Strength Focused, Speed Focused ?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
1

1st of all i’d like to thank jumanji and jtrin for helping me with my training and for doing such a good work on the forums here giving people professional thoughts for free !

I have a better idea now about what i’m doing in the weightroom and I can start making my own routines…

So far i’ve been doing a regular WSB routine, ME Bench RE Bench ME Squat DE squat…

Now, I assume the regular WSB template is strength focused, with some speed work.
How do I make that routine POWER focused ?

Leg 1 :
REA Squat
Depth Jumps
jump squats

Leg 2:
FDA Squats
force drops
Squat 3x3

Correct ? any other thoughts …
CoolCoolJ, what u think ?

How do you know when to shift back to strength focused routine again ?

*btw don’t worry i still lift heavy weights while asking all those questions, just wondering what to do in the future when I need more power work.

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The longer I train, the more I question the distinction between strength, speed, and power. Specifically, I question whether these individual aspects can or should trained seperately. While I agree that if you move a weight explosively, you are working harder than if you move it slowly and you will get a better training effect by putting some heat on that thing. That said, the only way I have gotten faster with any given weight in a lift (whether it was 50, 60, 70% or my max)was when my max for the lift went up.

This is by observation and I’m inclined to believe my lying eyes. That said, I’m sure there are many articles and treatises by learned sports scientists and trainers that run counter to this.

3

this is my fav setup after a strength block, it has worked for me everytime.
You need keep strain and hypertrophy moves to a minimum if at all.

Session 1-
REA squats, jumpsquats and all these coupled with vertical jumps. Dropoff from the vertical jump. REA squats can be dropped off when the reversal speed slows. Quality comes first.

then 4-5 days later
Session 2 - do depth jumps x 3, RFI hops on/off a 6-12inch step (max reps in 10secs) and max effort 30m sprints.
When the quality of work declines stop everything. Sprints will dropoff on time. And when depth jumps start to feel bad, ie vibrations traveling through body, shin pain or plain fear :slight_smile:

after 4-5 days rest repeat

when your gains in the vertical jump and sprints tail off. You go back to a strength/hypertrophy block and build up some more raw material and repeat

The way it’s setup is for a reason. Movements with a greater force absorption component on session 1. Movements with greater velocity and power absorption component on sesison 2 - also more rate dominant movements

Make sure you do rest the full 4 days at least. Full recovery is very important for max speed and power display.

If you lose strength during this time, then too bad, it shouldn’t matter anyway. Only thing that counts is whether your jumping higher or running faster. You probably will lose strain ability as you obviously training things that are the total opposite to it, and these only improve optimally when your not lifting heavy weights and causing a lot of fatigue.

4

oh yeah it goes without saying you need to circuit rotate the movements with 3-4 mins rest bewteen each

or else you won’t be able to monitor fatigue too well

5

also jumpsquats use 10-15% of bodyweight and I don’t do more than 4 reps per set.
Since I always slow down after the 4th rep.

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Colin,

Good post, I think that’s really the TRUE nature of undulating periodization as authors have talked about. Not neccessarily the changes in rep range as people are always talking about, but alternating strength-speed with speed-strength and getting that wave-loading effect.

BTW, I really like the comment on not worrying about losing strength. I think too many athletes and strength coaches get caught up in the weight room numbers without realizing that they are essentially irrelevant, just means to an end. An athlete should ONLY be focused on the VJ (or a similar power indicator) and whether that is going up or down.

Hope the dogs aren’t keeping you up! Haha.

7

By rotation you mean
A
rest 4 min
B
repeat
?
so that I will have enough power left for both exercises ? cool.

What should be my lifts at 200lbs bodyweights before shifting to such a pure power routine ?
You know my VJ trin, so I guess right now I have some power, but what are good reasonable lifts when one wants to shift emphasis to power work.

where is your training log Colin ?
are you using EMS to maintain sterngth ?
How does your strength block look like.

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Jumanji,

Have you ever thought about writing a training philosophy ?
You could write one for the Nation.

9

[quote]Silencer23 wrote:
By rotation you mean
A
rest 4 min
B
repeat
?
so that I will have enough power left for both exercises ? cool.

What should be my lifts at 200lbs bodyweights before shifting to such a pure power routine ?
You know my VJ trin, so I guess right now I have some power, but what are good reasonable lifts when one wants to shift emphasis to power work.

where is your training log Colin ?
are you using EMS to maintain sterngth ?
How does your strength block look like.[/quote]

yeap - and it also acts as a waveloading - complexing boosting effect. You’ll have much more power and speed vs if you straight load.
Usually you won’t last more than 2-3 rotations through on the first time, but after a few sesison your work capacity will start to go up. Which means your body is adapting and gains are probably tailing off so time to switch it up

depends, if you have been doing strength work for a while, then its time to switch it.
maybe every 8-12 weeks of strength work to 3-4 weeks of power work. It all depends.

No EMS here, I don’t bother that stuff. Way too painful for me!
I just let my strength slide, and when you come back you make newbie gains anyway. The peak force is still there, if not higher from the power work, just that you can’t strain anymore. It comes back quick though, but you’ll be sore for a while…
And it’s not like your going months with just power work. No more than a 3-4 weeks for me.

Do a search for the DBhammer forum - my log is there :slight_smile:

right now I’m more focused on getting lean and fixing my upper body mobility and impingment issues, so my block is inline with that. I train 3 times a week, with a days rest between each, where I usually do a 12 min walk for active recovery.

Sunday - I do my circuit intervals, plus prehab and mobility work or BBall

Tuesday - is my heavy strength day, right now I’m do fullsquats with a pause in the middle of the move for sets of 3. And heavy RDLs for sets of 3. Then some prehab and upper body work
I change it up every training cycle.

Thursday or Friday - I run tempo sprints and submax intervals while also going for PRs on the run around the football field, about 310m. And also do some movement effeciency work in the warmups in the form of stiff legged sprints, hops and sideways/backward and pivot runs.

I also used to go to the gym 1.5 hours after the running to do a prehab circuit for my whole body.

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I thought its more how much strength u have rather than your strength block period…

11

SO
I just take absorbtion day and reavtive day and do the 2 workouts for a month. then I go back to strength right ?

I’m still weak as hell my vert is high though so i’m thinking what to do… go on with heavy deads or start explosive movements.

12

well if your still making gains, then keep doing what your doing
Your body craves what it needs the most.
As always gains dictate training emphasis. No progress, then change it up.

Also strength work doesn’t usually cause a gain, but think of it as stock piling raw material for a future power/reactive phase. Which in turn might help your strength and hypertophy gains too.

hypertrophy → strength —> power → repeat

I just assume you already have some strength base. If your already fullsquatting over 2xBW and RDL that all the way to floor for reps, and military pressing your bodyweight then you should be up in the 36+ inch standing vertical jump area if your movement effeciency, speed, reacticty and power are up to par and your bodyfat in the 10% or less range me thinks.
if not then you know what to do :slight_smile:

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[quote]CoolColJ wrote:
well if your still making gains, then keep doing what your doing
Your body craves what it needs the most.
As always gains dictate training emphasis. No progress, then change it up.

Also strength work doesn’t usually cause a gain, but think of it as stock piling raw material for a future power/reactive phase. Which in turn might help your strength and hypertophy gains too.

hypertrophy → strength —> power → repeat

I just assume you already have some strength base. If your already fullsquatting over 2xBW and RDL that all the way to floor for reps, and military pressing your bodyweight then you should be up in the 36+ inch standing vertical jump area if your movement effeciency, speed, reacticty and power are up to par and your bodyfat in the 10% or less range me thinks.
if not then you know what to do :slight_smile:
[/quote]

Lol 1st of all i’m 200lbs and my full squat 1RM is 270lbs, my 3rm is 210lbs.

Deadlift- I deadlift 340lbs for 3 reps.

Vertical- High enough to win dunk contests at 6’3". (over 40 running- i cant jump standing… its like 3")

I need bigger engine huh … lol

14

CoolColJ…looking at your routine with the jumpsquats, and depth jumps twice a week and all…and you said that you may lose some sntrength and all. Why not maintain the strength you have WHILE doing those exercises so you get the best of both worls. simply by just doing 3x3?

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bigger engine would help, but also more practise too :slight_smile:

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[quote]dl- wrote:
CoolColJ…looking at your routine with the jumpsquats, and depth jumps twice a week and all…and you said that you may lose some sntrength and all. Why not maintain the strength you have WHILE doing those exercises so you get the best of both worls. simply by just doing 3x3?

[/quote]

each exercise is only done once every 8-10 days. 4-5 days between sessions. Lowish frequency, lower relative volume and high speed/high intensity. What does that say?
That’s a perfect environment for “fast Twitching” your CNS and msucles!

So why would you then lift some heavy slow stuff and make your CNS and muscles adapt to that?
And then having all this fatigue and stiffness from that floating around when you want to be loose, snappy supple and reflexive?

When your going for all out PRs in power and speed, you have to create the perfect enviornment for it.