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Hello and welcome to the program.
Today we'll explain how to train to improve power.
The focus is on developing speed-strength because tennis is a power-dominant sport and
hence knowing how to develop power becomes a necessity for any coach or player.
You will learn about:
1. What it means to be a powerful athlete
2. What power training is
3. How to develop power
4. What strength is
5. Why developing strength for power makes sense
So what is power?
Power, which can be expressed as (force x distance]/time), is commonly referred to as
speed-strength and is the factor behind performing work in a quick (short) period of time.
In other words, power is the time rate of work (work/time).
Being a powerful athlete means being able to exert force in order to handle the resistance
of one's own body weight to performing explosive movements in a coordinated and athletic manner.
High power enables the athlete to hit powerful ground strokes, perform a strong serve, change
directions quickly, dive and return serves effectively, perform vertical and lateral
jumps and accelerate about the court in an efficient manner
So what is power training?
Speed-strength (power) training revolves around developing the body's synchronized activation
of motor neurons and fast-twitch muscle fibers.
This means that power exercises train the nervous system to collaborate effectively
with the muscular system.
To describe it simply, potential energy developed in power exercises is converted to enhance
the speed with which an athlete can perform work or an athletic movement.
Ok, so how can one develop power effectively?
There are two prominent avenues for improving power.
On the one hand, the athlete performs high resistance power training exercises in the
gym;
this relates to strength for power (strength-power) and power exercises introduced in chapter
6 of "Advanced Concepts of Strength & Conditioning for Tennis".
On the other hand, the athlete does speed-strength (power) conditioning drills on the court,
which can be thought of as low resistance power training exercises and chapter 7 provides
a great variety of exercises one can use.
It is important to point out that the strength/power resistance training exercises must complement
the speed-strength conditioning exercises to achieve optimal results.
In other words, weightlifting in the gym and conditioning on the court go hand in hand.
Whether the athlete focuses on the weight lifting or conditioning depends on the overall
training emphasis and whether the athlete is in competition or not.
Generally, when the athlete is in or close to competition, the training emphasis should
be on conditioning.
Also, the athlete should have corrected any speed economy deficiencies, such as muscular
imbalances, before focusing on the various speed-strength conditioning exercises.
Doing so ensures effective speed-strength conditioning training since less resistive
forces are working against the athlete's effort.
According to Newton's 2nd law of motion, force (F) can be expressed as mass (m) of an object
x acceleration (a) of the object; F = m x a.
Generally, if a force acts upon an object and causes the displacement of the object,
work occurred upon the object.
In other words, in order for a force to qualify as having done work on an object, the force
must cause its displacement.
Also, the force must be applied in the same direction as the displacement to be considered
positive work;
a vertical force cannot cause a horizontal displacement.
This is referred to as strength with respect to exercise.
For example, during bench pressing the athlete lies flat on a bench and applies force vertically
to move the bar off the chest.
Once the bar moves vertically, work is being done to move the bar.
If the bar doesn't move then no work is being done!
In other words, work (W) can be expressed as force (F) x displacement (d); W = F ∙ d.
With respect to exercise, strength is the equivalent to physical work, since strength (S) is defined as force x distance;
S = F x d, which = m ∙ a ∙ d.
Since power is the time rate of work ([force ∙ distance]/time), and work (force ∙ distance)
is the equivalent to strength, then maximizing the athlete's force output will also cause
maximum power output, which is why strength training precedes power training!
In order to maximize the athlete's strength (S = m ∙ a ∙ d), force output (F = m ∙ a)
must be maximized, which means that the resistance (m) should increase while the velocity of
the movement (a) decreases and the distance (d) remains the same.
Slower velocity with heavier resistance leads to greater muscle fiber recruitment.
Also, stabilization properties are going to improve due to the prolonged motor unit control
mechanism.
I need you to listen carefully because this is important.
It is important to understand that absolute muscular strength development is not the goal.
Instead, the focus must be on maximizing body mass adjusted muscular strength because it
is highly related to peak performance.
This means that the athlete must be strong for his/her size.
While playing tennis the athlete needs to control the body (weight) during stroke production,
which means controlling dynamic stability while applying force and moving in different
directions.
If a tennis player is trained like a body builder, the athlete will become too heavy
due to too much muscle mass, which decreases his/her ability to change direction (center
of mass) effectively.
In other words, if the athlete is too big they don't have the ability to move as fluently
as they need to.
During power training (P = [force ∙ distance/time] = F ∙ a), the speed at which work can be
performed is going to be maximized, which means high movement velocity.
High velocities reduce overall force output due to muscle fiber recruitment limitations
but also neural control mechanisms are reduced as well because there is no time to think
during
the action.