The Power Principle…
by: Brandon Richey
The Power Principle…
There is no doubt that POWER is an attention getter when it comes to both fitness and athletic performance. In fact, I remember the first time I witnessed Bill Goldberg (pictured above) launch his famous finishing move in a wrasslin match when I was a teenager and thinking to myself “Now that was some serious power!” Yes, I’m talking about power and a little wrasslin so keep on reading.
The Power Principle…
Yes, it doesn’t take a strength coach to recognize a powerful athletic move when you see it whether it’s in the weight room, on the field of play, or in the ring. No matter the athlete or fitness junkie in my opinion POWER should be a primary focus of any serious physical athlete. By the way here’s a little highlight of some wrasslin power moves by Goldberg that I mentioned earlier.
Now do you see what I mean when I say POWER? You see power is defined as the rate at which work is done.
Power=Work/Time
As you could see in the video Goldberg was dishing out a lot of work. The key to developing power means that you absolutely want to develop overall strength, but you also want to develop an element of speed as well to increase the rate of force production in order to develop that important physical trait of power. I decided to talk about this in greater detail here.
So you absolutely want to be able to develop that neural drive in order to produce force in a rapid manner. I mean if all you did was bench press heavy weight you would be able to produce a reasonable amount of neural drive for the act of pressing, but you would still not have the same dynamic quality of a bencher that incorporated an element of speed lifts, or upper body plyometrics into his/her program.
Another obvious tool for helping you to create that neural drive!
In addition to this if pure all out strength development were the answer to athletic performance and fitness then every competing athlete would just be a powerlifter. The point I’m trying to make here is that in order to be fit and strong for life and competition you want to have a more hybrid approach to your training.
Look everybody wants to be strong and to be able to lift a shit load of weight. Trust me, I love this too and there is nothing wrong with this at all, but a trainee has got to be able to move as well. Obtaining functional movement with speed and grace along with being able to lift a shit load of weight is a tremendous combination to have if you are looking to be fit for life and sport.
My 5 Step Hybrid Athlete Formula For Optimal Power Progression…
The cool thing is that I have a simple formula that I have followed and applied to many of my students over the years when trying to get them into optimal competing shape. Now obviously there are different circumstances that may apply to any given athlete or fitness enthusiast depending on a number of factors such as time, equipment, demand, and skill.
This formula is basically a simple breakdown of the needs that must be met with a hybrid athlete in order to have them ready for competition. Even though I apply these principles to many of my athletes I also apply them to many fitness enthusiast as well. This formula is great for performance and power development, but it’ll chisel the hell out some muscle too! Check it out.
The 5 Step Hybrid Athlete Power Formula:
1. Lift Heavy Weight
2. Lift Weights With Speed
3. Include Upper And Lower Body Plyometrics
4. Include Dynamic Core Stability/Mobility (Sandbag, Medicine Ball Throws, Slams, Push Ups, etc.)
5. Include Speed And Agility Development
The bottom line is that if these 5 steps are met with a logical and sound progression with most any athlete then that athlete will develop some serious power and overall function for performance. If you’re looking for some GO muscle then you just found it my friend.
Some bodyweight strategies to help you with #4 on the list of my Hybrid Athlete Power Formula!
As a strength coach I always strive to try and keep things simple and logical. The truth is that there are tons of programs out there on the internet that involve all kinds of ways to stress the body, but many of them to me don’t have a sound logical progression to them. I mean don’t get me wrong there are some good ones, but there is a ton of junk out there as well.
The point is that I’ve always made it my goal to try and add as much value and logic to a program as I possibly can. I mean what is the point of trying to follow something if you don’t understand it, right? Try to apply these 5 steps to your own program and let me know how it goes. Let me hear about yours by making sure you post up your questions and comments in the box below this article.
Oh and by the way I also recently updated my Kettlebell Power And Speed Formula ebook (another program for hybrid power performance) page by adding in a ton of FREE gifts that you’ll receive after purchase including 30 Days Of FREE coaching by me! If you are looking for a step by step method for adding some power to your program along with chiseling out some muscle then make sure you get yourself a copy today. Remember that most anyone can train hard, but only the best train smart my friend.
Related Articles:
Your Power Center: How To Build A Strong Core!
The Power Principle…
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Yet another in a long line of informative, bang on point minus all the hype, article. The 5 elements you noted represent a direct path to real power … functional strength. I’ve seen heavy weight Power Lifters that couldn’t sprint across the parking lot to save their own life. They fricking “waddled” when simply walking and I’ll be damned if that holds any appeal for me.
You mentioned wrasslers, back in the day (I know, I know) I use to Kick Box at Hess’ school in the suburbs of Ft. Laud. and there was a Pro Wrestling School right next door. From time to time some of us would go over there and mess around a bit. What people fail to realize is just how damned athletic those guys tend to be. Their school was equipped with about everything you would find in a gymnastics school and they spent a lot of time tumbling and flipping.
The other thing is a lot of those guys are HUGE. I’m 5’11” at about 220 pounds and I looked like a little kid standing next to some of those dudes. There was also a large pile of ugly, heavy iron that they waded into with regularity. All in all, just big, strong, people who possessed real athleticism. … and lots of facial scar tissue as well I might add.
Even though the good ones are experts at masking their cooperation in a lot of the sensational power moves it still takes a hell of a lot of power to manipulate another body and the ones who made it to the “Big Show” do it some 300 plus times per year … brutal.
Great article again, my friend, and the 5 elements you noted are definite take-aways for anyone interested in their work out efforts producing more than a double look body come beach time.
Wow Doc, you’ve got some great stories. Yes, I grew up loving wrestling (or wrasslin) and you’re right these guys are tremendous athletes and built like a bunch of tanks too!
I know several of them that displayed overwhelming athleticism such as The Rock, The Ultimate Warrior, Ric Flair, Sting, etc. However, I think Bill Goldberg might have been the most explosive and strongest of them all. He played football for my alma mater UGA and was hell on the field even way back then.
There is no doubt he had pretty much mastered the Power Principle.
To your point too I have followed this 5 step formula and applied it to both myself and my students for the past 12 years. It’s a tried and tested method that delivers every time.
I thought you might like this one. Oh and by the way Doc, I stand at about 6′ and weigh about 195 right now. I can get up over 200, but I like to stay lean. Since you got me by about 20 lbs. I might have to start in on some GVT to catch up on some extra mass. 🙂 Thanks again Doc!
I’m working to strip down to 210 and will meet you there. I have no need for the mass I’m currently carrying and at 210 I feel light and strong. Time for me to let go of some beach muscle and go with feel.
That sounds like a plan! By the way I’m working on some more of those workouts. I’ve posted one titled “The Gambler.” The next one is a work in progress. Just going with the flow sounds good to me Doc and I think I might stay around 195 for now.