Improving Athletic Power

By Alan Stein, co-owner of Elite Athlete Training Systems (E.A.T.S.) and made simple by Coach Reggie

Power = (Force X Distance)
Time

Power = "rate at which work is performed” (“Increase strength = increase force”)

Goal: Increase force and distance, but decrease the time.

For example,

Power = (Running X 1 Mile)
                15 minutes

        Sometime later…

Power = (Sprinting X 1.5 Miles)

                10 minutes

1. Increase strength (utilizing the guidelines and principles of the Individual Workout)
2. Increase flexibility (using full range of motion exercises and a stretching program)
3. Increase skill proficiency (spending countless hours practicing specific skill work)
4. Increase conditioning level (increasing speed, agility, and endurance)

Power is an important ingredient in a wide variety of sports skills. Making a tackle, hitting a homerun, shooting a penalty shot, driving a golf ball, serving an ace, sprinting 100 meters, and dunking a basketball are just some of the rather obvious examples of sports skills that utilize power. Because of this, coaches and athletes are constantly in search of ways to improve athletic power. Important reminder: Don’t compare your times or abilities with someone else’s, everyone is different. Set goals for yourself, they should not be the same as someone else’s.

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Questions for practice discussion:

What should you be increasing while you condition and work out?

What should you be working on decreasing while you condition and work out?

Who should you be comparing your times to: Your other times, or someone else’s?