Many years ago, weight training was not well accepted as a means of conditioning for sports. Coaches seemed to be aware that weight training could help people improve in terms of muscle mass and strength, but they believed that it would hinder athletic abilities such as speed and flexibility. Perhaps this idea came from athletes who were big and strong, but they didn’t move well and lacked speed, quickness, and skill. This does not have to be the case.
The Way You Train Makes a Difference
The way you train can make a huge difference in athletic performance. There may be some bodybuilders and powerlifters who care nothing about speed or quickness. Their only quest is to get bigger and stronger, and their training is devoid of anything that resembles speed, quickness, and explosive power. Slow training has the potential to produce slow athletes. If an athlete is loaded with fast twitch muscle fibers and has a high degree of natural speed and quickness, it is doubtful that slow training will cause them to become a lumbering klutz who loses all of their inborn speed. However, their speed and quickness may not be enhanced by slow reps and slow training. On the other hand, fast explosive training with weights can definitely enhance speed, force, and explosive power.
Seeing is Believing
While powerlifters and bodybuilders can get by with slow reps, Olympic lifters can’t. Explosive power is the name of the game when it comes to the clean and jerk, and snatch. It is not unusual for Olympic lifters to have fantastic jumping ability. To illustrate this point, take a few moments and watch the following videos of these world class Olympic lifters.
Ilya Ilyin
Sa Jae Hyouk
Korean Weightlifters
Joey Persia Westside Barbell
Train in Short Bursts
If you want the benefit of explosive power, then use it in your training. Explosive cleans, explosive deadlifts, and explosive squats of all kinds will all help you improve in the area of jumping and developing explosive power in your lifts. The athletes who successfully develop this are not trying to see how many reps they can do, nor are they trying to annihilate their quads during a leg training session, rather they are doing one to three explosive reps at a time. If you are a coach, and are telling your athletes to hold a deep knee bend position until they are screaming and crying because of the pain, and you are trying to make men out of your athletes by seeing how much they can endure before they drop, you won’t be training them for explosive power, you’ll simply be abusing your athletes. Avoid fatigue when training for explosive power, and train in brief bursts. Best of training to you.