Sports require a lot of accelerating and decelerating movements. Depending on what sport you find yourself training for, these movements can be demanding. Power is necessary in most sports. In short, power can be defined as generating a large amount of force in a short period of time.
The boring version looks like this:
Power = Force x Velocity
Power = Work/Time
Power training is not for the faint of heart, and this type of performance training should only be conducted by athletes proficient in acceleration, deceleration, and good balance. Moreover, you need a solid, strong core and stable joints.
Golf, for example, may not qualify most athletes to focus on power training. Though Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson have shown that strength training for golf is becoming the norm, power training is not necessary to hit the ball further. Flexibility and proper technique is more suitable for a golf swing. Football and basketball, on the other hand, are wonderful examples of sports that can be improved by power training. These sports require a good amount of muscular strength. This muscular strength, when moved very quickly, is what explosive speed and power is all about.
When training with resistance for power, keep these things in mind:
If you train with light weight, you will be able to explosively lift it, but your power output will remain low due to the low strength component.
If you train with heavy resistance, your strength component will be high, but the movement will be very slow.
Training with a medium resistance and quick movements allows you to gain the highest power output. This is obviously the most effective way to power train.
You don’t have to use weights to train for power. Your own body weight can provide all the resistance you need if weights are unavailable or intentionally avoided. Plyometrics such as jumps in place with both legs or single legs, hops, bounds, and depth jumps are great ways to increase the power in your legs.
Power can be increased in the upper body as well without weights. Power push-ups, medicine ball push-ups, and chest passes (with a medicine ball) are sizable examples of upper-body plyometrics.
Your agility can be increased and maximized by integrating ladder and hurdle drills. You can run forward, lateral, and multidirectional to increase your agility.
High knees, high marches, and butt kicks are more examples of power drills that can increase your performance in sports.
Add these exercises to your fitness routine for increased power production in your sport of choice.
