Although most people in the gym want to increase the size of their muscles, some are looking to increase strength and power. The jacked look is great but not everyone loves it and if you are one of those who prefer to increase power and strength through their workouts here are a few tips on how to do that.
Heavy Lifts
Lifting heavier than usual is the first step to increase your strength. You need to change your workout routine to lifting around 90% weight of the maximum you can lift at the moment. When you lift those heavy weights, you are activating the high-threshold motor units that have the highest potential to increase power and strength. However, because you do heavy lifts, you will get tired very fast, so you’ll be able to do fewer reps. You’ll also fatigue your muscles very quickly which may injure your joints which is why these exercises are best done with a partner.
Explosive Repetitions
Explosive repetitions also known as speed lifts are also great to increase strength and power. They should be done with about 60% of the maximum weight you can lift once and the repetitions should be done as fast as possible. You can also use resistance bands and chains to increase the resistance you have to work through to do the exercise.
Decrease the volume
Instead of the well-known bodybuilding routine for increasing muscle size, you should decrease the number of sets you do. The usual routine would be 5 sets consisting of 5 repetitions but to increase power and strength you should do 2-3 sets maximum. This way your muscles won’t grow as much in size but they will have improvements in strength.
Incorporate plyometrics training
Plyometrics training is a type of training that incorporates jumping and hopping exercises. These exercises can be very effective and help you increase strength and power especially if done with a weight vest on you. Most of these exercises are developing the stretch-shortening cycle which is the part of our body that uses stored elastic energy which can create much stronger and more powerful contractions.
Do various drills and sprints
Sprinting and various sprinting drills can improve your running strength and power. Sprinting up a hill is a particularly effective way to increase your power and become faster but multi-directional drills where you have to speed up and slow down to change directions often are also great and will help you increase running power.
Incorporate contrast training
Contrast training is another way you can increase strength. It’s a combination of plyometric training and heavy strength training. The idea is that you do a heavy strength exercise like a back squat for 5 repetitions and once you are done with that one and take a break between 3-10 minutes you do tuck jumps. If you had enough break between the two, your tuck jumps should be higher than what they normally are.
Take longer breaks
Instead of the usual 30 seconds to 1-minute break, you should take longer breaks when training to increase strength. After all, you are working with much heavier loads and equipment so your body needs more time to recover between sets. If you push yourself too hard and do not take long breaks you won’t be able to keep up your mental strength and focus.
Focus on your weaker points
All of the athletes around the world have their weak points. Or at least a weaker point on their body. Focusing on developing these points will ensure you don’t have any muscle imbalances and by strengthening these muscles you are increasing your overall strength and power. When these points become stronger you will be able to use them with maximum efficiency which will allow you to generate more power.
Simple is better
Instead of doing some super complicated exercise that requires you to keep your balance while holding a squat with weights on you, focus on simpler exercises that still challenge you and make sure you are doing them with proper form.
Avoid static stretching
Dynamic stretching is a much better warm-up before working out because some studies have shown that static stretching can decrease your strength and power production. Static stretching is much better if it comes after the workout especially if you are going to do a routine to increase strength and power.
