with the plant leg in sprinting, we want to increase the force and reduce the time the foot spends on the ground, this creates more power and the sprinter runs faster.
Or, in throwing events, we can increase the distance the implement travels (shot, discus) by adding more turns or half turns, and reducing the time taken to cover this distance by turning faster, this increases the power and acceleration at release.
Spinning with the discus increases the distance it travels before release.
I hope that you are still with me!
Unfortunately, it is common to see a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach when trying to develop power.
Many athletes concentrate on developing force (i.e. mass moved) at the expense of distance (range) and time (speed). Squats, presses and deadlifts are familiar to most athletes: big loads, limited range of movement and relatively slow speeds, often practised in a ‘power’ rack! This may be suitable for linemen in football and rugby forwards who need to move other large human beings nearby.
It is less suitable for sports like volleyball, fencing, badminton and baseball where distance, timing and the ability to move well are more important than moving an external mass (another human). Athletes in these sports need exercises more suitable to their needs.
Improving distance and timing
If we travel further with each exercise or do them faster we improve power.
Here are some ideas on how to do that. Before increasing the speed, ensure decent form and good control. Power is useless without control. Being injured won’t help you get more powerful either.
When thinking about distance, think about direction too. It is easy to be restricted by the lifting platform or power rack. Instead, think up, down, left and right, forward and back and combinations of all of these.
Here are some examples:
In this simple warm-up the weightlifters are going over and under the hurdles. Their hips have to fully extend and then fully flex.
This series of lunge exercises challenges the distance in different directions and by adding the dumbbells, the distance between fingernails and toenails. Racquet sports such as tennis and badminton require the players to extend legs and arms together. This helps prepare them for that.
Speed exercises
In this skipping drill, the distance the foot travels increases but the cadence remains the same. The leg has to move faster to accomplish the task. Drills like this help train the components of running which can then be put together immediately afterwards into sprinting.
This toe jump drill is designed to reduce the time spent on the ground when running. The foot has to be pulled up and actively whipped down. Feel that the big toes are pointing upwards as you land: that helps tense the tendons in the foot arch and they react with more spring.
Applying the equation to your session design
Once the athletes understand what we are trying to achieve, their focus and effort are applied in the right direction. They know whether we are trying to go heavier (force), faster (speed) or further (distance).
I have shown four examples of exercises and explained why they are used. Once you understand why, you can apply the principle to many other exercises. For example:
Squats. Put on a disco song (120 bpm) and try to do one bodyweight squat per second (start with 10). One beat is up, the next beat is down. That is twice as fast as you would normally move.
Skipping: skip ten times and try to cover as much distance as possible. Next, see how many foot contacts you can get within 10 metres (moving faster).