In recent years, ‘strength’ and ‘power’ have become somewhat buzzwordy terms, such is the regularity at which the terms are used in the fitness industry. Despite the regular references to these training qualities, they remain ambiguous in their meaning to the vast majority of gym goers.

But don’t worry! This article is going to clear up everything you need to know about strength and power…

The Force Velocity Curve

To understand what strength and power is, we first need to understand and refer to a concept called the force velocity curve. The force-velocity curve refers to how maximal strength requires you to move heavy weights, speed requires you to move quickly, and optimal power requires a balance of weight and speed.

What is Strength?

Strength, or maximum strength, is the most force we can produce, in a gym context, like a back squat, it would be the most weight we can back squat, often described, or measured by a 1RM (1 repetition max). Strength has consistently been shown to be important in becoming more athletic and for daily life to maintain our functional capacity as we age.

How do you Train for Maximum Strength?

To train for strength, consistent with its definition, you need to lift heavy weights and train with a lot of force.  3-5 reps for 3-5 sets at 80% of your 1RM and above, works well for this.

High Bar Barbell Back Squat

The benefit of using the high bar back squat for power development over the low bar back squat is that it more closely replicates power exercises like the power clean due to the greater quadricep focus.

• Set up a Barbell on a Power Rack to just below shoulder height.

• Step under the barbell, placing the bar across your upper traps and squeezing it down tightly, instead of the lower traps which would be seen in a low bar back squat.

• Stand up and step away from the rack and stand feet shoulder width apart, facing slightly outwards (approximately 10 and 2 on a clockface).

• Take a deep breath and brace.

• Sit between your knees until your hips are parallel to the floor or lower.

• Stand back up, with your shoulders and bum rising at the same rate to complete the movement.

Chin Up

• Grasp a Pull Up Bar just outside shoulder width, with your palms facing towards you.

• Pull through your elbows, leading with your chest until your chest touches the bar.

• Slowly lower back down to complete the movement.

What is Power?

This is where is gets tricky…

Power is the optimal combination of strength and speed, which can be expressed as Power = Force x Velocity.

Essentially, it’s the ability to move heavy objects FAST.

How Do You Train For Power?

To train optimally for power, we need to train all 3 components of the previously mentioned power equation; we need to ‘surf the force-velocity curve’.

So, to get move powerful, you need to train for strength, train for speed and train for power. This is essential for a variety of athletes, for instance, Sprinters, Olympic Lifters, Footballers or Rugby players.

We have already learnt about 2 strength exercises, so now we need a high-speed exercise and a high-power exercise…

High Speed Exercise for Power Development - Broad Jump

• Stand tall, hands by your side and feet in your strongest jumping stance, which is often shoulder width apart.

• Throw your hands in the air and then back behind you as you bend you legs for momentum before jumping as far forwards as you can.

• Land heel to toe so that you have a soft and controlled landing, as if you were ‘landing on ice’ that you didn’t want to break.

High Power Exercise for Power Development - Hang Power Clean

• Stand tall with your hands grasping the barbell just outside shoulder width and your feet in your most powerful jumping stance.

• Push your shoulders over the bar to find your hang position, keeping the bar close to your body and your weight in the mid-foot.

• Rapidly stand tall, thinking about ‘getting your head to the sky’, whilst keeping the bar close to you to cause the bar to elevate into the air.

• Catch the bar in a quarter squat, across your front delts, like a front squat, before standing back up to complete the exercise.

Power is an essential quality for sporting performance and functional capacity as we age. To get more powerful we need to get strong and quick!

Add these exercises into your next workout to power beyond the rest and take your training to the next level…

You can read our ultimate guide to power racks here

Written by guest author Ewan Hammond.

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Tags: Equipment > Bars & Weight Plates ; Exercise Type > Strength