In Categories of Weight Training: Part 12 I went through a bunch of attempts to explain the physics of power production, gave the inevitable car analogy, drew a Pacman for no real reason, and sort of tried to show why most traditional weight training movements aren’t actually ideal for power training.
The basic issue has to do with the fact that most traditional weight training movements start and end at a zero velocity, preventing the weight/implement from being accelerated (and thus allowing the individual to generate maximal power) through the entire range of motion.
I used as an example a car being accelerated til it hits a ramp and flies into the air, attempting to show that in movements where the bar/implement can be thrown or released (then flying ballistically through the air), the deceleration phase can be avoided/eliminated.
So today I want to look at some of the ways that traditional weight training movements can be used for power training, either due to their inherent nature or through some form of modification to allow maximum acceleration throughout the range of motion.… Keep Reading