🌱 Should You Improve Strength, Power or Both?

QUOTE OF THE DAY 🌱

SHOULD YOU IMPROVE STRENGTH, POWER OR BOTH?

508 words | 1 min 51 sec read

As everyday athletes and team sport players, we have specific goals.

These goals can be performance based and body composition based.

It is the awareness of what we are strong and weaker at that gives us direction and a goal to strive towards.

But in determining or strengths and weaknesses we need to conduct some testing.

For athletic performance we are often concerned with developing foundational strength and then expressing that strength quickly with power training.

But the question is, should you focus your time on developing foundational strength?…

Or are you already strong enough and focusing more on expressing that strength faster with power training more beneficial?

Let’s find out…

A method of testing that I use with my athletes is jump testing.

We use a variety of jumps to assess:

• Power Output (Jump Height - Lower Body Power)

• Reactive Strength (Ability to express and then re-apply force into ground)

• Eccentric Utilisation Ratio - (How well you can use the Stretch-Shortening Cycle)

Today, we are going to look briefly at the Eccentric Utilisation Ratio (EUR).

The eccentric utilisation ratio (EUR) is the ratio between CMJ and SJ performance and provides insight into an athlete’s slow Stretch-Shortening Cycle ability.

For this test we will need to complete a countermovement jump (CMJ) and a squat jump (SJ).

In a CMJ, we dip down by flexing at the knees and hips, using the downward squat phase to propel us vertically as high as possible (think elastic band).

In the SJ, we pause at a self-selected squat position momentarily, before jumping vertically - this creates a concentric only jump.

We can measure both of these tests using force plates or video analysis to determine:

• Power (Watts)

• Jump Height (cm)

• Flight Time (s)

We can use this information from the CMJ and SJ to work out how well the athlete uses the stretch-shortening cycle.

For example, if an athlete scores 48 cm on the CMJ and 42 cm on the SJ, they have a EUR of 1.1 (48 divided by 42).

Scoring System:

> 1.1 = SSC is performing well & should focus on strength training

1.0 - 1.1 = You have equal levels of strength & power and should look to develop both simultaneously.

< 1.0 = Plyometric training should be the focus to develop explosiveness

TODAY’S TRAINING TAKEAWAY 🏋️

Having an awareness of your strengths and weakness is important for your performance.

It allows you to streamline your efforts and execute a training programme that will be most effective for you, your goals and your sport.

If you’re looking for specific strength and conditioning sport with testing like this, then click here to join my private 1-1 performance team…

High Quality Testing and 1-1 Strength and Conditioning for Athletes of all abilities.

Got any questions or thoughts about this edition? If so, send us an email to [email protected]