One of the most important training variables to consider in the gym is intensity. An underlying biomechanical principle that underpins intensity is the amount of torque around working joints during exercise.

What is Torque?

Torque is often defined as rotational force, which is particularly relevant with human movement and resistance training, given that we move via a combination of rotational movements around various joints and axis, as described in our blog about moment arms.

What is the Formula for Torque?

Torque = Force x Lever Arm

Force - This refers to the amount of force you are producing during an exercise, or the amount being subjected to a joint i.e. the amount that your muscles are generating around a joint or the opposing force that a weight, like a Dumbbells or Barbell, is creating around a joint.

Lever Arm - this refers to the distance from the axis of rotation that the force is being applied. Depending on the exercise and intended outcome, it can be beneficial to have either a longer or shorter lever arm to increase overall torque.

When Are Short Lever Arms Beneficial for Higher Torque?

Strength exercises like squats, deadlifts and bench press benefit from creating shorter lever arms around the working joints. For example, having shorter femurs or shorter arms is inherently more efficient for squatting and bench pressing heavier because you are exposed to less from resisting force from the barbell.

When Are Long Lever Arms Beneficial for Higher Torque?

When you are looking to generate high speeds, creating and having longer levers arms is beneficial because you have a greater amount of time to build up speed, with very little resisting force. For example, with throwing or racquet sports, a greater range of motion/a longer swing is used when trying to generate higher torque to throw/hit the ball harder.

Peak Torque and Rate of Torque Development

Both the force and lever am length around a joint can change throughout an exercise or movement, for a variety of reasons and in a variety of contexts. For this reason, we consider torque as a moment within a movement and often consider factors like Peak Torque (the greatest level of torque achieved throughout a movement) and Rate of Torque Development (how quickly torque increases throughout a movement) during performance analysis.

How to Improve Peak Torque

Improving Peak Torque can be done in many ways, relative to the demands of the specific exercise you are trying to improve, given that torque is a formula that can be either very quick or slow and forceful. But when taking a more general approach to training, using strength training exercises like heavy back squats and deadlifts is a great way to develop high peak torque.

How to Improve Rate of Torque Development

Again, this can be very relative to the particular exercise, but when taking a general approach to training, using high power and speed exercises, like weighted ballistic jumps, Olympic weightlifting derivatives and plyometrics, is a great way to work on your rate of torque development.

Torque is an underpinning biomechanical concept in relation to exercise intensity, but it is important to remember that torque can represent exercises that look vastly different; high torque can be a high speed exercise or a strength exercise, depending on the components of the torque formula. If you are looking to be explosive and quick with low resistance movements, look to manipulate your movement around creating large lever arms and if you are looking to lift heavy weights efficiently, look to manipulate your technique to reduce your lever arms at your major working joints.

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Tags: Exercise Type > Strength