Developing Power (jaw dropping video included)

What is power?

To some people it being able to bench press 400lbs. Some people may see it as how fast they can throw, or how high they can jump. There is one simply equation used when looking at power:

Power = Strength X Speed

So, broken down, power output is the ability to move something heavy with speed. Someone may be able to bench press 300lbs, but if it takes them 8 seconds to lockout, then that is not power. Power must have a speed component. An example of this is the vertical jump. Everyone knows the vertical jump it is used in all sports, and is pretty common in the commercial gym. When was the last time you saw somebody complete a vertical jump slowly? Vertical jump is testing power, it is your ability to push against the ground, release energy, and explosively jump as high as you can.

So how do you go about developing power? There are several ways, but I want to focus on the two major ones, which are Olympic movements and plyometrics.

Olympic movements:

Here I am talking about lifts like the hang clean, power clean, snatch, push press, clean and jerk, etc. The lifts you see done in the Olympics, hence the name. Look at anyone doing those lifts PROPERLY, they are done with a good amount of weight, and explosive. You need to develop power in order to move that much weight quickly. My professor always told me, if you want to be slow, train slow, you want to be fast, train fast. Completing lifts like the power clean and snatch well force you to move quickly and develop power.

Now that I have mentioned all of that, please note Olympic movements are complex exercises and not for beginners. They can be dangerous, and correct form is critical.

Plyometrics:

Remember those days in elementary school where the PE instructor had you jumping over small hurdles and onto boxes. That my friend is plyometrics. Again, in order to develop power you must have a speed component. So, plyometrics are explosive movements, usually done with body weight. Some examples of these include vertical jump, squat jump and turn, broad jump, hurdle jumps, box jumps, plyo push-ups, etc. You can also incorporate medicine balls by doing a variety of slams for the upper body. Plyo's are good because they are pretty safe, and if taught correctly can be in anyone's program.

Please note, these two topics that I covered could each easily be a semester long course. So, don't go run to the gym tomorrow and start power cleaning and jumping off 5 foot boxes. Like anything, you have to learn it, practice it, and perfect it.

Now, for the video. One of my clients sent this to me, and I had to share it. I do realize that the video may be sped up a tad and the floor may have some spring to it, nonetheless this guy has a ton on power.

Check it out here

Hope you enjoyed it, and please let me know if you have any questions on this topic. Like I said, this is a HUGE topic that can take a whole semester to go over, but at least you got the wheels spinning in your head about power.

Once again, any questions, comments, or ideas please don't hesitate to contact me.

Best,

Doug Spurling
Spurling Strength & Speed
dspurling@une.edu