Power Creation

Power production is one of the main pillars of performance in most sports. When power is discussed in terms of athletic ability, we’re really talking about the rate at which force is produced, which then equates to higher movement velocity. This is trained by increasing the rate at which the required muscles contract and produce force for movement. For example, 100m sprinters focus heavily on training their ability to contract their lower body muscles as fast as possible so that they can effectively react to the starting gun. In other words, they need their body to react as quickly as their brain.

Power, and the rate of force production, is not just for “power” athletes such as sprinters, tennis players, and baseball pitchers, training for power can increase athletic performance for all types of athletes. A 2022 study (Elite Road vs. Trail Runners: Comparing Economy, Biomechanics, Strength, and Power. Pastor, et al.) comparing maximal power creation in distance trail and road runners indicated that the ability to produce force quickly was a factor in increasing trail running performance, and could have transferable effects to road running performance.

The key difference between a 100m sprinter and marathon running, however, is the extent to which they need to train for power. Both should include power production in their training program, but the marathon runner is likely to be sprinkling their power sessions into their weekly cross training, while the sprinter is almost solely training for power.

So how do we effectively train for power? At the heart of force production is the force-velocity curve.

A lot of exercise science is about simply training to effect one side of an equation or concept derived from math and physics, and in this case we have the force-velocity curve.

Interpreting the curve above, at the top we see that when high levels of force are created, velocity is low. This is because in order to create very high levels of force, the resistance created by the object we are applying the force to needs to be high. For example, an olympic shot put is either 16lb’s or 8.8lbs, against which we can create a high amount of force when we throw one, but we’re not going to be able to throw it very far. By contrast, a ping pong ball weighs 0.095oz and is therefore a very low source of resistance when we try to apply power to it. Throwing a shot put any distance is going to require a lot more muscle mass than a ping pong ball, and therefore there will be less muscle activation when throwing the ping pong ball. In terms of velocity, however, it’s going to move fast, but since it’s mass is so low, and the amount of force we can create against it is correspondingly low, it also won’t go very far. This represent the bottom portion of the curve, where the arm is moving fast, but without a lot of force. Looking towards the center of the curve, we see that when producing moderately high force we can move with a correspondingly high velocity. For example, a baseball weighs around 5oz, and due to its weight we can create force against it, but it’s also light enough to move quickly, and therefore release with a high velocity.

What does this mean for you? To move your muscles very fast, lift heavy and fast, lift light and fast, lift moderately heavy and fast.

Again, as in the case of the sprinter and the marathoner, it’s not a question of should, it’s a question of how often and how intensely, which is determined by how much power you need. It doesn’t take 5 sessions a week to improve a distance runners movement economy, but it might take that much effort to increase a sprinters off the line velocity.

You have to examine your needs, and examine your areas of improvement. Is your movement velocity naturally high, but you lack raw strength? Then work on the top of the curve. Are you strong but feel slow? Work the bottom.