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Why You Should Train Explosively
December 14, 09
A staple in any athlete’s program is explosive power training. Through the use of plyometrics and olympic lifts, athletes reach incredible fitness potentials that allow them to perform at their highest ability when the lights go on and competition starts. Let’s face it, you’re no Adrian Peterson or Lebron James. Despite your specific need for explosive training, as is the case with athletes, there are several reasons why you should train explosively.
Explosive training requires the body to rapidly recruit powerful type II muscle fibers, which are prone to growth when overloaded. If you have been doing the standard three sets of ten reps for years, throwing in an exercise that includes one to three sets of five to ten explosive reps will demand your body to recruit muscles in a way it has never been required. This new stimulation to the type II fibers can elicit gains in size as the muscles are required to adapt to the new stress of explosive training. These adaptations have not only proven to be beneficial for gaining muscle, getting faster and weekend warrior performance, but endurance athletes also increase their ability to produce power in short amounts of time!
The rapid loading of the body also incurs some beneficial neurological adaptations including increasing the rate at which the nervous system communicates with the muscles. Because neuromuscular coordination and neural conduction speed reduce with age, explosive training holds some benefits for active adults and the aging population. Some research has suggested the intention to move quickly can result in similar adaptations as actually performing highly explosive movements. This means that you don’t have to jump as high or medicine ball pass the ball as forcefully as an athlete, but simply asking your body to recruit muscles to your highest abilities will result in similar adaptations.
Due to the explosive nature of these movements, load or weight should be relatively light to what you would lift with traditional exercises. For beginners I would recommend incorporating explosive training no more than twice a week on non-consecutive days, with the total reps not surpassing forty. Be sure to correctly learn how to perform explosive movements under the supervision of a certified personal trainer or strength coach who has an educational background in sports or performance training.
References: Journal of Applied Physiology
Jeff Bomberger
Certified Personal Trainer and USA Weightlifting Sports Performance Coach out of Jordan's Virtual Fit Club. NSCA, NASM and USA Weightlifting Certified Personal Trainer, Performance Enhancement Specialist, Corrective Exercise Specialist and Certified Sports Performance Coach.
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