Multi-Dimensional Concept of PowerImplications for Training and

Performance

CRAIG J. CISAR, Ph.D.

CSCS, *D, NSCA-CPT, *D

DEPARTMENT OF KINESIOLOGY

SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY

DEFINITION OF POWER

• WORK/TIME

• WORK = FORCE X DISTANCE

• (FORCE X DISTANCE)/TIME

• VELOCITY = DISTANCE/TIME

• FORCE X VELOCITY

FACTORS LIMITING POWER

• FORCE

• CONTRACTILE PROTEIN IN SARCOMERE

• ACTIN

• MYOSIN

NOTE: TOTAL FORCE = ACTIN & MYOSIN BINDING PLUS ELASTIC STORED ENERGY

FACTORS LIMITING POWER• ELASTIC STORED ENERGY LOCATED IN

• MUSCLES

• TENDONS

NOTE: ELASTIC ENERGY IN TENDONS HAS GREATER FORCE POTENTIAL THAN ELASTIC ENERGY IN MUSCLES, BUT IS LIMITED IN USE DUE TO THE NECESSITY TO OPTIMIZE COORINATED MOVEMENT FORM

FACTORS LIMITING POWER

• STRETCH REFLEX MECHANISM

• PRESTRETCH OF MUSCLE TO 120% OF NORMAL RESTING MUSCLE LENGTH

• MORE OPTIMAL BINDING OF ACTIN AND MYOSIN

• MUSCLE SPINDLES DETECT STRETCH EVOKING REFLEX CONTRACTION

BY THE STRETCHED MUSCLE

EXAMPLES: (1) CONTRACTING AGONIST STRETCHES ANTAGONIST AND (2) DURING THE ECCENTRIC PHASE OF PLYOMETRICS

FACTORS LIMITING POWER• MOVEMENT SPEED AND REACTION TIME

• CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEMS• NEUROTRANSMITTER CONCENTRATIONS• MYELINATION OF AXONS

• INTRAMUSCULAR ENZYME CONCENTRATIONS OF PHOSPHAEN (ATP-PC) METABOLISM• MYOSIN ATPASE• CREATINE PHOSPHOKINASE• ADENYLATE KINASE

WAYS TO IMPROVE POWER

INCREASED FORCE (I.E., STRENGTH) PRODUCTION CAPABILITES

• NEURAL ADAPTATIONS• CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

• ENHANCED ACTIVATION OF MOTOR TRACTS FROM THE PRIMARY AND PREMOTOR CORTEXES

• PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM • INCREASED RECRUITMENT OF MOTOR UNITS

INCREASED FORCE (I.E., STRENGTH) PRODUCTION CAPABILITES

• INCREASED CONTRACTILE PROTEIN VIA MUSCLE HYPERTROPY (I.E., MUSCLE

FIBER SIZE)• HIGH VOLUME STRENGTH TRAINING

PROGRAM• INCREASED HYPERPLASIA (I.E., MUSCLE

FIBER NUMBER)• HIGH INTENSITY STRENGTH TRAINING

PROGRAM

>NEURAL ADAPTATIONS>HYPERTROPHY>HYPERPLASIA

INCREASED FORCE (I.E., STRENGTH) PRODUCTION CAPABILITES

• MUSCLE FIBER TYPE AND SPEED OF MOVEMENT

• FAST-TWITCH MUSCLE FIBERS = GREATER FORCE PRODUCTION

• FAST-TWITCH MUSCLE FIBERS =FASTER SPEED OF CONTRACTION

• FAST-TWITCH MUSCLE FIBERS = GREATER FORCE PRODUCTION AT FASTER SPEEDS OF MOVEMENT

MUSCLE FIBER TYPE AND SPEED OF MOVEMENT

INCREASE MOVEMENT SPEED (I.E., VELOCITY) AND ACCELERATION

• MUSCLE FIBER TYPE

• FAST-TWITCH MUSCLE FIBERS =FASTER SPEED OF

CONTRACTION

MUSCLE FIBER TYPE

INCREASE MOVEMENT SPEED (I.E., VELOCITY) AND ACCELERATION

• FORCE VERSUS RESISTANCE

• INCREASED FORCE AND/OR DECREASED RESISTANCE = INCREASED MOVEMENT SPEED

• ACCLERATION = FORCE/MASS

• INCREASED FORCE AND/OR DECREASED MASS (E.G., FAT MASS) = INCREASED ACCELERATION

INCREASE MOVEMENT SPEED (I.E., VELOCITY) AND ACCELERATION

• COORDINATION

• SYNCHRONUS RECRUITMENT OF MOTOR UNITS

• AGONIST MUSCLE VERSUS ANTAGONIST

• BALANCED INTERACTION BETWEEN

AGONISTIC MUSCLE AND ANTAGONIST MUSCLE

INCREASE MOVEMENT SPEED (I.E., VELOCITY) AND ACCELERATION

• DECREASE REACTION TIME AND HENCEMOVEMENT TIME• CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL NERVOUS

SYSTEMS ADAPTATIONS• INCREASE DISTANCE OF FORCE APPLICATION

• TRAINING• DEVELOPMENT MOVEMENT SKILLS AND

TECHNIQUE

POWER NEEDS ANALYSIS

FORCE VERSUS VELOCITY

PERCENT OF MAXIMAL POWER VERSUS VELOCITY

TRAINING AND PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

SPECIFICIY OF TRAINING• FORCE VERSUS VELOCITY

• NEEDS ANALYSIS

• HIGHER FORCE CAPABILITIES AT SLOWER VELOCITY OR LOWER FORCE CAPABILITIES AT FASTER VELOCITY OR BOTH?

• CAN EITHER END OF THE FORCE VELOCITY CONTINUUM BE IGNORED?

SPECIFICIY OF TRAINING• NEEDS ANALYSIS

• WHICH MUSCLE GROUPS NEED TO BE POWER TRAINED?

• DOES THE POWER TRAINING NEED TO BE SIMILAR

FOR ALL MUSCLE GROUPS?

• CAN ANY MUSCLE GROUPS BE IGNORED IN TERMS OF

POWER TRAINING?

SPECIFICIY OF TRAINING• NEEDS ANALYSIS

• RANGE OF MOTION

• THROUGH WHAT RANGE OF MOTION DOES POWER NEED TO BE DEVELOPED?

• BE CREATIVE IN SELECTING AND DEVLOPING EXERCISE TRAINING TECHNIQUES THAT MIMIC THE REQUIRED RANGE OF MOTION

SPECIFICIY OF TRAINING CLOSED-CHAIN VERSUS OPEN-CHAIN

KINETIC EXERCISES

SPECIFICIY OF TRAINING

• CLOSED-CHAIN KINETIC EXERCISES

• IN CLOSED-CHAIN EXERCISES THE DISTAL SEGMENT (E.G., HAND OR FOOT) IS FIXED WHILE THE PROXIMAL SEGMENT MOVES

• EXAMPLE: IN WEIGHT BEARING EXERCISES THE BODY MOVES OVER THE HAND OR

FOOT

• NO LINK WITHIN THE CHAIN CAN MOVE INDEPENDENTLY OF THE OTHERS; ALL ARE AFFECTED BY MOVEMENT OF ONE SEGMENT

SPECIFICIY OF TRAINING

• OPEN-CHAIN KINETIC EXERCISES

• IN OPEN-CHAIN EXERCISES THE DISTAL SEGMENT MOVES

FREELY IN SPACE

• IN OPEN-CHAIN EXERCISES THE MOTION OF ADJACENT JOINTS

IS NOT PREDICTABLE AS THEY MAY MOVE INDEPENDENTLY OR TOGETHER

SPECIFICIY OF TRAINING• CLOSED-CHAIN KINETIC EXERCISES

• LOWER-EXTREMITY MOVEMENTS IN SPORTS ARE PRIMARILY CLOSED-CHAIN

• CLOSED-CHAIN EXERCISES CAN BE USED TO IMPROVE STRENGTH, POWER, STABILITY, BALANCE, CORDINATION, AND AGILITY

• CAPABLE OF GENERATING LARGE FORCES BUT AT SLOWER VELOCITIES

• MORE BALANCED MUSCLE ACTIVATION AND FORCE PRODUCTION• CONSIDERED TO BE MORE FUNCTIONAL

SPECIFICIY OF TRAINING• OPEN-CHAIN KINETIC EXERCISES

• PRODUCE HIGH VELOCITY MOVEMENTSSUCH AS THROWING OR KICKING A BALL, SWINGING A GOLF CLUB OR

BAT, OR SWINGING THE LEG DURING RUNNING OR ARM DURING

SWIMMING• HENCE, IMPORTANT DURING MANY SPORTS AS WELL AS DAILY ACTIVITIES• BETTER AT ISOLATING MUSCLES THAT ARE WEAK

SPECIFICIY OF TRAINING CLOSED-CHAIN VERSUS OPEN-CHAIN

KINETIC EXERCISES

• NEEDS ANALYSIS

• WHICH TYPE OF CHAIN KINETICS NEEDS TO BE DEVELOPED?

• OPEN CHAIN OR CLOSED CHAIN OR BOTH?

• BE CREATIVE IN SELECTING AND DEVELOPING EXERCISE TRAINING TECHNIQUES THAT MIMIC THE REQUIRED CHAIN KINETICS

SPECIFICIY OF TRAINING• FAST-TWITCH MUSCLE FIBER TYPE

• GREATER FORCE• GREATER SPEED (I.E., VELOCITY)• GREATER POWER

• CAN TRAINING INCREASE THE SIZE (HYPERTROPHY) AND/OR NUMBER (HYPERPLASIA) OF FAST-TWITCH MOTOR UNITS?• HYPERTROPHY HAS LONG BEEN ACCEPTED• HYPERPLASIA DOCUMENTED IN CROSS-SECTIONAL AND LONGITUDINAL STUDIES

• CAN TRAINING CHANGE MUSCLE FIBER TYPE?• MUSCLE FIBER TYPE CONVERSION HAS BEEN QUESTIONED

MUSCLE FIBER TYPE CONVERSION

SPECIFICIY OF TRAINING• PHOSPHAGEN (ATP-PC) ENERGY SYSTEM

• HIGHEST POWER (KCAL/SEC)

• LOWEST CAPACITY (TOTAL KCAL)

• PRIMARY ENERGY SYSTEM USED IN POWER ACTIVITIES

• DEVELOPMENT OF ATP-PC ENERGY SYSTEM

• HIGH INTENSITY, SHORT DURATION ACTIVITY

• LONGER REST PERIODS TO REPLENISH ATP-PC

• 25-30 SECONDS TO REPLENISH 50%

• 2-3 MINUTES TO REPLENISH 100%

GENERAL TRAINING GUIDELINES• HIGH FORCE DEVELOPMENT

CONCENTRIC STRENGTH TRAINING• 2-4 SETS USING A 2-4 RM (90-95% OF

1-RM) WORKLOAD PERFORMED 3-5 DAYS PER WEEK WITH A 2-5

MINUTEREST PERIOD

• MOST FREQUENTLY USED WITH MULTI-JOINT, CORE EXERCISES (I.E., MULTI-

JOINT EXERCISES INVOLVING ONE OR MORE LARGE MUSCLE GROUPS) FOR SINGLE-EFFORT EVENTS

GENERAL TRAINING GUIDELINES• HIGH SPEED DEVELOPMENT CONCENTRIC

STRENGH TRAINING• 2-4 REPETITIONS PER SET, 3-4 SETS PER

EXERCISE USING A 30-60% 1-RM WORKLOAD WITH A 2-5

MINUTE REST PERIOD• USED WITH MULTI-JOINT POWER EXERCISES

(E.G., POWER SNATCH, POWER CLEAN, HANG CLEAN, PUSH JERK, AND

PUSH PRESS) FOR MULTIPLE-EFFORT EVENTS AGAINST A MODERATE (60% 1-RM WORKLOAD) TO LIGHT (30% 1-RM

WORKLOAD) RESISTANCE

GENERAL TRAINING GUIDELINES• PLYOMETRIC TRAINING

• IN-PLACE, SHORT RESPONSE, AND LONG RESPONSE EXERCISES

• LOWER BODY EXERCISES INVOLVINGQUICK FEET MOVEMENTS, SKIPS, HOPS, JUMPS, AND BOUNDS WITH OR WITHOUT CONES, HURDLES, BOXES, ETC.

• UPPER BODY EXERCISES INVOLVING MEDICINE BALLS AND BODY WEIGHT WITH OR WITHOUT BOXES

GENERAL TRAINING GUIDELINES• SPEED TRAINING

• SHORT INTERVAL, REPETITION TRAINING USING WORK BOUTS OF 2-3 SEC UP TO 30 SEC WITH A WORK:REST RATIO OF 1:3 OR 1:5 AND A PASSIVE RECOVERY

• ACCELERATION SPRINTS - GRADUAL INCREASES IN SPEED FROM JOGGING TO STRIDING TO SPRINTING IN 50-100 METER SEGMENTS

GENERAL TRAINING GUIDELINES• SPEED TRAINING

• HOLLOW SPRINTS - TWO SPRINTS WITH A PERIOD OF WALKING OR JOGGING

IN BETWEEN BETWEEN EACH SPRINT

• SPEED TRAINING - REPEATED SHORT, MAXIMAL SPRINTS WITH

COMPLETE RECOVERY BETWEEN EACH SPRINT

• OTHER SPEED DRILLS

GENERAL TRAINING GUIDELINES

• AGILITY TRAINING• IMPROVE REACTION TIME• IMPROVE EXPLOSIVE CHANGE OF

DIRECTION CAPABILITIES• FLEXIBILITY TRAINING

• IMPROVE DISTANCE THROUGH WHICH FORCE CAN BE EXPLOSIVELY APPLIED

• BALANCE TRAINING• PROVIDE A STATIC AND DYNAMIC

FOUNDATIONAL PLATFORM FOR EXPLOSIVE MOVEMENT

EXAMPLES OF TRAINING MODALITIES

• BODY WEIGHT• WEIGHTED CHEST VESTS• ANKLE AND WRIST WEIGHTS

• BARBELLS AND DUMBBELLS

• MEDICINE AND KETTLE BALLS

EXAMPLES OF TRAINING MODALITIES• OTHER EQUIPMENT TO IMPROVE STRENGTH,

SPEED, AGILITY, AND/OR BALANCE• RUBBER BANDS AND TUBING• BOXES, STEPS, HURDLES, AND CONES• SLIDE BOARDS• LADDERS• RINGS AND DOTS• TUBING/CORDS, HARNESSES, AND BELTS• PARACHUTES (E.G., POWER CHUTES)• MATS AND STABILITY BALLS• BALANCE ROLLERS, DISCS, BEAMS, AND BOARDS • OTHER - BE CREATIVE AND HAVE FUN!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

QUESTIONS??