This post will have a look at what role strength plays in your Speed and Agility Training curriculum. Let’s take a look at a few terms.
Absolute strength – the max amount of power that you are capable of producing, your individual rep limit is your absolute strength
Starting Strength – a measure of how many muscle fibers that you’re able to instantly tighten
Consider it like this, if you snatch a heavy dumbbell from the floor you can injure your back. But if you lift slowly this would not happen. Starting strength (in this example), merely measures the greatest load you are capable of grabbing off the ground without injuries.
Relative strength – your strength for each pound of body mass
Reactive Strength or Plyometric Strength – deals with your capacity to absorb and employ power while changing from an eccentric contraction to a concentric contraction.
What’s the significance of these phrases to your training curriculum?
The higher your absolute strength, the higher your starting strength. The more your starting strength, the quicker your increase in speed, the faster your increase in speed, the more your explosiveness or your facility to arrive at your uppermost speed sooner. Think about, “Is my speed and agility training growing my absolute strength for those muscles that are important in the sport I participate in?”
Relative strength is important because the more your relative strength, the more power it is possible to create. This helps you in a couple of ways; your nervous system is better conditioned and can even cross over into your quickness, and you have got less stuff to haul around. This also crosses over into speed.
A reasonable question to ask about is whether your Speed and Agility Training improves your relative strength. Take into account when training for speed and agility your relative strength is more influential than your absolute strength. Note: you shouldn’t be concerned too much with reference to bulking up because a 10% boost in LEAN body mass will equal a 30% increase in strength.
Last of all, we come to reactive strength. This type of strength plays a important function in agility, it enables you to swiftly change route and dazzle your opponent with amazing moves. It also helps you to jump higher whilst running (but not so much from a standstill position). It also has a part in running speed but there are better ways to train for it if running speed is what you want.
What’s the take away home from this commentary? In order to appropriately train for speed and agility you should include strength training workouts in your schedule. You should also adapt it for the sport you’re involved with. There are no shortcuts although there are effective ways of arriving at your objectives (whatever they may be).
If this has bewildered you somewhat you should….
Here is a food for thought subject for you. Why do sprinters (50, 100 meter dash, basketball players, quarterbacks etc) produce ripped abs without purposely working out for them? Needless to say you must keep in mind that starting strength is different for distinct muscles groups and can be trained individually. Understanding which muscles have a part in the movements most significant in your athletic endeavour helps you to concentrate on them and generate fast and efficient results
If you liked this article, you can find more information, tips, and videos by going to: more Speed and Agility Training.
Tags: speed agility, speed and agility training, speed exercises, srtength training workouts