Building Explosive Speed

KNPE 459

Spring 2015
 Strength, Force, and Rate of Force
Development
• First, some definitions:
– Maximal strength, or limit strength, is the amount of muscular
force that can be produced during a singular all-out effort.
– Force is a time-dependent expression of strength, and is
defined by magnitude or rate at which the mass of a body or
object moves.
– Rate of Force Development (RFD) is how quickly muscular force
can be produced.
 Rate of Force Development
• Training for RFD hinges on the
velocity of muscular contraction
through the rapid recruitment,
activation, and synchronization
of motor units.
• To do this, you have to muster
maximal force generation at the
beginning of a movement
without a preceding stretch or
countermovement.
 RFD Training Prerequisites
• To get the most out of the following RFD training protocols,
you should possess a respectable level of limit strength:
– Max bench press = 1.25 x bodyweight

– Max squat = 1.5 x bodyweight

– Max deadlift = 1.75 times x bodyweight

• If you're not quite there yet, your priority should be to get

stronger by sticking with the basics.
 RFD Training Prerequisites
• You can improve max strength and RFD concurrently.
– Literature has suggested that maximal strength training improves RFD
in lesser-trained individuals

• In most sports, high force outputs must occur in the shortest

amount of time possible.
– In strength sports such as powerlifting, where limit strength is the name
of the game , the time it takes to produce force is essential to success.
• The quicker you move your limbs and exert force on the barbell, the less likely
you are to hit a sticking point.
 Speed Kills
• Speed reigns supreme in virtually
every sport.
– When looking at the force-velocity
curve, it's the final destination.

• So how do you make someone

who's already strong, faster?
– The inclusion of starting strength and
explosive strength training protocols
will bridge the gap between maximal
strength and speed.
 Train for Starting Strength

• Starting strength is the ability to recruit tons of muscle fibers

as quickly as possible.
– It can be enhanced by incorporating movements that occur from a
dead stop, also known as "dead movements."
• Dead movements are concentric-only movements that eliminate the
contribution of the stretch shortening cycle, so there's no reversible muscle
action or momentum to help out.

• You can improve RFD by improving starting strength.

– The more rapidly you can recruit muscle fibers to perform a task,
the more force you can produce
 Train for Starting Strength

• The most notable dead movement is the deadlift

– In comparison to proportionately loaded squat, step-up, and lunge
exercise, elicits the greatest amount of concentric rate of force
development.

• Step-ups, another concentrically dominant movement, notched the

second greatest amount of concentric rate of force development.
• Similarly, squats and overhead presses can also be performed from
a dead stop off safety bars in a power rack.
– For a bench press dead stop variation, simply use a pause on the chest or
from the power rack's safeties.
 Train for Explosive Strength
• Explosive strength is your body's ability to maintain a high rate of
force output throughout an entire movement.
– Examples of explosive strength
• offensive lineman drive-blocking his opponent
• shot putter "putting" the shot as far as possible.

• Improving explosive strength involves the Olympic lifts and their

variants, as well as Compensatory Acceleration Training (CAT) and
exercises with variable resistance such as barbells with bands and
chains.
 Train for Explosive Triple Extension

• Triple extension is crucial in sport and life.

– Examples of athletes achieving triple extension
• Forward leaping over a defender en route to a dunk
• Outfielder leaping to catch a hard hit line drive
• Wide receiver elevating himself over a defensive back to catch a pass deep in
the end zone

• Triple extension involves the simultaneous extension of the hips,

knees, and ankles and can occur bilaterally or unilaterally in
vertical, horizontal, and lateral movements.
 Train for Explosive Triple Extension

• Traditionalists feel that triple extension should only be

trained through Olympic lifts.
• However, any explosive ground-based movement
such as plyometrics and trap-bar jumps, or strongman
event exercises such as tire flips, log cleans, keg rolls,
and stone lifts can serve as viable alternatives.
Olympic Movements allow for great transfer
from training…
…TO PERFORMANCE
 Plyometrics for Triple Extension

• Plyometrics enhance the body's ability to summate force and

increase power output.
– Although advanced jumping exercises don't have the steep learning curve
of the Olympic lifts, plyometric exercises must still be appropriately
programmed and progressed based on the lifter's training history,
strength, and goals.

• A continuum of progressions should be followed for each type of

jump.
– For instance, the squat jump must be perfected before engaging in
unilateral, multi-planar, and weighted jumps.
 Plyometrics for Triple Extension

• Similarly, bounding, jumping over objects, and depth jumps entails the
following progression:
– Isometric Squat Holds
– Bodyweight Squat
– Squat with Pause at Bottom, followed by mini hop and soft landing
– Vertical Jump from Partial Squat Position
– Squat with Quick Descent into Vertical Jump

• To mitigate the landing forces associated with jumping, the athlete or

lifter can land on a plyometric box or surface with a large landing area.
 Training with Submaximal Loads

• When the goal is RFD enhancement, don't go too heavy.

– Think light-load, explosive training for RFD.

• Compensatory Acceleration Training involves lifting

weights with maximal force throughout the entire range
of motion.
• Bottom line, lift weights with the intention of moving
them explosively.
 Day 1 Day 2
Exercise Load Sets Reps Exercise Load Sets Reps
Squat Jump Variation 3 3 Smith Bench Throw 15% 4 3
Dead Squat 65% 8 1 Push Press 80% 3 3
CAT Deadlift 60% 8 3 Dead Bench Press 70% 8 1
GHR 3 5 Neutral Pull Up 3 6
Barbell Hip Thrust 3 8 Face Pull 3 812
Weighted Crunch 3 10 Plank 3 *
*Max Time
Day 3
Exercise Load Sets Reps
Squat Jump Variation 3 3
Box Squat
Bent Over Row
3RM 3
6
3
3
RFD Template
Bench Press 85% 3* 4
One Arm Row 3 6**
Tri/Bi Combo 3 12 *Last Set Max
1-Leg DB Deadlift 3 8** ** Per Side
 RFD Template
• Key Points
– All core lifts are to be performed as explosively as
possible.
– Training should take place on non-consecutive days.
– The program is ideal for the athlete or lifter with a
number of commitments who wants to get more
explosive.
POST ACTIVATION
POTENTIATION
 Post-activation potentiation (PAP)

• It is the phenomenon by which muscular performance is

enhanced as a result of previous contractions.
• If you were to perform a 5RM back squat and then do an
explosive movement, like vertical jump or sprinting you would
jump higher/run faster than if you did the vertical jump or sprint
without the squat
• PAP mainly enhances explosive/power movements and sub-
maximal loads. It doesn’t have a large effect on maximal loads.
 How do you activate PAP?
• Contraction:
– PAP is usually elicited by a prior sub-maximal contraction (3-5 RM).

• Rest Period:
– After a rest period of 3-10 minutes, there is an increase in power performance.

• Ideal Rest Period:

– As a result of the conditioning contractions, there is an increase in both fatigue and
performance . 
– The rest period allows the fatigue to dissipate so that we can take advantage of the
performance aspect. 
– If you rest too long, you will dissipate the performance factor along with the fatigue.
– If you rest too little, the fatigue effect will negate the performance effect.
 What are the mechanisms behind PAP?

• Recruitment of Type 2 fibers:

– There is an increased activation of type 2 fibers.
• Fast fibers are selectively recruited when you do explosive
movements.

• Calcium sensitivity:
– The sensitivity of the muscle to calcium goes up.
• It is calcium which triggers muscle contraction and controls the
amount of force that can be produced.
 What factors affect PAP?
• Intensity:
– Moderate Intensity (60-85%) conditioning contractions has a greater effect than heavy
intensity contractions. (>85% RM) to activate PAP

• Rest Periods:
– Rest periods after the contractions of 7-10 min has a greater effect than rest periods of 3-
7 minutes.

• Multiple sets:
– Multiple sets of prior contractions are better than single sets

• Trained vs Untrained:
– Trained and athletes had a greater effect than untrained. Athletes (more experience) had
a much greater effect than trained (less experience) .
– So PAP generally increases with training experience.
 What are the limitations?
• Acute effect:
– PAP only last for a few minutes.
• So not much benefit for long duration events.

• Individual differences:
– The effects of PAP is heavily dependent on the individual.
– In most studies, the ideal rest period after the conditioning exercise
varied among the subjects.
– PAP also varies depending on the training experience and the proportion
of type of 2 fibers.
 Now how high can you jump with PAP?

• How big of a difference can PAP make?

– There is usually a 3-5% increase in jump height with PAP.
– In a recent study, one set of 5RM squat resulted in 1.4cm
increase in jump height in varsity level rugby players.
– Now how big of a difference is 1.4-2 cm you may ask?
• This may not sound much, but in the 2102 London Olympics, 2cm
was the difference between a gold and a bronze in the Women’s
high jump.
CONTRAST TRAINING
 Contrast Training
• Contrast training is easy to explain:
– Start with a set of heavy lifts, five to 10 reps, and then follow it
immediately with an unloaded, explosive exercise using the same
movement pattern and the same reps.

Or to make it even simpler:

• Squats followed by jump squats.
• Bench presses followed by explosive push-ups.
• Pull-ups followed by medicine-ball slams.
 Contrast Training
• Researchers have suggested that these mechanisms are involved in creating
PAP:
– increased motor-unit recruitment
– enhanced motor-unit synchronization
– greater input to the motor neuron
– decreases in presynaptic inhibition

• Or, to keep it simple, your nervous system supercharges itself by throwing

more motor units — muscle fibers and the nerves that activate them — into
the job, and by taking off the brakes that would ordinarily inhibit an
expression of all-out power.
 Contrast Training
• Knee-Dominant • Upper-Body Push
– Strength exercise: – Strength exercise: 
• barbell squat
• bench press
– Contrast exercise: – Contrast exercise: 
• squat jump or box jump
• medicine-ball chest pass or explosive push-up
• Hip-Dominant
• Upper-Body Pull
– Strength exercise: 
– Strength exercise: 
• deadlift or Romanian deadlift
• chin-up
– Contrast exercise: 
– Contrast exercise: 
• medicine-ball reverse scoop toss, broad jump, or
• medicine-ball slam or bent-over pull with cable or bands
vertical jump from deadlift position
• Locomotion
• Torso Rotation
– Strength exercise: 
– Strength exercise: 
• sled drag or walking lunge
• band or cable rotation

– Contrast exercise: 
– Contrast exercise: 

• medicine-ball rotary toss, or explosive band or

• sprint (25 to 50 yards)

cable rotation
 Contrast Training
• Sets and reps:
– 4 to 6 sets or 5 to 10 reps per set of each exercise works well.
• Use the lower end of that rep range if you're most interested in developing strength and
explosive power, more reps if your goals include hypertrophy, strength and power
endurance, and/or fat loss.

• Rest Periods:
– Studies have shown that about three minutes of rest between pairs of exercises
works best
– If the goal is to develop power for athletic performance, try for about 30 seconds
between the strength and contrast exercises.
– If you're more interested in fat loss, or in power endurance, go straight from the
first exercise to the second.