Power Training

Training for power is a lot of fun, as it involves ballistic, aggressive movements.

When it comes to training, doing very heavy-weight training with a speedy tempo will develop your power, as will plyometrics, certain high-force movements you see in sports, e.g. serving, sprinting, kicking, throwing, punching & jumping. In addition, popular gym toys such as Kettlebells, Indian clubs, Slam balls and Medicine balls lend themselves to power training.

This vital pillar of athleticism is often overlooked by those over 50,  which is weird, as young people tend to have good innate power; it’s as we hit middle age and get greyer and trailer, that’s when doing regular power training is way more necessary. The key concept is that power training must be appropriate to your current fitness. A full-time adult sprinter can easily deadlift 2.5x his body weight, whereas a sedentary 90’s year old’s shoulder would immediately shatter in 19 paces trying to do a 14kg kettlebell snatch!.. but this same 90-year-old learning how to generate the power to get off a sofa without a stick would be an appropriate power training exercise to try to master.

Let’s return to the gym!

If you do ten reps of an exercise quickly, yes, you are still increasing power, but not as optimally as if it were 50% heavier and you could only perform a few reps. In a gym environment, classic power moves we tend to see are Olympic lifting moves (such as the Barbell Snatch and the Clean & Jerk), plyometric training (which is the fancy sports science word for jumping around, usually on boxes), and ballistic training, such as Swings (using a Kettlebell, Bulgarian Bag, Indian club, Mace club or Tornado ball) or throwing a sandbag, Slamball or Medicine Ball or using just your body, e.g. a handclap press up or the numerous MX, Bootcamp & NUK SOO moves many of you reading this are familiar with. I sense some of you way worry about injury… and this is wise to do so.. but as long as you warm up and have great form, add slowly build up the quantity as weeks go on by, you’ll be fine! Power training is only dangerous if you make silly mistakes and are not show the exercise the respect it deserves. 

If you want some more ideas of power training, check out my woefully inconsistent Instagram page (@teamdanroberts) and check out the highlighted ‘exercise tips’ stories; as you’ll find a pretty big library of videos of various clients and me showcasing different power exercises. 

Cross-Training

The sports, exercises and group classes we do are often a random combination of power, endurance and strength. The combination of using different elements of fitness is known as cross-training. Is this a good thing?

Cross-training (which is not to be confused with Cross Fit™) is beneficial and ticks many movement boxes. However, to achieve an amazing body and movement mastery and to fully lose yourself in the artistry of it all, then a slightly more precise approach is my recommendation.

How to Program Power 

In my experience, power training is usually best programmed for mid-way through a strength training session or on a separate day. Also, on a macro-level, when following a 6-12 month periodized program, the power phase normally comes after developing your strength base. See my 2023 Body Transformation challenge – THE PROJECT to see this in action!

As mentioned earlier: Power training puts a tremendous strain on your central nervous system, as well as your musculoskeletal system. Therefore it is best to have long (2-3 minutes) rest between sets, particularly when learning the actual skill of the movement. When embarking on a new exercise, ALWAYS aim to master the movement at either a slower speed or lighter weight first.  To further reduce the chance of overuse injuries and ensure your body is developing power safely and functionally, maintain a balance between jumping, throwing, and rotational movements and cover the three planes of movement (sagittal, frontal and transverse plane). No one power exercise is perfect; vary them, and try new things! The goal is to get more powerful everywhere in every way, not just to get better at exercise.

My challenge is to think about which two NEW power-related exercises you want to learn next time you train. Also, please consider how you can adapt one of your current fave exercises to make it more powerful (when in doubt, go faster or go heavier!).