Muscular power is associated with the strength and speed of a movement.
The notion of muscular power refers to the force that a person can apply with a movement and the speed with which said application is carried out. It is, therefore, the ability of an individual to exert force quickly.
Another way to understand the concept of muscular power is as the application of maximum force in the shortest possible time . In certain sports , the result of muscle power can be measured through a distance.
Take the case of javelin throwing , a discipline that is part of athletics . The thrower has to overcome a load (the weight of the javelin) and, through one movement, throw it as far as he can. The competitor who manages to throw the javelin the furthest becomes the winner (and the athlete who demonstrates greater muscle power).
Acceleration and overcoming resistance
Muscular power, in short, is the ability of an individual to develop great acceleration and overcome a certain resistance . The greater the resistance to overcome, the greater the muscular power required.
It is important to note that muscle power needs are not the same for all athletes. A soccer player, for example, needs a different kind of muscle power than a weightlifter. While some sports seek to maximize the athlete's strength, in others they choose to increase their speed .
This reveals, on the other hand, that muscular power can be exercised in different ways. The physical exercises to be performed depend on the interests of the person and the qualities they intend to perfect in their performance, but the most important thing is to look for those that require explosive execution.
Importance of muscle power in sports
In any case, training and improving muscle power makes a favorable difference in practicing a sport . For example, if a basketball player is able to jump higher and faster than his opponents, it is likely that he will be able to win the majority of the defensive and offensive rebounds, in addition to giving his team a greater number of possessions, which is translates into more shooting opportunities and therefore more chances of winning.
There are different exercises to increase muscle power. All of them must be programmed at the beginning of each training session, just as is done with maximum strength training; The more relaxed and rested we are, the more we can take advantage of them.
It is possible to exercise muscle power in different ways.
Types of exercises
Broadly speaking, we distinguish two large groups of exercises :
Plyometrics
They are based on the transition from the eccentric phase to the concetric phase, performed at high speed with exercises in which the alactic anaerobic metabolism intervenes and stretch-shortening cycles (CEA) are used. Muscular power can be increased considerably with plyometrics exercises, thanks to the increase in elastic force obtained from short and fast actions.
The most used type of exercise in this category is called multi-jumps , and it can be combined in several ways: obstacle jumping, rope jumping, etc. Likewise, it is possible to use jumps from different heights that are followed by a second jump after the fall.
Isokinetics
These exercises aimed at improving muscle power are based on executing a specific movement at a constant speed. Although the devices commonly found in gyms are not specific for this type of training, many of them can be adapted without problem; For the lower body, for example, it is recommended to combine a guided squat, quadriceps extensor and bench press.
It is worth mentioning that decreasing the load progressively without altering the speed of an exercise helps improve the coordination of muscle fibers with the nervous system , both for the lower and upper segments.