Some athletes focus their workouts on building lean muscle mass. This is because they are concerned with the aesthetic appearance they present and as such, their workouts are spent trying to get larger.
But, what if getting larger is the second goal you have? What if your primary focus is on gaining more strength and power?
For some people, this is precisely the case. Rather than building the biggest body they can, they’re more concerned with simply getting strong. If they aren’t the largest guy on the block, no big deal but when push comes to shove and they’re put to a test of physical strength, that’s where they want to really shine. This is where a Power Building Workout Program comes in.
There’s not as much information out there about strength and power development as building muscle as it does tend to be a lesser common priority. While you will typically almost always gain some strength if you also gain muscle, the two are not completely exclusive with each other.
It is possible to build muscle without getting all that much stronger and likewise, it is possible to gain strength without much body weight gain.
You can decide which avenue you want to go down, but let’s take a closer look right now on the requirements for a power and strength building workout program
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Exercise Selection
First, you must choose the right exercises if you’re going to have maximum success with your strength building workout. This means focusing on moves that allow you to push the most weight possible. The more weight you can lift, the more power you build and the faster you see progress.
This means compound moves such as squats, bench press, deadlifts, and rows. Don’t pay too much attention to all the isolated work such as bicep curls, tricep extensions, or lateral raises. These won’t do a whole lot to build power unless you’re using them as a pre-fatigue set-up to help get past a sticking point on one of the more major lifts.
Keep your routine simple, using 3-4 compound moves and simply focusing on adding more weight to the bar over time.
Weight Choice
Next, you also should be thinking about your weight choice since strength is a function of how much weight you can lift. Try and hit the rep range of around 5-8 reps for optimal power development.
This is the range that is going to best allow you to see strength gains and train your central nervous system to really put out maximum force to hoist the weight up.
You can consider going down closer to the 3-4 rep range mark at times if you wish, but generally speaking, you will see best results at 5-8 reps if you are hoping to increase your one rep max over time.
If you like, once every two to three weeks, do a weekly workout schedule using the lower rep range of 3-4 reps for many lifts and see how your strength level is doing. At this point, you should notice that you are making progress in weight lifted if you’ve been training hard.
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Tempo Patterns
You also should be considering your tempo patterns. While strength is simply a function of how much weight you can lift period, power is a function of how much weight you can lift over a given period of time, as was noted in a study published in the journal of Strength And Conditioning.
Power generation improvements will be important for anyone involved in sporting activities as it can help to make you a better athlete.
For power improvement, you’ll want to use a shorter tempo pattern on the concentric phase of the movement and a slower tempo pattern on the eccentric phase. Aim for a ratio of 1:3 or 2:4.
Rest
Finally, last but not least, make sure you get sufficient rest. Strength and power training is going to be more taxing overall on the central nervous system so if you aren’t giving your body the deep rest it needs, you won’t be seeing strength or power improvements.
Rest is vital to success, so try using a day on/day off set-up as much as you can.
So there you have your quick tips for building a workout routine that will deliver you exceptional strength and power generation results.
