Issue 048
April 2009
Ask any reputable strength coach what the major factor in sports performance is and speed or acceleration will always be king. Who wins a marathon? The fastest guy, right?
In the evolution of fight sports several things have become apparent. Bigger isn’t always better, stronger isn’t always better, but faster pretty much always is. Let me explain.
Take a look at a Force Velocity Curve (Figure 1).
Assume that as a fighter your main objective is to produce maximal force and acceleration, be it in training, in the ring, or on the mat.
Let’s use an example of a barbell as the mass, using a hypothetical scale of 1-10 for acceleration, with 10 being the fastest.
Mass (100kg) x Maximum Acceleration (1) = Force (100)
Now take a lighter weight and proportionally the acceleration will go up.
Mass (10kg) x Maximum Acceleration (10) = Force (100)
The weights change, but the force stays the same.
We have the option to increase the force (in this case a maximal weight) but the trade off of lower velocity means that the curve moves up, yet velocity moves to the left. Alternatively we increase velocity, which will pull force down, and velocity to the right. It’s still the same power output. So the intention with a fighter is to tailor their strength and conditioning to move the whole curve up and to the right, resulting in a higher maximal force and velocity.
In terms of function the body works in mechanical sequences, and pretty much everything you ever do as a fighter involves these sequences. The hub (or core) of the body is the torso, and everything you exert is radiated from this point, with the hips and shoulders being the strongest junctures.
Each joint has to either flex or extend and rotate to perform a movement, but always in
sequence together. If the timing of a kick or punch is perfect, the fighter will produce a maximal point of acceleration. This produces a strength curve showing acceleration, maximum peak point (A) and the point at which momentum takes over.
A composite force (strength) curve for a punch may look like this:
If you strike your opponent at point C you will be hitting them with the maximal force you could generate. Beyond that point momentum takes over and you decelerate. Point A to point B is the transitional phase. If you’re big, slow, and strong, the limit strength line is high but maximum force low.
The intention with training is to keep these two lines close to each other. The steeper the angle of line D the more muscle recruitment the athlete can engage in a moment. We know that if we lift heavier we create better force, but we sacrifice acceleration and velocity.
Post-training a strength curve should resemble something more like this.
As you can see, the transitional phase is quicker so in the same time you could strike an opponent twice. The angle on line E is steep, hence more muscular recruitment per millisecond, and ultimately maximal force is reached in half the time.
There are several ways in which we can train acceleration. The first is simply just to try and move things faster and faster over time. The adaptation here can be seen but at some point you will not be strong enough, or have enough muscular recruitment at the maximum acceleration point, to progress.
The human body is pretty smart, and we can cheat it to do something different in the pursuit of speed. Imagine if, when striking an opponent, the closer you got to point A on the curve, the heavier your hand became. The impact is huge! Sprinters have worked on a similar principle using apparatus like parachutes to sprint against. The faster you run, the more air resistance there is, hence the load gets higher. When repeated sufficiently the body starts to remember the load and works as if it were handling a larger amount of mass, even when it isn’t there anymore.
As fighters you know all too well that if you can gather momentum before any type of throw or strike, the end result is incredible. An opponent performing a running punch (provided the timing is right) will produce far more impact than someone stood toe-to-toe doing the same thing.
The problem in the weight room is that the weight (mass) is constant throughout. 200kg is 200kg both at the start and the finish. Due to joint angles and velocity, the force generated at certain points will be less than at other angles, hence creating a sticking point once a certain weight is reached. This renders an object or person immovable, as the limb trying to move it has decelerated to nil.
By utilising modern training methods, in this case resistance bands, it’s possible to increase the ‘mass’ as the limbs extend away from the body. This can be applied to all movements, but my favourite has to be the squat. Universally, the squat is where most ground-based power starts, and it is sequentially pulsed through the body to the striking limb. Try hitting something with no leg movement and you’ll see what I mean.
In any power-based sport, the motivation when squatting is not to lift a bar on your shoulders, but to transfer as much force to the ground, with the intention of propelling yourself vertically with as much acceleration as possible.
By adding resistance bands to the bar it allows a variable in mass from the bottom (weakest point) to the top (strongest point), despite the bar providing a constant load.
Sample squat sessions for one week.
Day 1: Mass (Force) Increase.
Load the bar with weight (but without bands) and work up to a maximum set of 3-5 repetitions for 8-10 sets, increasing the weight as you go. Take 3-5 minutes in-between sets. The intention is to control the weight on the way down, and accelerate up as fast as possible (the weight will dictate that this won’t be fast, but the intention must be to do it as fast as possible).
Day 2: Velocity (Acceleration) Increase.
Once you have your weights from Day 1, calculate what your one rep max should be then take 55-65% of it. Using the table you can work out what various grade bands weigh at the top and bottom of the movement (depending upon your shoulder height). Loop the band around the bar and anchor it on the squat rack. Work for 1-3 reps at maximum acceleration on the up phase of the squat. Perform 5-10 sets, taking only 30 seconds rest between sets. Never compromise speed. If you slow down, reduce the weight.
Resistance Band Tension
For a bar height of 152cm when upright, you can see that a set of green bands will offer 70kg of added resistance. In the bottom position of the squat the bar is 106cm off the floor, providing 39.2kg of added resistance. Add to this the weight of the bar (e.g. 30kg total), and at the bottom position there would be a 69.2kg load, and at the top100kg.
The first time you use the bands make sure to get used to them on the bar before putting on any load, and squat onto a box or bench under you as a depth marker.
This same method can be used with limitless movements and other apparatus, such as chains, kettlebells, ropes, and more.
Phil Learney is one of the UK’s most in-demand strength and conditioning coaches. Based at The Third Space Health Club in Soho, London, he is a strongman competitor and strength and conditioning expert for PhD Nutrition. He can be contacted via email at [email protected].
