Strength vs Power!! Setting it straight.

Strength vs Power, what's the difference and are they related and if how so? These two concepts must be understood in order to determine the correct training agenda. I have seen many routines from athletes in all categories fail because of the lack of proper application of strength and power principals/exercises.

Before we get into discussion we must first understand what is the difference between the two factors. Strength is a principal based of of STRESS/load over and AREA (in this case muscle group). Basically saying how much tension the muscle can withstand before it fails. Power in the other hand is a principal based off of MASS X ACCELERATION. These two different concepts can be best seen by viewing the FORCE / VELOCITY CURVE in understanding the relationships.

What you want to notice is the VERTICAL axis is the force/stress applied to the muscle and the HORIZONTAL axis is the velocity/speed of the movement. Next note the VERTICAL BLUE LINE down the middle of the graph this represents the point of ZERO velocity/speed.

Ok now lets break this down and get down to business :)~ For all you out there looking to build true muscular strength you must see that you need a large amount of force/stress applied to the muscle as you can see on the far left BUT look how it is past the ZERO VELOCITY mark and in the NEGATIVE. This is utilizing the eccentric forces (muscle lengthening aka lowering phase), you body can handle most force in this phase and will respond greatest fully using the eccentric contraction in a fully loaded state. By the law presented the force is highest and the velocity is far in the negative so by the rules you will see most strength gains through this.

but remember this is the extreme end of the spectrum so you want to be careful on how many sets you perform with eccentric movements because their intense. As you make your way across you will see you will enter isometric contraction which is ZERO movement a simple hold of stress and further right into concentric movements. The KICKER here is and which SEPARATES STRENGTH AND POWER is right here, as you put less force against your muscle and the faster you can move because of it will now start working in the POWER realm.

POWER IS MASS X ACCELERATION so speed of movement is a HUGE FACTOR. By taking another look at the CURVE you will see as force decreases your velocity will increase and you will see faster movements created because of the lesser load slowing you down. This is the whole basis behind power, how fast and explosive you can move a weight.

IN CONCLUSION dont get caught up thinking because you are getting stronger you will be more powerful and vice versa. Strength is associated with stress and tension put on the muscle overall and Power is with speed of movement. This is why periodization of your workouts are so important so you can take time focusing on each major subject without having to cram them all in together which can inhibit results. So OBEY THE CURVE AND YOU WILL MAKE TRUE RESULTS WITH STRENGTH OR POWER.