Developing Power

  • January 06, 2015

Coach Responses

In what aspects of your sport is power important?

How do you develop it in your athletes?

Share your tips and best practices!

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Coach Michelle P. – Ice Hockey – Toronto – 6 Years

“Ice Hockey is a sport all about power.  Quick accelerations, a slap shot, and puck battles all rely on power.  Ideally, my players are developing their power both on and off the ice.  A good off-season strength and conditioning program are crucial for power development in hockey players as the development of this athletic ability require a lot of training time – first to build the appropriate basic strength and second to get the experience in the techniques that promote power development.

Olympic lifting, complex training, and speed training are examples of just some of the techniques.  When the players are on the ice, it is all about taking those physiological adaptations off the ice and applying them to the game.  High-intensity drills that mimic competition are key.”

Coach Sven K. – Karate – Toronto

“Power movements are central to Karate.

When thinking about power think explosive strength. Power is for when you need a lot of force in a short period of time (Olympic lifter). Movements, like sprinting, leaping, jumping, kicking, throwing, hitting, are also all in this category.

Outside of powerlifting (competitive training), some everyday training could be box jumps, agility ladder, clap pushups, and med ball throws. Try splitting the workout between max effort actions, and max speed actions. Start at the beginning of practice/training (after warm-up) when athletes will have the most energy.

Then combine the two (effort & speed) and build the intensity into the specific skill. With Karate, we do a lot of bag work (punches and kicks into resistance) at full intensity when working on power. We also do the same without a partner (no bag), focusing on correct movement and bringing the whole body (core) into the strike.

Think explosive action!”

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