Explosive Strength Made Simple

A few things that have been forgotten in the current trend to push for maximal strength as the primary goal in training is how important explosive strength--how quickly force production is developed--is in sport.  A commonly espoused maxim it that sprinting speed is a function of how much force is put into the ground. This is of course true, but another component is decreasing the ground contact time: how quickly the feet get back off the ground, ie, neutralize the ground reaction forces and get back into the air.  In striking sports, maximal force is often irrelevant if it does not occur quickly. Keeping in mind that plyometrics themselves have been shown to increase maximal force production (through maximal recruitment of the fast twitch fibers via high velocity movement), a program with loads of well below 1RM can be used to maintain strength while improving speed and athletic performance. Other than the powerlifts and some strongmen events, an athlete can reach a point where more strength will not improve performance, but it is hard to imagine a situation where more speed will not be performance enhancing.  

Below is a simple template for prioritizing explosive strength via a complex.  

1. Strength Exercise

2. Power Exercise

• The repetition range here should be between 1-3 repetitions per set for strength, and 2-4 for the plyometric exercises.  

• A starting point for load of the strength exercises is 60-85% of 1RM, but a more important guideline is the duration of each concentric action: it should be clearly less than one second.  

• Each odd-numbered strength exercise should be approached with the same focus as one would approach a maximal lift (ie, rooting yourself the the floor, bracing your abdominals and lats, getting an angry face, taking a forceful grip on the bar with the hands) 

• Rest 20-30” after the odd-numbered strength exercises, and 30-60” or more after the even-numbered power exercise (allowing enough time to ‘set’.  There should be no fatigue at any point during the training session, as this will lead to decreased speed.  

• Number of sets should be 3-7, keeping the total plyometric repetitions for each muscle group under a maximum of 25

Here is a the basic example

1. Barbell Front Squat (2 reps)

2. Double Leg Hurdle Jumps (3 reps)

   X 4 sets

There are myriad ways to manipulate this basic program, for example, using only non-countermovement exercises

1. Clap Pushup from bottom

2. Chest Pass with pause

1. Trap Bar Deadlift

2. Non-Countermovement Squat Jump 

Using only Single Limb Exercises

1. 1 Arm TRX Row

2. Single Arm Medicine Ball Slam

Using Alternating Exercises

1. Alternating Single Leg Squat

2. Bounding

1. Alternating Lunge Jump with Cycle

2. 20 yard Sprint

Upper/Lower Body Circuits:

1. Upper Body Pull

2. Upper Body Pull Plyometric

3. Lower Body Hinge

4. Lower Body Hinge Plyometric

1. Upper Body Push

2. Upper Body Push Plyometric

3. Lower Body Squat Strength

4. Lower Body Squat Power

One of my favorite modifications involves a program I used while in Thailand to train Muay Thai.  The facilities for local fighters where I trained had much more basic resistance training equipment than we’re accustomed to here, and with a high-volume of fight training daily there was not a great deal of time—or recuperative capacity—available for maintenance of strength and power (though it was expected at the end of evening sessions).  So I devised this circuit:

1. Pullups 

2. MB Slam

3. Single Arm Pushup

4. Ball Chest Press

5. Single Leg Squat

6. Single Leg Hop

I treated this as a pre-season phase in terms of volume.  Repetitions were on the low-end of the spectrum identified above, and I kept sets at 3.  In an-offseason phase the sets could be easily adjusted to the upper limits of 5-7.  Even though the above few programs are designed as full body circuits, it should be emphasized again that fatigue should never be a factor when trying to increase power.  The combinations of exercises are designed to decrease peripheral fatigue as much as possible, not to allow more total work to be compressed into a smaller period of time.