No matter what sport you choose, all athletes have one thing in common, and that is EXPLOSIVENESS and POWER….You will see it displayed in any sport you watch, from combat athletes all the way to swimmers. Being able to create muscles that can react as quickly and powerfully as possible is a MUST for any serious athlete. In this article we will cover lower body training, upper body training, and plyometrics.
What is Muscular Power?
Muscular power (or explosiveness) is the exertion of maximal force in as short a time as possible. It is the ability to go from point A to point B quickly. For sprinters, training to explode from the starting line and move as fast as they can, is a great example of muscular power. Another example would be a combat athlete throwing a punch. They need to create enough power to deliver the punch as quickly and efficiently as possible. Training for power means that the goal of resistance training is not overall strength (though that is important) but rather the act of moving against resistance as quickly and explosively as possible.
How to Train for Muscular Power
Regardless of sport, all power starts in the lower half of the body. With strong legs and hips, you can transfer a LOT of power through them to the upper body. Imagine throwing a punch without any lower body movement. It would be a very weak punch! Notice that professional MMA fighters use the legs and hips to pivot and extend the punches, making them powerful and deadly. Even in basketball when making a basket, the player never throws the ball without first using his legs to drive the upper body during the shot. This is a HUGE point when learning how to train for power. You must prioritize training for powerful legs…..here’s how to do it!
Explosive Lower Body Training
When training for leg power you have to train smart, and remember that its all about SPEED and EXPLOSIVENESS. Here is a list of exercises for building lower body power, and how to do them specific to the goal of becoming more explosive.
Click on the links to get a full breakdown on how to perform these exercises properly for power.
Olympic Lifting
Explosive Upper Body Training
Training the upper body to become more explosive is extremely important too. Football players need it to make fast and sometimes very long distance passes. Swimmers need it to propel themselves through the water as quickly and efficiently as possible, and gymnasts need it for a wide variety of routines they do. Here are the top exercises to include in your training for a more explosive upper body.
Slam Ball Chest Pass
Slam Ball Slam
Slam Ball Overhead Toss
Olympic Lifting
Plyometrics
Plyometrics (or jump training) is truly the king of explosive training. Every serious athlete incorporates this method of training, and the beauty of it is, you can do it with just your bodyweight! Here are the best exercises to use when training to become more explosive.
Box Jumps
In closing, to become the best athlete you can be, becoming more explosive is key. The most successful athletes are not the ones who are the strongest, or biggest, but the ones who have the most power. These are the ones that rise to the top, and you can too…