Hello Team NESTA!
In any given athletic activity, strength rarely manifests itself in only one pure form unless you’re a powerlifter, weightlifter or track & field thrower.
The different components usually appear mixed and vary according to different activities or different times during competition.
Now we will break down the four major components of strength:
- STRENGTH is defined as the capacity to use muscle activity to develop internal tension and external resistance against external forces or to overcome these forces. (Hartmann & Tunnemann, 2001)
- RELATIVE STRENGTH refers to the ratio between an athlete’s maximal strength and bodyweight. Combat athletes and Gymnasts often have high relative strength because of all the pushing, pulling, lifting they do against others.
- STRENGTH ENDURANCE (also referred to as Muscular Endurance) is the capacity to resist fatigue in strength performance over a relatively long duration. This is where you do sets for low reps (3 – 6 reps) but do a larger volume of sets – sometimes up to 10 sets, w/little rest periods, no more than 1 minute (very challenging). This way you are using moderately heavy weights for longer periods of time. Your body becomes better at handling heavy loads (exerting heavily) for extended periods of time and, in turn, becomes more efficient in staying strong during the duration of the competition.
- POWER is sometimes referred to as speed strength. Power is your ability to overcome an external resistance by developing a high rate of muscular force. For example, if you can bench press 300lbs, and it takes you 5 seconds to push off your chest, and I can bench the same weight, but it goes up in 2 seconds, I have more power in that specific movement.
We tend to recognize explosive power when we see it. Think of Bruce Lee punching or kicking someone. He’s extremely explosive and his kicks. His punches destroyed his opponents!
Training for power requires moderate to light weights, lower reps (1 – 5) and fast repetition tempo. Training for power is an advanced method and should not be attempted until you have a solid foundation of strength. Beginners and intermediates will develop greater power as they get stronger and build muscle.
You can train for power by jumping, throwing med balls and utilizing lighter weights on barbells and dumbbells (Dynamic Effort Method). As you become advanced, you can add bands to movements to increase RFD (Rate of Force Development).
The bands will encourage your mind and body to power through the bands to finish the rep, be it in a box squat, bench press or band resisted pull-ups. I have found the simplest way to implement power training is via various jumps and med ball throws. A great resource is a book, Explosive Power and Jumping Ability for All Sports
As you continue a set with more repetitions, your power decreases because your body becomes more fatigued. Often, scientific studies have found that generous recovery periods (3 – 6 minutes) should be used when training to improve power.
For example, Scholich (2003) recommends a recovery period of 90 – 240 seconds between bouts of power training to ensure optimum recovery.
From watching countless athletes train using moderate loads with low reps (power-focused training), I have found that their mind tends to lose focus as rest periods exceed the 90-second parameter. I have frequently used rest periods of 45 – 90 seconds during power-focused training, sometimes even less.
THAT is the art of coaching. You may read one thing. You must learn to apply it differently in the real world.
Which is more effective, the longer or shorter rest periods? It’s tough to be specific unless a case study with many athletes was performed, or unless I can measure their power output through a Tendo unit. But, when analyzing various sports and the competitive event, power is required throughout an event, sometimes at the beginning or the end (Wrestling, Swimming, Sprinting the 400 – 800 meter and even longer).
- The swimmer needs to kick into high gear at the end of a race
- The runner (ANY distance) must sprint the final stretch of the race to win or come in the top 5
- The wrestler must explode to escape from the bottom during an overtime match
- The full-back must explode through the defensive line at the end of a game
There are MANY scenarios where an athlete must explode during the end of a game or match while he is fatigued. This is where the training and practice must be implemented to meet these demands; training for power, even when fatigued. There is a large mental component here as well.
If you don’t train hard in practice, it will show up and expose your weakness during game day!
NOTE: Many of these principles can be tweaked for your own goals and individual needs as well as, for training other athletes of various abilities (high school, college, adult). Young athletes are different than those in college; physically & mentally. The weekend warrior has different requirements as does the beginner to Underground Strength Training, who may not be as physically prepared as a young athlete.
Even though I give guidelines here, they are just that, guidelines. Change the sets, reps, weights, rest, etc. as you feel necessary. Apply this info, test it and then change to your own.
This is where the art of coaching comes in. Listen to your athletes and yourself and adapt accordingly. I have some athletes who respond well to a high volume of training with high intensity while others thrive on less intense workouts done less frequently, more of an optimal style. If I trained them all the same, then the results would certainly not be as good.
