Explosive Power

Training
For
Sports Performance

By Phil Daru
Do you have the POWER?

Power equals force times velocity!! In every strength and conditioning program there are
three distinct phases, hypertrophy or (volume), strength, then power. Now for every
athlete these modalities must be efficient and trained throughout a training cycle. With
that being said I let's get into explosive power for athletes in contact sports. In sports
such as mixed martial arts, rugby, football, hockey, wrestling, and much more this is a
key component to be successful as an individual and as a team. Power is defined as the
ability to move or travel with great speed or force, when this is present you will become
very hard to beat. Power can control or nullify an opponent's game plan making them
more cautious on their approach to move forward. Having the capability to develop
power is somewhat genetic but this can also be trained through proper programming.
Explosive power has been trained by all athletes to further their development as an elite
athlete in their given sport. Simply put the more powerful you are the better. In the
sporting world speed kills, along with strength is when power is born. this is a
dangerous combination for an athlete's opposition to deal with, and this is why we
spend time developing and perfecting an athlete’s explosive power. I will go over
several ways to develop power and how it will be beneficial for your sport, so pay
attention and get ready to develop massive power that no one can match. The is Power
Training 101!

History of EXPLOSIVE POWER in sports!

One can say that power training can be done through a number of different modalities
such as plyometrics, ballistic, weight resistance, and Olympic weightlifting. With that
being said it's very hard to pinpoint who developed the first program specifically for
explosive power. In the sport of track and field a Russian coach by the name of Yuri
Verkhoshansky studied the effect of shock methods of plyometrics. He used the depth
jump to calculate explosive power output after initial impact from the ground. Utilizing
Newton's second law there was a significant power increase in each subjects vertical
jump. Leading to believe that box jumps and depth jumps lead to higher increases in
explosive power. Another method used to develop power is ballistic training. The word
ballistic comes from the Greek word βάλλειν (ballein), which means “to throw.” Athletes
and coaches use this method by working with reactive medicine ball throws, slams,
jump squats or hurdle hops. Using a 1 rep max of 30-45% athletes perform these
movements as fast as possible in order to recruit the highest rate of fast twitch muscle
fibers. Another method used to developed power is the Olympic style weightlifting this
can be argued that it's not truly a power sport more than it is a speed strength sport.
This is somewhat accurate due to the fact that there is more power output off the first
pull of the movement rather than the second. In either case the history of Olympic
weightlifting dates back to early 19th century. The first male world champion was
crowned in 1891; the weightlifters were not categorized by weight at this time, and a
women's championship did not exist until 1987. Since then it has been a well known
sport in the Olympic Games and true test of one's strength output, but not necessarily
their power output. Either way power training has been tried and proven to be highly
effective tool for all athletes in their given sports, and it will continue to evolve even
more.

Developing a POWER base!

No matter what system you decide to use linear periodization, block periodization,
conjugate, DUP, etc. the implementation of power training should be placed in all. If you
are a novice trainee then you must develop a base of power in order to develop power
you must get strong. The stronger the individual the more power you can generate in a
given movement. So developmental strength is the first thing that has to be worked. In
order to do that spend some time working on strengthening your posterior chain (upper
and lower back, glutes, and hamstrings) along with core strengthening with stability.
Upper body push and pull strength with exercises such as the bench press, overhead
press, bent over rows, rack deadlifts, and shoulder shrugs. With lower body strength
exercises such as back squat, front squat, Zercher squat, goblet squat, lunges and glute
hamstring raise. Once the strengthening phase has been established then you can start
to transition into incorporating power movements. Start with easy to do movements
such as squat jumps, and broad jumps with med ball throws and over head tosses for
upper body. First 4 weeks of the developmental power stage should work 3-4 times a
week with a day in between to recover.

4 week POWER mesocycle!

Week 1
Day 1- 30-45 second rest
Lower body: 3x5 jump squats 5x3 broad jumps
Upper body: 3x5 med ball throw 5x3 med ball overhead toss

Day 2- 30-45 second rest

Lower body: 3x5 jump lunge 5x3 hurdle hop (12-24inch)
Upper body: 3x5 med ball slam 5x5 plyo push-up

Day 3- 30-45 second rest

Lower body: 3x5 box jump (30 inch) 3x5 reactive box jumps (12 inch)
Upper body: 3x5 transverse med ball slam 5x5 med ball push press

Week 2
Day 1- 30-45 seconds
Lower body: 4x5 squat jumps 5x3 weighted broad jump (20lb weight vest)
Upper body: 4x5 med ball throw 5x5 overhead toss

Day 2- 30-45 seconds

Lower body: 4x5 jump lunge 5x5 hurdle hop (12-24 inch)
Upper body: 4x5 med ball slam 5x5 deficit plyo push up

Day 3- 30-45 seconds

Lower body: 4x5 box jump (30 inch) 5x5 reactive box jump (12-16 inch)
Upper body: 4x5 transverse med ball slam 5x6 med ball push press

Week 3
Day 1- 30-45 seconds
Lower body: 5x5 weighted jump squats (10lb DB’s) 5x5 weighted box jump (20lb weight
vest)
Upper body: 5x5 med ball throw 6x5 overhead toss

Day 2- 30-45 seconds

Lower body: 5x5 weighted jump lunge (10lb DB’s) 5x5 hurdle hop (24-30 inch)
Upper body: 5x5 med ball slam 5x6 deficit plyo push-up

Day 3- 30-45 seconds

Lower body: 5x5 weighted box jump (10lb DB’s) 5x6 reactive box jumps (16inch box)
Upper body: 5x5 transverse med ball slam 5x6 single arm med ball push pass

Week 4
Day 1- 45-60 seconds
Lower body: 6x5 weighted box jump (30 inch box) 5x10 second reactive jumps (20 inch
box)
Upper body: 6x5 med ball throw (with light band) 5x5 DB reactive push press
Day 2- 45-60 seconds
Lower body: 6x3 trap bar squat jump 5x5 box squat box jump
Upper body: 6x5 med ball transverse throw 5x3 plyo pull ups

Day 3- 45-60 seconds

Lower body: 5x5 DB hurled jump (24inch hurdle 12lb DB's) 6x5 deficit drop jump
(30inch deficit)
Upper body: 5x3 hang pull (95lbs) 6x5 overhead med ball toss

After the first microcycle you can start to integrate more ballistic exercises utilizing more
weight resistance. Box jumps and hurdles will be raised in height throughout 2-3 weeks
by a few inches or until landing is sufficient and under control. All jumps should look
technically sound and landing must be just as good if not better then the jump itself.
Learning how to land light on your feet and under control will eliminate injury risk and
optimize the quality of the exercise. Medicine ball throws must be done with maximum
effort so if the ball speed slows with each set start with a lighter ball. When you transfer
into weighted power movements be sure to pick a weight that is around 30-45% of your
1RM of what you found during your strength phase. It needs to be light enough to move
fast, If bar speed slows then drop weight and continue. Each week will progressively
increase in either weight, height of jump, or sets/reps. At the end of each microcycle
look to test your power output by testing your vertical jump, box jump length of med ball
throw and toss. Olympic style weightlifting technique must be learned efficiently through
your strength phase in order to properly put into your power phase. If it is done correctly
you can measure your 1RM power clean and clean and jerk. Keep progressing each
week and retest every 4 weeks. You will begin to see improvements in the weight room
and in competition.

Why is POWER so important!

When I was about nine years old I began playing organized football. Now since I have
been practicing running routes and throwing passes for 4 years prior I felt like I had
perfected the technique of the game well enough to be successful. My first day of
practice with pads we are going through hitting drills and I'm up first. Now the the kid
standing across from me who then later would become one of my best friends looks at
me and says “you better be ready blue eyes” so I turned back and said “just run the ball
and watch what happens”. So as we collide helmets, and yes I said helmets both forces
from our bodies cause a huge collision with both of us laying on our sides facing each
other. And what I come to realize is that no matter what, I have to get more explosive if
I'm going to beat someone on this field. This is where it began, and yes I was just 9
years old! For each individual sport there requires a certain level of proficiency you must
have. When an opponent has the upper hand in the explosive power department your
chances of winning will diminish. Power and explosiveness are like a wild card in the
deck of all face cards you pull it out to solidify dominance. In all aspects of sports
jumping, sprinting, bounding, throwing, punching, and kicking there must be an optimal
force driving that aspect in sport. Power is strength and speed combined or simply put
Force(x)Velocity. If you do not have this feature it will be very hard to become elite in
your sport. The major benefit from a biological standpoint comes from the process of
fiber recruitment and rate coding. Your body has two distinct fiber types slow twitch
(type I) and fast twitch (type II) fast twitch are mainly aimed towards explosive bouts of
movement. Slow twitch fibers are for slower long duration movements. For example
type I for long distance marathon runners type II for hundred meter sprinters. When you
train bouts of explosive movements you develop a higher level of these fast twitch
muscle fibers. The other is rate coding meaning the frequency neural impulse sent to
motor units to be further activated. When improving these impulses increasing the rate
in which it gets sent you will develop a greater force output without activating more
motor units. In turn you will be able to generate power efficiently. Improving explosive
power will be more optimal for sport performance overall. As an athlete you can not
leave food on the table meaning you cannot have holes in your game. Having strength
but no speed or having all speed and no strength it just doesn't work. You may have all
the technical parts down but if you cannot implement technique in a highly efficient
athletic way then that's just as good as having no technique at all. Being powerful and
having explosiveness can take your game to the next level without it and suffer the cost
of mediocrity.
Special exercises to help produce EXPLOSIVE POWER!

There are set muscle groups that are initiated when performing a power movement.
Training special exercises to help facilitate strength and stability in these muscles are
key to becoming more explosive. When jumping the hips are very important part of the
acceleration and deceleration phase of the movement. You must adequately work the
hips in its natural range of motion. Here are some exercises used to help strengthen the
hips:

● Hip bridges (weighted)

● Kettlebell swings
● Good mornings
● Hip circle walks

With these exercises you can improve hip strength and stability. Start doing the
exercises at least twice a week for sets of 2-3 for around twelve repetitions. For the hip
circle walks I usually put it on and walk for five minutes around the gym in all directions.
Full strengthening of the posterior chain is key so we also want to hit the hamstrings
and glutes as well.

● Squats
● Lying leg curls
● Romanian deadlifts
● Backwards lunges
● Glute bridge
● Glute hamstring raise
● Jefferson deadlifts
● Deadlifts
 Photo: UFC Strawweight Tecia Torres

These exercises are great for building a solid base of hypertrophy and strength in the
glutes and hamstrings for hypertrophy stick to a rep range between 8-12 reps for 3-4
sets. For strength anywhere from 3-5 reps with 5-6 sets. These can be done for
accessory work prior to your strength and power training. Upper body power is much
needed in all sports requiring push/pulling power and rotational speed strength. All
upper body exercises are used in conjunction with the upper body power movements.
Here are some exercises that help strengthen and stabilize the working muscles of the
upper body power movements:

● DB floor press
● Bench press
● DB overhead press
● Bent over rows
● Push ups
● Pullups
● Dips
● Hammer curls
These exercises will provide a solid foundation for upper body explosive power.
Integrate these exercises in your training block prior to your power movements as
accessory work. The most important aspect of all explosive power output and training in
general is the core muscles these must be stable and firing and an efficient rate to
maximize power output. Here are some good core strengthening exercises to use in
your routine:

● Planks (side and front)

● Ab roll outs
● Hanging leg raise
● DB side bends (obliques)
● Russian twist
● V-ups
● Turkish get ups
● Cable woodchop
● Windshield wipers

These exercises can be hit after all strength and power work is done as a finisher. Stick
to 2-3 sets of 20-30 repetitions. You will only need around 30 seconds maximum to
recover since the core is very resilient to lactic buildup. The main purpose of training for
power is to recruit a higher level of fast twitch fibers but even then you need to be able
to sustain that output if you are in a mixed aerobic system sport such as rugby, or MMA.
This is why power endurance must be integrated into your program as well.

POWER Endurance importance and application!

As a key component in sports performance power can be short lived through high
intense bouts, and if not conditioned to recover quick enough from that intensity then
you will find yourself trying to catch up. In any sport that requires a mixed aerobic
system base, power needs to be constant and ready to be initiated at all times.
Endurance is the capacity to withstand a certain element or wear and tear. Think of
power being that element, and if you can adequately train this to become efficient than
the result will hold great value in optimal performance. With the ability to have explosive
power through a full competition period less time will be needed to recover leaving you
with greater output on your opponent, and being one step ahead of the competition. In
order to develop this you must put your body in a preconditioned state then perform the
explosive power movement. Or perform bouts of power movements like med ball throws
or reactive box jumps and sustain for longer bouts of work. Being able to initiate power
through a longer duration while maintaining speed, strength and proper mechanics.
Here are the two ways broken down:

Option 1 (pre exhaust method)

Starting unconventionally by working strength and hypertrophy first then directly after
perform a power movement that correlates to the lifts prior.

(Ex.1 Option 1)
Trap bar deadlift- 5x5x85%
Pull Ups- 4x10xbodyweight
Giant set
Med ball overhead toss- 5x3x40%

(Ex.2 Option 1)
Barbell floor press- 4x3x90%
Tricep dips- 3x15xbodyweight
Giant set
Plyo push ups- 3x5xbodyweight

(Ex. 3 Option 1)
Back squat- 3x2x95%
Walking lunge- 4x12x75%
Giant set
Box jump- 5x5x45%

Option 2 (active recovery method)

Start by performing a power movement repetitively for extended bout of time. After time
is completed continue with low intensity active recovery for half a minute then back to
power movement.

(Ex. 1 Option 2)
Reactive box jump- 30 seconds
Active recovery- 30 seconds

(Ex. 2 Option 2)
Med ball wall throw- 30 seconds
Plank- 30 seconds
(Ex. 3 Option 2)
Prowler sprint- 20 yards
Active recovery- 30 seconds

These are some examples that have been used to help improve the power output
needed for an entire competition. Whether it be in the 4th quarter of a football game,
overtime in a basketball game, the last round in a championship fight all circumstances
require that extra spark of power to overtake the victory.

The tools to improve EXPLOSIVE POWER!

There are several exercises you can use to help improve explosive power, and each
movement has to be properly executed to not only be effective but safe well. Mastering
these exercise movements will improve acquired skill athleticism and maximize
performance in all sports. There are exercises to target upper, lower, and full body
power output. Working this into a 3-4 day a week split will be very beneficial and
recommended to optimize the quality of the exercises that are given. Here are the
exercises and movements needed to initiative explosive power:

Lower Body Power

 ● Bounding
● Broad jump
● Squat jump
● Box jump
● Hurdle hop
● Sled sprint
● Reactive box jump
● Power skip

Upper Body Power

● Medicine ball throw
● Medicine ball pass
● Medicine ball toss
● Medicine ball slam
● Plyometrics push-up
● Plyometrics pull-up

Full Body Power

● Power clean
● Power snatch
● Kettlebell swing
● Broad jump med ball pass
● Broad jump med ball slam

All exercises should be performed with good form with technically efficiency. It is
required that if you are training for a sport that involves the entire body at once then
choose 1-2 exercises from the lower, upper, and full body selection in one training
session to accumulate a positive response in performance and physical preparation for
the sport itself.

Detailed exercises:

Box Jumps: ​start by placing your feet just inside shoulder width about a foot away from
the box. From the start raise your arms up overhead with glutes locked in and core
stabilized. Then forcefully drop hands straight down and back behind you as you
perform a slight hip hinge. From there explode through the heel to toe shoot your knees
up to your chest. As you land you want to be as light as possible with feet in the same
starting position as on the floor when lading in the box. Extend your legs and lock your
hips to finish the jump.
Medicine Ball Slam: ​start with ball in hand with force shoot hands upward over your
head with arms slightly locked out, extending your body into triple extension front the
knees, hips, and shoulders. Forcefully slam the ball downward directly in front of your
feet. Repeat for your set number of reps and sets.

Power Clean: ​although I am NOT a weightlifting coach nor do I couch competitive

weightlifters, I do find that this movement is important for speed strength and some
forms of explosive power. With that being said I've learned to teach this and apply it to
my own training as well. Start with your feet in a jumping position with barbell sitting
directly over the midfoot. Proceed to bending down in a squat position to grab the bar at
shoulder width. Tuck hips underneath the torso causing a vertical spine and shin angle.
Once the bar touches the shins forcefully pull the bar off the ground while shrugging
your shoulder and extending the knees and hips (similar to a jump). Second pull
requires you to pull the bar upward while thrusting your hips and squatting back
underneath the bar. Catch the bar in a front rack position on the upper chest area with
elbows internally rotated and palms facing up. Finish the lift by front squatting the weight
to complete lockout.

Priming for Power!

Like all exercises priming your body or “warming up” is important for optimizing the
performance of the movements, and injury prevention. There are several procedures
one should follow before executing a power exercise movement. Take around 10-15
minutes to go through a dynamic, and mobility stretch along with drills that are indicative
to the work that will be done following. These drills can be done in a group or individual.

Dynamic warm up drills

● Banded sidewalks: 2x20 yards
● Walking lunge twist: 1x20
● A skips: 2x20 yards
● B skips: 2x20 yards
● High knees 2x20 yards
● But kicks 2x20 yards
● Power skips (for height): 1x20 yards
● Power skips (for distance): 1x20 yards
● Bounding: 1x20 yards
● Broad jump (reactive) 1x20 yards
● Karaoke (high step over): 1x20 yards
 ● Tapioca: 1:20 yards
● Sprint starts: 2x20 yards

After completing the dynamic warmup you can progress into your speed and power
training. After any exercise a self myofascial release along with a 5-10 minute cool
down will help with regeneration and optimize recovery.

Understanding the process of Explosive Power!

Explosive power is important for all sports Westside Barbell and powerlifting legend
Louie Simmons once said “even long distance runners have to sprint to the finish line”.
Understanding that this process needs to be looked at and set into all programs of
physical preparation. Always keep it safe and simple with organized progressions each
week that will optimize the results of the training. Strength training will carry over a good
base for developing explosive power and hypertrophy will help with building maximum
strength. Whether you decide to take a traditional linear or block periodization approach
or a concurrent conjugate style those modalities must be put into the program. If you
want to maximize the power building process take the tools and exercises given and
formulate a program that will put you ahead of the game. We all have the ability to
become athletic it's how we go about achieving it is the real test. Proper planning leads
to perfect performance, doing it efficiently and with a purpose will take your physical
performance to the next level.
 Phil Daru
● ACE, FMS, CPT
● B.S Sports Medicine
● Former Professional MMA Fighter
● Former Division 1 Football Player Alabama State University
● Award Winning MMA S&C Coach of the Year
● Over 10 Years Experience