Posted on

Explosive Strength Development

Figure 1: (Left Graph) relationship between load and percentage of 1rm. (Right Graph) An example of a force-time curve depicting how different elementary qualities are expressed with different external loads. Graphs are modified from “supertraining”

 

Explosive strength is not an independent quality, meaning there is no specific exercise that directly trains all of the components involved in its production. Instead, it is comprised up of four “elementary qualities” (listed below and in figure 1). These elementary qualities are independent of each other and must be developed through separate means. Together, they form the expression of explosive strength.

 

  1. Maximal Velocity (Vo)
  2. Starting Strength (early stage rate of force development) (SS)
  3. Acceleration Strength (late stage rate of force development) (AS)
  4. Maximal Strength (So)

Continue reading “Explosive Strength Development”

Posted on

How to Organize Plyometrics into Your Workout

 

AUTHOR : ALEXANDER BELL-MORATTO

 

Plyometrics are probably the most interesting part of athletes workouts. Or at least, the flashiest. It’s alluring to think that trying an advanced secret variation of an explosive jump that you saw on a youtube video of an MMA fighter (or professional dunker, or any other high level athlete) will morph you from Clark Kent into Superman.

Continue reading “How to Organize Plyometrics into Your Workout”

Posted on

Using Tendo Units To Measure Jump Height (Physics Cheat Sheet)

Jump Height and Peak Velocity of a movement are very strongly correlated to one another. Peak velocity at the end of the push-off phase determines your jump height (Impulse – Momentum relationship). Technically speaking, you actually reach peak velocity right before you leave the ground, which means the highest peak velocity that occurs in a vertical jumping movement, say a jump squat, doesn’t actually occur at push off, instead right before. Because of this, technically speaking peak velocity will not give you a 100% accurate measure of vertical jump height. However, neither will a just jump mat or most any field testing tool that doesn’t directly calculate impulse. Which means in this case, reliability is very important and from my own personal work, using peak velocity is quite reliable (there are a couple of studies supporting me too).

 

Remember, peak velocity is going to be used a metric to determine an object’s displacement, in this case a jump height. One issue with peak velocity is that, well, it is peak velocity… As coach knowing peak velocity is cool, but kind of useless unless you have a calculator on hand during a training set… which I really hope you don’t. So, what good is peak velocity?

Well, peak velocity is great, especially for a nerd like myself. I like physics and I like numbers, which means I decided to put together a peak velocity “Cheat Sheet”.

Below is a graph of peak velocity (in this case representing push off velocity) and inches. Again, you can see that its kind of a mess and for the most part, useless in the weight room. However, it does give you quick snapshot of how jump height and peak velocity are not linearly related, which means you cannot just take peak velocity and assume an increase means one to one, linear increase in jump height. 

Continue reading “Using Tendo Units To Measure Jump Height (Physics Cheat Sheet)”

Posted on

General Physical Qualities And Their Role As “Dimmers”

This post idea stems form Tim Gabbett’s research. For those interested in reading more about Tim Gabbett’s work, feel free to check out the link at the bottom of the post.

 

The roles of general fitness qualities are often debated. To what extent is enough of a general quality is heavily dependent on the specifics of the sport, athlete, and position. For example, it is hard to pinpoint what the exact demands of aerobic capacity are for a football player. Depending on the team the athlete plays for, the position they are, and the amount of workload they handle, it can differ quite a bit. However, this does not diminish from the fact that in a perfect world, assuming no conflicting demands on adaptation and time more is typically better. But, this is never the case. Regardless, the purpose of this post is not to give specific details, instead to highlight the role general qualities work in the grander scheme of development.

Continue reading “General Physical Qualities And Their Role As “Dimmers””

Posted on

Rate of Force Development (Early versus Late)

Rate of force development (RFD) can be broken down into two stages. There is an early stage rate of force development and a late stage rate of force development.  Early stage RFD is typically measured from 0-100 ms while late stage RFD is anything after.

Importance of Early Stage RFD

Sporting movements are often required to be fast, reactive movements that occur over a small amplitude. For example a large countermovement jump can take between 500-1000ms, while a squat jump with no countermovement may take around 300 to 430ms (1). In sport, movement amplitude is going to be much more similar to that of a squat jump (zero to minimal countermovement) than to that of a large CMJ. At the same time, sprinting ground contact times can last as short as 100ms. With this in mind, it is easy to see how early RFD may play an important role in sporting movement, especially those covering a small amplitude over a short period of time (ranging from 100-430ms).

Continue reading “Rate of Force Development (Early versus Late)”

Posted on

Muscle Slack

 

Frans Bosch has popularized the concept of muscle slack (Van Hooren has publications on it). It is hinges on early stage rate of force development and the speed at which the muscle, tendon, and series elastic element can go from “slack” to “tense”. When a muscle is not activated, it is relaxed and there is slack in the muscle, tendon, and series elastic element as it hangs from its origin and insertion. Bosch uses the analogy of a rope to help describe how muscle slack works. You are holding one end of the rope and the other end is tied to a car, you are the origin and the car is the insertion. Before you can pull the car with the rope, the rope first has to become tense. This is the point where the rope goes from lying slack on the ground, to now in a straight line from your hands to the car. This is synonymous with the process of the muscle fibers aligning from the origin and insertion. The second part of the slack is that the rope now needs to become tense enough so that force can be applied to the truck. At this point, the rope goes from being in a straight line from your hand to the car, to now taut, from you producing a force on the rope. This is synonymous with the muscle co-contracting to produce enough force on the tendon so the muscle can become tense. Muscle slack uptake occurs during start of where the contractile element receives the chemical signal to align all the way to the point where both the musculotendon unit and the series elastic element are tense.


Continue reading “Muscle Slack”

Posted on

Muscle Slack and High Velocity Training: An Integrative Approach

Velocity Deficient

 

The idea of measuring and training for velocity deficiencies has become popular since the recent studies of JB Morin and colleagues. In one of their studies, they examined several different subjects and based on their profiling methods, determined whether or not the individuals had a force-velocity profile that was either velocity deficient or force deficient. Once the deficiency was determined, the subjects were trained using specific methods emphasizing the velocity component of the movement (slow velocity for max force and fast velocity for speed of movement). After the study’s training cycle, J.B Morin and colleagues were able to show that the specific training methods, either slow or fast, improved vertical jump performance and overall balance of the subjects’ force velocity profiles.

Continue reading “Muscle Slack and High Velocity Training: An Integrative Approach”

Posted on

Developing Explosive Power: Slow Speed Strength

 

Strength is contextual. In movement, force (strength) can be produce at all speeds. For example, high-speed strength means being able to produce large amounts of force at a high velocity. Slow speed strength simply means being able to produce high amounts of force at low velocities. At all times, when talking about strength, we need to make sure that the context is clarified. However, just because they are contextually different, does not mean they are not related. For example, increasing slow speed strength (one rep maxes) can help facilitate high speed strength (vertical jump height).

Continue reading “Developing Explosive Power: Slow Speed Strength”