Power, or speed strength (how fast your muscles can produce force) is one of the best physical predictors of success in sports. For instance, accelerating quicker than your opponent helps you make the winning plays.
And, jumping higher (quicker) will help you catch the ball or get that rebound. It doesn't help you to continually get stronger if power development is not there also.
Explosive weight lifting will improve your power and set you apart from your athletic competitors.
Just as you can do medicine ball exercises, plyometric exercises and light dumbbell exercises explosively, you can also lift heavier weights explosively.
Lifting weights explosively is an advanced form of exercise and shouldn't be done by beginners or youngsters. Your body should have the needed stabilization and strength before beginning explosive lifts.
Research has proven that only lifting heavy weights at a moderate or slow pace will not improve your explosive power.
Especially at the start of the lift, explosive lifting can be done for exercises like (5-6 repetitions):
--Bench press
--Shoulder press
--Squats
--Leg press
--Hamstring curls
--Calf raises
....and also for bodyweight exercises, like (6-8 repetitions):
--Power step ups
--Bodyweight squats
--Pullups
--Pushups
--Inverted rows
......and medicine ball exercises, like (8-10 repetitions):
--Throws
--Chops
--Slams
--Rotational exercises
Lift explosively, safely and improve your power!
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Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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You have a great blog! Thanks for all the good tips. Although you don't specifically mention it, Explosive power is really important for Parkour/Freerunning as well. I will definitely be adding some of your techniques to the program I'm using through http://www.reallifeforhealth.com. I don't know if you're looking for other sites that really do a good job with nutrition and fitness, or if you will consider this stepping on toes. If I'm stepping on toes, sorry, you can just delete the comment, but if you're open to suggestions- my wife and I are really happy with Real Life for Health. Their system is really easy to use and it does everything. They have 1000's of different recipes to choose from and they help you build a fitness and nutrition plan that suits your goals. Their exercises are all made by a certified personal trainer and come with printable workout cards and details of how the exercises are done. And for the nutrition part they even send you printable daily meal plans and menus, as well as printable daily or weekly grocery lists, which are broken down by the area of the grocery store or supermarket. My wife likes that all the recipes contain 12 ingredients or less, so they are easy enough for even me to cook. I like that there's no fad diets, pills, or required supplements. Again, if I'm not stepping on any toes, I suggest you check them out. They offer a free trial anyway, so there's harm in trying.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit and information Adam!
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