Yesterday we told you what power was so today we’ve got a power workout for you to try…

To get you started with power training we’ve provided you with a ready-made routine. Perform this workout twice a week with around 48-72 hours between sessions. Make sure you warm up thoroughly before training and seek expert advice if you are unsure how to perform any of the exercises listed below. Do 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps of each exercise at maximum speed and rest for about 90-120 seconds between sets…

Workout

1.             Two footed jump for distance and height

                Start with feet just beyond shoulder-width apart
                Bend your knees to a three-quarter squat position
                Swing your arms back and past your hips
                Drive your legs explosively upward to lift your body from the ground and jump forwards and upwards
                Keep your trunk upright during flight
                Extend your legs in front of your body to get you feet out in front of you
                Land on the balls of your feet and spring upward into another jump
                Use your arms to assist your jump power –swing them past your hips as you jump,
                then foward over your head and then back down ready for the next jump

2.            Medicine ball drop chest press throws

                Lie supine on a sturdy exercise bench with arms extended
                Have a partner stand at your head holding a heavy medicine ball or Power Bag
                Your partner will drop the medicine ball from chest height towards your hands
                Catch the medicine ball in both hands and actively resist its downward momentum 
                (eccentric breaking)
                Quickly lower the ball to your chest
                Immediately and dynamically drive the ball off of your chest and into the air
                Your partner catches the ball and repeats the exercise
                To intensify this exercise, your partner can add momentum to the downward phase by carefully
                throwing the ball down towards you or dropping it from above his/her head

3.            Medicine ball slams

                Stand with feet shoulder-width apart
                Hold a medicine ball in both hands
                Dynamically lift the medicine ball above head height
                Rise up onto your toes
                Strongly throw medicine ball at the floor about 24” in front of your feet
                Catch the ball as it rebounds and repeat
                This exercise should be done at speed using the whole body

4.            Push press

               Stand with feet shoulder-width apart
               Grasp a barbell with an overhand grip at shoulder height, hands level with shoulders
               Keeping your torso upright sink into a quarter squat
               Initiating the movement with your lower body, powerfully drive with the legs and
               push barbell over head
               Pause before lowering the barbell back to shoulder level and repeating for the desired
               number of repetitions

5.            Medicine ball rotational throws

                Stand sideways on to a sturdy wall with feet shoulder-width apart
                Grasp a medicine ball in both hands
                Keeping your arms straight and between hip and shoulder height, rotate away from the wall
                Using your core muscles, twist your body as powerfully as possible and throw the ball at the wall
                Catch the ball as it rebounds and repeat for the desired number of repetitions
                Change sides and perform for the other side of the body

6.            Bench burpees

              Stand approximately 12” away from the side of a sturdy exercise bench or plyo box with
              feet shoulder-width apart 
              Squat down and place your hands on the bench with hands outside of your knees
              Jump your feet back and drop into a full press up, chest touching the bench/box top
              Your hips and legs should be fully extended and your core tight
              Immediately jump your feet back in whilst simultaneously extending the arms
              Jump up onto the top of the bench/box landing in a ¾ squat position
              Without pausing jump off the step to land back where you started and repeat
              All of the phases of this exercise should flow without pauses and must be preformed 
              powerfully and at speed

7.            Medicine ball back extension throws

              Using a 45 degree back extension machine or similar, position yourself and hold a medicine 
              ball in your hands
              Have a partner stand approximately 10 feet in front of you
              Bend at the hips and lower yourself towards the floor with your arms extended
              Dynamically extend your hips and spine and simultaneously throw the medicine ball to your partner
              Pause in this most contracted position so that your partner can throw the medicine ball back to you
              Under control, return to the starting position and repeat.

Now you know what power is and how to achieve it so all that’s left is to head to the gym and let rip! Power training is challenging, rewarding and lots of fun and will really improve your performance on the field.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Power is a very desirable trait for most sports people and describes the ability to perform movements both strongly and quickly. In this article we’ll examine power training and provide you with a workout to get you started in your quest to develop more power…

Power is technically expressed as force divided by time – in other words it’s not just strength but strength at speed. Examples of power in sport include sprinting, kicking, throwing, jumping and tackling. Strength, whilst very important, makes only a relatively small contribution to power development so it’s worth spending time on this vital component.

When it comes to power training, correct exercise selection is vital as only certain movements lend themselves to the pursuit of power. For an exercise to be suitable for power training, it must allow you to accelerate the training implement you are using. The best power exercises are the ones that allow you to either leave the floor as in various jumping exercises or let go of the weight you are lifting so it sails off into space! Medicine ball exercises are particularly well suited to power training but there are also some barbell and dumbbell exercises that will improve your power such as the Olympic weight lifts (clean & jerk and the snatch) but these require specialist coaching and are beyond the scope of this short article.

Power training is similar to strength training in that it uses maximal efforts, relatively short sets and long rests. Power training is all about quality over quantity so if you feel that, during a power workout, you are beginning to slow down then it’s probably time to take a break or reduce the training load. Every rep you perform should be as powerful and fast as the previous one as, after all, we are training to speed you up and not learning to slow down!

Because power training involves maximal velocity movements, it’s absolutely vital that you warm up properly before exercising and only embark on a power training programme after having progressed through phases of muscular endurance and strength training – power training is the tip of our intensity pyramid. Performing power training before your body as attuned to the demands of this type of exercise may cause you injury.

To get you started with power training tomorrow we’ll provide you with a ready-made routine.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Want more hang time, more sprint speed, greater rotational power and greater stopping ability? Then plyometric (jumping) training is your answer.

Plyometrics were developed by Eastern Bloc sports scientists in the 1960’s – although jumping exercises have been around for centuries. Plyometric exercises, such as hopping and bounding, closely reflect both the movement pattern and the performance speed of numerous sports and sports skills – which is something that weight training cannot do.

What is a plyometric exercise?

Basically any exercise that involves a dynamic shift from absorption of force to expression of force is a plyometric exercise. So if you hopped on the spot you’d be performing a plyometric exercise. To get a little more technical, and using the hopping exercise to further explain, on landing from the hop your hips, thigh and calf muscles would be ‘put on stretch’ (this is technically known as an eccentric muscular contraction), they then transfer power by way of an immediate shortening muscular contraction (technically known as a concentric muscular contraction). This pattern of muscular contractions involved is also known as the ‘stretch shortening cycle’. Muscles are able to generate huge amounts of force during a plyometric activity. Training with plyometric exercises is therefore a great way to develop more speed, power and agility.

Plyometric training tips

1) Always warm up specifically – with jogging and functional movements, such as marching on the spot and arm swings

2) Wear well cushioned supportive trainers

3) Perform on dry flat grass, a running track or sprung sports hall floor

4) Remain focussed and in the zone throughout your workout

5) In the majority of cases quality of performance is key – if your reactions

start to slow then you’ll ‘pattern’ this slower movement into your neuro-muscular system. So ‘think sharp and be sharp’

6) Think about the needs of your sport and make your plyometric drills specific to it. A footballer could, for example, step off of a low step, land on two feet and leap upward to perform a simulated header at the top of their jump

7) Always underestimate the training load that you think you’ll be able to handle when starting plyometric training. These exercises are very demanding. If you have knee, ankle or back problems then seek professional advice before performing them.

Power release why plyometrics are better at developing sports power than weights

Flat out Usain Bolt’s foot will only be in contact with the track for around 0.084 seconds! And even running easily will produce foot-strike times of 0.2 seconds. These speeds cannot be replicated in the weights room – most standard weight training exercises, such as the squat, even when performed at their quickest, take around 0.5-0.7 seconds to complete. It’s the contraction (or more specifically the contractions) speed of plyometric training that makes them such a fantastic sports specific training weapon.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Todays workout is Medicine Ball Circuit – a great but simple all over session…

Duration: Against the Clock
Equipment: Medicine ball, stop watch
Method: Perform 5 laps of the following circuit as fast as possible. Keep your rests to a minimum as the clock is ticking! Start your watch at the beginning of the first exercise and only stop it when you have completed the full 5 laps.

1) Medicine ball slams x 10
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and with your medicine ball in your hands. Raise it overhead. Using your abs and arms, hurl the ball down at the floor around 24″ from your feet. Catch the rebound and repeat. Establish a good rhythm and stick to it!  Perform 10 reps.

2) Overhead lunges x 10 per leg
Extend your arms overhead (holding your ball) and perform alternating lunges – 10 per leg.

3) Hill climbers x 20 per leg
Place you ball on the floor and put your hands on it. Extend your legs so that you are in a push up/press up position. Keeping your hands in place, bring your left leg forwards and close to your chest. This is your starting position. Jump your left leg back and your right leg in. Continue alternating leg positions as fast as you can but ensuring you use as large a range of movement as possible and keep your core tight! Each time your left leg comes close to your chest constitutes one rep. Do 20.

4) Thrusters x 10
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your medicine ball held to your chest. Push your butt back and bend your knees and descend into a squat position. Stand up and simultaneously extend your legs and arms and drive the ball above your head. Perform 10 reps

5) Burpees x 10
No ball here but a great way to wring the last bit of effort out of your body! Stand with your feet together and your hands by your sides. Squat down and place your hands by your feet. Jump your feet back and into the push up/press up position. Perform one rep. Jump your feet back in so that your legs are below your body. Leap into the air. Land (!) and perform 9 more reps.

Rest for 30 – 90 seconds then repeat for 3 – 5 laps.

Popularity: 2% [?]