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Concentric effort

Mon, 05/29/2006 - 9:28pm — Graham

I've always been a believer of using maximum pushing power in the concentric phase of lifting, especially when all I focus on is developing explosive strength. I was wondering if there is a need to periodize this into my training instead of doing it 90-95% of the time, or if this is ok with any volume or intensity year round. Anyone?

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Mon, 05/29/2006 - 10:50pm — smitty.diesel

Concentric effort

As a general rule your tempo should dictate the quickest concentric phase as possible (ME,DE,CAT) when building explosive strength. A few instances where this would not be desirable is if you are in a hypertrophy phase where increasing the concentric TUT is necessary to build tendon/ligament strength, hypertrophy or rehabilitation of an injury.

Tue, 05/30/2006 - 9:52am — Kenny Croxdale

Re: Concentric effort

Graham wrote:
I've always been a believer of using maximum pushing power in the concentric phase of lifting, especially when all I focus on is developing explosive strength. I was wondering if there is a need to periodize this into my training instead of doing it 90-95% of the time, or if this is ok with any volume or intensity year round. Anyone?

Some periodization in your training program is necessary to insure progress. The body will adapt to a training program. Once that happens your spinning your wheel going no where.

So, the main things is to make some kind of changes in your program. Changing exercise, hand spacinig on the bar, reps, sequence of exercise...the main thing to do something different.

In regard to increasing maxium pushing power or pulling power, ballistic movements are the most effective method of developing power throughtout the entire range of the movement. In any other movement, some braking occurs just prior to lockout. Thus, power is NOT developed throughtout the entrie range of the movement but only a part of it.

Research shows that in a "1-RM bench press, the bar decelerates for the final 24% of the range of motion. At 81% of 1-RM, the bar deceleration occurs during the final 52% of the range of motion." [http://www.strengthcats.com/plyobenchpress.htm]

Changes in the training percentages in ballistic movements develop different parts of speed-strength. Lower percentages will increase startging-strength while moderate percentages maximize acceleration-strength.

Kenny Croxdale