Lift Fast or Just Sprint?
- Max Brower
- Apr 2
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 7
Why Train Fast?
It can be argued that improving maximal strength is beneficial for all athletes in some way. However, moving as much weight as possible on a barbell lift may not be an optimal strategy when considering factors such as: training age, time of the year and sport/positional demands. Maximal force takes about ~.3-.4 seconds to express, while the majority of sporting movements occur in <.25 seconds. Therefore, coaches aim for their athletes to express strength in time zones applicable to their sport.
"Middle Zone" of the F-V Curve
It is important to note that nothing develops rate of force development (RFD) like full speed sprinting and unweighted jumping/plyometrics. I've therefore heard the argument that the weight room should be used to develop maximal force production capabilities and the field/court should be used to cover the velocity side of the equation. I do not disagree, as it does not make much sense to add external load to improve velocity of movement. In fact, I believe a great deal of training should be done outside of the rack for field/court athletes. Nothing develops strength better than heavy lifting and nothing develops speed better than maximal sprinting. Therefore, velocity focused lifting is the "middle zone", as it does not stress either tail end of the force-velocity curve. However, not all movements done in sport are done at the far ends of the force-velocity curve. Think the first 3 steps of acceleration, or an o-lineman exploding off the ball. This is where qualities such as "speed-strength" and "strength speed" come into play. I am not going to get into these "strength qualities", as I believe it can get unnecessarily confusing and misses the point. I see velocity based lifting as a way to emphasize speed of movement as opposed to the amount of weight lifted. Regardless of the intricacies of the specific velocity zones (speed-strength, strength-speed), the intent to move as fast as possible poses neural benefits. It is also important to note that sprint and plyometric training is limited by frequency. Due to the high impact forces along with the high central nervous system demand that goes with it, the body can only handle 2-3 of these sessions per week. Outside stressors, sport scheudles, and life schedules limit these exposures even further. Therefore, training with fast bar speeds in the weight room allows us to further stress the system to produce high amounts of force in short amounts of time, without further draining the nervous system.
Velocity Specific Adaptations
Displaying explosiveness in sport requires a rapid build up of force, reduced antagonist co-activation, and synchronization (coordination). It is possible the intent to move as fast as possible elicits adaptations favoring speed of movement by enhancing neural drive. Let's take a look at some research regarding this.
This study compared the short term effects of maximal (MST) strength training and explosive (EST) strength training, assessing the training program's effect on maximal and explosive force production, as well as the underpinning neural adaptations. The MST group was instructed to contract up to 75% maximal voluntary force (MVF) and hold for 3 seconds, while the EST group was instructed to contract as hard and fast as possible for ~1 second. All subjects performed isometric knee extensions. The MST group improved MVF to a greater degree, while the EST group showed greater improvements in early rate of force development, defined by force production in the initial 100ms. It is important to note that the EST group was verbally instructed to "contract as hard and fast as possible", while the MST group was not given these instructions. The authors suggested that force production in the first 100ms of movement is underpinned by neurological factors as opposed to muscular factors.
This study further displays the importance of the intent to contract as fast as possible when targeting neural adaptations.
When comparing performance test improvements between a velocity feedback group and non-feedback group, the authors found the feedback group to improve to a greater degree in the vertical jump, broad jump, 10m, 20m, and 30m sprint in professional rugby players. It is suggested that the external feedback provided by VBT can enhance this neural drive by providing explosive intent, maximizing these velocity-specific adaptations.
Being an explosive athlete begins in the nervous system. The brain must send impluses to the muscles at a high speed. Emphasizing speed of movement for compound lifts can improve the neural drive necessary to display high speed of movement. I am not saying you should ditch heavy lifting, as maximal force production sets the ceiling for explosive force production. However, the SAID principle tells us our body systems adapt to the demands placed on it. Velocity focused lifting is a way to add volume to the explosive stimulus placed on our nervous system.
Movements to Use
To elicit explosive strength adaptations in the weight room, the movements chosen must produce high amounts of force in short periods of time. Movements that allow this are stable, ballistic, and executed with great intent. Examples include olympic lifts and their derivatives, weighted jumps, and dynamic effort lifting. It is important to note that power is the product of force and velocity. Velocity is displacement/time. So, movements that take the center of mass through large displacement in a short amount of time with load produce high power outputs.
I like to organize them by movement pattern. When wanting to apply a power stimulus, simply chose the ballistic variation of the main movement pattern. This is a good way to organize your exercise library.
Movement Pattern | Ballistic Variation |
Squat | Loaded Jump |
Deadlift | Clean Pull, Power Clean |
Horizontal Press | Bench Press Throw, Med Ball Chest Pass |
Horizontal Pull | Pendlay row |
Vertical Press | Push Press, Jerk |
Breaking your explosive movements up by movement pattern allows for a whole session to be performed with an explosive theme. If the goal is to improve power/explosive strength, the message sent to the body needs to be clear, training multiple qualities in one day weakens the desired message.
Ex:
1a. Barbell Jump
2a. Power Clean
3a. Push Press
4a. Pendlay Row
When to Use It?
Velocity focused lifting comes into play for athletes in-season, as well as for advanced athletes.
In season, it can be valuable to provide a strength stimulus while limiting time under tension. The longer a muscle is under tension, the longer the fatigue effect following the session. Therefore, emphasizing velocity allows us to avoid soreness, while still building strength due to compensatory acceleration training (CAT). CAT refers to accelerating the bar as fast as possible through the concentric portion of the lift. As we know, force=mass x acceleration; So, accelerating the bar as fast as possible allows us to compensate for lesser external load via high acceleration.
For more advanced athletes, velocity-focused lifting is a way to further concentrate a speed/power stimulus. The more adapted an athlete is to a certain method of training, the more potent the stimulus needs to be to further drive adaptation. Placing various stresses on an advanced athlete pulls the organism in multiple directions, dampening the adaptation for each quality. Therefore, in addition to unweighted sprint and jump work, velocity based lifting is a way to further stress the nervous system to build up force rapidly.
Conclusions
Many sports require athletes to produce high amounts of force in short amounts of time. The most explosive athletes have a very powerful and efficient nervous system. This means they can send a signal from the brain to the muscles at a very fast rate. I agree that to improve the velocity at the end of the equation, athletes should not be weighed down by an external load. However, lifting with a velocity emphasis can further stress the body to enhance this neural drive, while taking advantage of lesser time under tension. Explosive lifting also poises unique neural benefits that do not come from heavy, slow lifting.
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