Victor Forge
Training explosive muscles is an effective way to improve sports performance and overall fitness. It involves a combination of strength training, speed training, and power training. The goal is to build enough power to move heavy weights quickly, which can be achieved through exercises like squats, power cleans, and vertical jumps. This type of training improves the nervous system's ability to activate muscle fibres, boosts coordination, speeds up reaction time, and enhances power output. For athletes, explosive training can lead to higher levels of competition and improve performance in sports requiring quick bursts of activity such as sprinting, jumping, and throwing. Additionally, it can be beneficial for everyday tasks and functional training, such as reacting quickly to catch a falling child.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Training type | Speed training, power training, strength training, ballistic resistance training, eccentric training |
| Training exercises | Squats, jump squats, trap bar deadlift jumps, bench presses, pushups, power cleans, weighted or unweighted vertical jumps, heavy ball throws, hill sprinting, sled sprints, kettlebell swings, cleans and snatches with a kettlebell |
| Training style | Higher repetition lifting speed training, single set, higher frequency lower volume models, heavy loads, light weights and slow, controlled movements |
| Training periodization | Longer-term phases, separate workouts throughout the week |
| Training intensity | Low repetitions, high velocity and intensity, 30-90 seconds of rest in between |
| Training weight | 40-75% of one-rep max (1RM) |
| Training volume | Higher volume training |
| Training warm-up | 5-10 minutes of general aerobics, traditional warm-up sets |
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What You'll Learn
Warm-up with a full-body aerobic exercise
To train explosive muscles, it is important to begin with a full-body warm-up. This involves performing 5 to 10 minutes of general aerobics to get the blood flowing and warm up the joints and muscles. Some examples of full-body aerobic exercises include cycling, rowing, walking, running, or using an elliptical trainer.
The warm-up is an important component of explosive muscle training as it helps to prepare the body for the intense activity to come. It increases blood flow to the muscles, which helps to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the working muscles. Additionally, a warm-up helps to increase heart rate, which improves circulation and prepares the cardiovascular system for the demands of the workout.
Warming up the joints is crucial, especially for explosive movements. The tendons, ligaments, connective tissues, and surrounding muscles need to be ready for the range of motion and impact that will occur during the training. This can help reduce the risk of injury and improve performance.
A proper warm-up also helps to prepare the nervous system, which plays a key role in explosive muscle training. By activating the nervous system and improving its communication with the muscles, the body can recruit more muscle fibers and generate force more quickly.
In addition to the full-body aerobic exercise, some dynamic stretching can be beneficial. This could include exercises like lunges, leg swings, or arm circles, which further prepare the body for the specific movements to come.
Following a comprehensive warm-up routine helps to ensure the body is ready for the demands of explosive muscle training and can help improve overall performance and reduce the risk of injury.
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Combine strength, speed and power training
To train explosive muscles, you need to combine strength, speed, and power training. This involves a combination of heavy and light exercises, with the goal of building enough power to move heavy weights quickly.
For the strength component, progressive overload with heavy compound exercises will provide the best results when it comes to speed and power. This involves moving your maximum force, but at a slow speed. For example, heavy strength training with low reps is suitable for fast-twitch athletes. However, slower-twitch athletes may benefit from single-set, higher-rep training, such as 1x15 or 1x20.
Speed training involves exercises completed at a high velocity, like sprints or agility drills, with or without resistance. To improve speed, keep your repetitions low and your velocity and intensity as high as possible, provided you can recover between sets.
Power training involves movements that produce a lot of force at moderate speeds, like plyometrics or ballistic movements. This can include resistance training, which involves performing traditional resistance training movements, such as squats and bench presses, at high velocity.
Research supports the idea that explosive (speed and strength) exercise builds athletic power, but it is more effective when combined with other types of training. For example, a periodized approach to training that targets strength training prior to power training will yield the best results when it comes to explosiveness.
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Focus on large muscle movements
To train for explosiveness, specificity is key. This means that you need to determine what sort of performance benefits you are looking for. For instance, if you want to improve your sprinting speed, you should train using quick sprint workouts. If you want to improve your explosive strength, you should focus on large muscle movements.
Large muscle movements are a type of explosive training exercise that uses multiple muscle groups and joints to generate force and power. These exercises involve compound movements that require the coordination of various body parts, such as the arms, legs, and core. By engaging multiple muscle groups simultaneously, large muscle movements can help build overall strength, power, and explosiveness.
Some examples of large muscle movements include squats, power cleans, deadlifts, and kettlebell swings. These exercises recruit a high number of motor units and muscle fibres, which are essential for developing power and explosiveness. For instance, the squat is a compound movement that works the legs, core, and back muscles simultaneously, making it a very effective exercise for building lower body strength and power.
Another example is the deadlift, which is a powerful exercise that targets multiple muscle groups in the back, legs, and core. Deadlifts help improve overall strength and power, as they require the recruitment of a large number of muscle fibres. Kettlebell swings are also an excellent choice, as they involve a powerful hip hinge movement that engages the entire body and improves explosiveness.
By focusing on these large muscle movements and compound exercises, you can effectively train for explosiveness and improve your athletic performance. It is important to gradually increase the intensity and weight of these exercises over time and to always ensure proper form to avoid injury.
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Incorporate ballistic resistance training
Ballistic resistance training is a highly effective method for improving an athlete's power output, and consequently, their speed and jump height. It involves performing traditional resistance training movements, such as squats and bench presses, at high velocity and with a full range of motion.
The key characteristic of ballistic training is the acceleration through the entire movement, rather than decelerating towards the end to bring the weight to a stop. This acceleration propels the athlete's body or an external object into a "flight phase". For example, in a bicep curl, instead of slowing down at the top of the movement, you would continue the momentum to thrust the weight upwards. This can be done with or without releasing the weight, as in the case of a medicine ball throw.
Other examples of ballistic exercises include Olympic lifts (snatch, clean and jerk), squat jumps (loaded or unloaded), and kettlebell swings. These exercises focus on accelerating the load, whether it's a barbell, dumbbell, kettlebell, medicine ball, or your own bodyweight.
To incorporate ballistic resistance training into your workouts, it is recommended to first build a solid foundation of strength through traditional resistance training. This lays the groundwork for developing explosive power. Once you have a good strength base, you can start implementing ballistic exercises into your routine.
It is important to note that ballistic training is not for beginners. It is an advanced training method that can be risky, especially if performed with heavy loads. It is crucial to ensure proper coaching and supervision to perform these exercises effectively and safely.
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Train for specificity
Training for specificity is a crucial aspect of explosive muscle training, especially for athletes. It involves tailoring your workouts to match your specific performance goals and the movement patterns of your sport.
For instance, if you're a sprinter, focus on exercises that train the muscles used in sprinting. This could include sprint workouts, sled sprints, or other speed-focused drills. If your sport involves a lot of jumping, incorporate exercises like squat jumps, depth jumps, or other plyometric training.
The principle of specificity also applies to the type of muscle fibres you want to target. For example, if you're a "slower-twitch" athlete, you may benefit from single-set, higher-rep training, like jump squats or trap bar deadlift jumps. On the other hand, if you're aiming for Olympic-level performance, you may need to include heavy lifting and traditional resistance training movements like squats and bench presses, performed at high velocity.
Additionally, consider the phase of your training program. If you're in the early stages, heavy strength training can help increase specific power. However, as you progress, you may need to incorporate more explosive exercises and focus on lifting fast to improve your rate of force development.
Remember, the key to training for specificity is to choose exercises that closely simulate the movements and demands of your sport or specific performance goals. This will help you maximize your explosive power and overall athletic performance.
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Frequently asked questions
Explosive muscles are those that can be activated quickly to generate force and power.
Explosive exercises include large muscle movements such as squats, power cleans, weighted or unweighted vertical jumps, heavy ball throws, or even hill sprinting.
To train for explosive strength, it is recommended to do one to six reps as fast as possible for two to five sets, with 30-90 seconds of rest in between. It is also important to incorporate both speed and power exercises into your training.
Explosive training can improve your nervous system's ability to activate muscle fibres, boost coordination, speed up reaction time, and help prevent injury. It can also be beneficial for sports performance and functional training.
Before performing explosive exercises, it is important to do a full-body warm-up of 5 to 10 minutes of general aerobics (e.g. cycling, rowing, walking, running) to warm up the joints and surrounding muscles.
