Power

Power is the ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to deliver maximum force in minimum time. This is what we chase in our workouts. Power requires both training and practice. Strength without coordination does not yield power. Agility without stamina falls short if an effort lasts more than a minute.

By looking at power output we’re able to get a pretty decent view of an athlete’s overall capacity. We can use power as a method to compare results of disparate workouts. We can measure progress without repeating the exact same tests repeatedly. It allows us to keep our training highly varied and still have a solid metric on improvement.

It is often stated that the second pull in the olympic snatch is the most powerful movement in all of sport. Numbers for high caliber lifters trend around 6,000 watts. This is an incredible amount of power. Get on the rowers and try to see how much power you can generate, even for 10 seconds or so to give you a perspective on this number. The take off in tumbling is an equally astronomical number. Analyzing powerful tumblers we get numbers around 7,500 watts. Weightlifters generate 6,000 watts over a longer time domain than gymnasts launching themselves from the floor. The mechanics are significantly different in that a weightlifter is generating the force predominantly through an active contraction, while gymnasts are utilizing almost entirely the stretch reflex and bouncing enabling a significantly higher power output, but little range of motion and exceedingly short timeframe.

Increased power output improves performance in virtually all sporting activity. It also increases effectiveness of an individual in any physical task. Focusing on maximizing power output for any given workout will help to optimize adaptive response. This is the purpose of our stopwatches and competition. It encourages the pursuit of power.