Should we train movements or muscles?
providing useful and insightful science based training material
The “power-velocity curve” is one of the most useful visuals (IMO). It gives you a clear understanding of what you are emphasizing when developing a specific strength quality.
Power = force * velocity, which means the same power can be produced in one of two fashions (unless you’re talking about max power, this is the peak of the graph and can only be produced when force and velocity are at optimal levels, see above graph).
Isometric strength training is an interesting subject. It has an odd little history behind it and some of its popularity quickly faded when it was shown that it was not the golden goose that it was initially proposed to be. However, just because it didn’t yield the slightly outrageous results that it was initially proclaimed to produce, doesn’t mean it is not an effective training method.
Thanks to my current job, I have been lucky enough to mess around with a bunch of cool, sports science training tools. One of the recent devices I have been playing with is called a Moxy Monitor. In short, it allows me to see the local metabolic demands of the muscle via anaylsis of muscle oxygen saturation levels “SmO2%” (amount of oxygen my muscles are using) and the changes in local blood flow.
Without diving too far into the science, the SmO2% can tell you how much oxygen is being released from the blood stream (capillary level) to the local tissue. The rate at which SmO2% is reduced (desaturated) and the rate at which it returns (resaturates) to baseline during exercise can provide some interesting insights.
As some may know, I am a velocity nerd. I think it is one of the most unique measuring tools available. So naturally, I wanted to use the Moxy Monitor in conjunction with a Tendo Unit to get an understand of how fatigue was manifesting itself during a velocity drop off squat session.
One of the most commonly talked about topics in strength and conditioning is the role that maximal strength plays in performance and whether or not it is necessary.
Before I dive into this topic, let me get some of the confusion out of the way. Maximal strength is not only important for performance, but it is mandatory. Without some level of maximal strength, there is no way any effort of great power could ever be performed.
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)”
A ready to go force-velocity profile builder. Feel free to download and use.
Future book with Matt Van Dyke will cover application and utilization of some of these methods in much greater detail.
Max-Schmarzo-strongbyscience-F-V-profile-builder-Update-December 4
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.
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).
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”
Velocity based training (VBT) is an awesome tool. It can be used in an assortment of ways to better your training. However, because of its diversity, it can cause some confusion as to what methods should be used and how to use them. Below will be several examples of how to utilize different velocity based training methods in your program
Velocity based training can be used in conjunction with the traditional training method of using a percentage of one rep max. This is probably one of the most common way it is used. In this method, velocity is used to auto-regulate training. Instead of only assigning a percentage of one rep max, you will assign a velocity that correlates with the percentage of one rep max. This way, the athlete will focus on lifting as much weight as possible at the desired velocity. This will take into account daily fluctuations in strength, thus making it auto-regulatory.
If you are not familiar with velocity based training (VBT), I suggest you read this article here. However, if you are familiar with how it works, then feel free to continue on.
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