Strength vs Power

Which One Is The Winner? That Depends Entirely On You!

When you walk into most gyms across America, you'll usually notice certain similarities. Most will have some eye candy to meet you at the front desk. Some will have supplements and drinks as a one stop shop. But one factor that most gyms sell you on when they give you a tour, are the machines. There are usually two main areas of popularity, these are the weight machines and the cardio machines. These are both extremely important steps to create a healthy lifestyle, but it does ignore something that specialty gyms offer.

Building strength is important, but in most fitness gyms, power is neglected. Simply put, power is the amount of speed and force your body is able to generate. This is what creates any effective punch, bat swing, or field goal kick. Strength requires slower, longer repetitions to create changes in hypertrophy, while power requires the exact opposite. Building power requires speed, stamina, and longer resting periods to regain energy.

Building strength also can tighten your muscles, which may not be optimal for powerful motions, which require a larger range of motion. Think of a boxer in the ring against a wrestler. Who would win in this competition? A boxer can generate enough force in a punch to knock out a wrestler with one punch, but if that same boxer allowed that wrestler to get close enough to grab him, power won't matter much when the boxer gets put in a chokehold.

Although these two workout styles are very different, I highly recommend incorporating both training techniques into your routine, especially when you've studied mainly one discipline. The shock to your muscles will help to generate increased results due to the change in output. Being stagnant with your routine can limit your growth, since your body has become comfortable with the same repetitive movements. Incorporating both is the best way to go. Here are some workouts to incorporate within the same session:

1. Back/Goblet Squats and Squat Jumps/Box Jumps. Adding squat jumps prior to your leg day routine will give you added power to your quads while assisting to build muscle without adding to the soreness of weighted squats.

2. Chest Press and Medicine Ball Toss. Like a chest pass is done in a basketball game, holding a weighted medicine ball at chest level while retracting your scapula will help to generate enough kinetic energy to push it away from your chest at full force. Toss the ball at full speed at either a wall or a gym partner. Laying on your back and pushing it above your chest adds an extra layer of difficulty with added coordination. It will also have limited effect on your bench press when done prior to your resistance routine.

3. Lateral Lunges and Ski Jumps. Lateral movements will aid in activating your glutes to assist in most any standing leg exercises. Moving laterally is very neglected in most exercise routines, considering that mostly athletes are required to use these muscles regularly. Adding power with ski jumps will add more exertion to the glutes, which will definitely be helpful with lateral lunges.

Try these different variations of exercises together within your workout routine. Not only will you benefit from the new additions to create more muscle confusion for faster results, but you will move with much better explosiveness and balance within your everyday life as well as extracurricular activities. Looking forward to seeing you at your very best!