Power Training - Speed and Weight

Power Training is nothing new.

Soldiers have been doing it for decades.

I will give you an example. Carry a 50 lb backpack uphill at a run. Soldiers do that regularly - see the speed marching training the British marines did during WWII in the documentary "The Greatest Raid of All".

But you probably are not a soldier.

But that doesn't mean you can't use similar training exercises to give yourself more speed and strength.

That is the whole purpose of Power Training - to quickly get from one place to another, often while carrying, pushing, pulling a lot of weight with you. Or sometimes not even weight, but using something to make it harder resistance wise.

Ever bicycled into the wind on a windy day? Very hard, isn't it?

But it is a really good workout because you are pushing your muscles harder than you normally would while cycling - unless you are fan of cycling uphill, in which case keep doing that!

The kind of people who take part in Strongman Competitions also love Power Training. You know who I mean, the type of people who can pull a truck down the street, do an obstacle course while carrying 300 lbs on their back, that sort of thing.

Like in the video below of a Syrian man pulling a train.



But feats of superhuman strength aren't for everyone.

But that doesn't mean you can't use Power Training techniques to give yourself more strength and speed.

THE BENEFITS OF POWER TRAINING

 

Power training exercises often use either the full body, or one limb at a time (unilateral training) to accomplish amazing results. This technique reduces muscular imbalance and is more functional for everyday life. Isolation exercises (like the bicep curl) take a lot of time, and will only focus on one muscle - and achieves very little results that can be measured on real world impact in your daily routine. An exercise like the bench press, using two arms at a time (bilateral training) will always tend to be lifted more with the stronger side and thus a person who trains that way will never balance out the strength in both limbs.

Power training improves athletic performance. Everything from running, dancing, sports and competitive weightlifting.

Increases strength and builds muscle rapidly.

 

Many power exercises have a cardiovascular benefit and double as cardio exercises.

Improves reaction time, speed, co-ordination and agility.

 

Strengthens bones, joints and connective tissue.

THREE EXAMPLES OF POWER TRAINING

Do each exercise explosively. In theory any exercise can be turned into power training by doing as much weight as you can as fast as you can. Even exercises void of weights can benefit from this, such as "explosively fast jumping jacks".

 

1. Olympic Style Lifts

Olympic lifts may seem intimidating at first but they're some of the most effective weight lifting exercises because they tend to work everything, including the core. Deadlifts, clean and press, Good mornings, and snatch pulls are exercises you may want to check out to have an effective power training program. Work on your form first and then learn how to do them explosively.

2. Plyometrics

Push ups, squats and lunges are common plyometric exercises where the exerciser "springs" up out of the form, so just do them super fast instead. You may have witnessed someone doing push ups and clapping in between each one. The hands leaving the ground makes the push up a plyometric exercise.

3. Compound One-Arm Exercises

Squat down, pick one dumbbell up from off the floor, and come back out of the squat while performing a front raise of the dumbbell to your shoulder. This exercise trains the lower body, shoulders, core, and by doing it all quickly, training for power. It's also challenging enough that you know you are getting a great workout.

Crunchless Abs Training

In the photo on the right you seed a "woodchop" exercise designed to work your abs, and the best part is you don't have to be on the ground to do them.

You see many ab workouts involve you sitting on the ground doing situps, crunches and similar exercise. Hence why most ab workouts tress crunches.

Now don't get me wrong, crunches are very effective for abdominal strengthening and toning, but there are also some good reasons to train your core while not sitting on your behind.

FIVE BENEFITS OF CRUNCHLESS ABS TRAINING

1. Crunches are not very functional in everyday life. Whereas balancing exercises which target the core to stabilize the body, will help you out in everyday activities that use your balance.

2. Doing crunches all of the time will put a cap on results. After you have exhausted body weight crunches, weighted, and oblique, your body will no longer have a challenge to adapt to - which is where balance exercises come in. It's a good idea to train your core in other ways, to keep the body challenged and changing.

3. Crunches are isolated exercises that target ONLY the abs. Why just work your abs when you could be working other muscle groups at the same time? An exercise such as the mountain climber for example, works the arms, shoulders, and chest. It also eases stress in the hips and improves range of motion.

4. Crunches are neglected anyway. Not only do many people dislike crunches in the first place, but often place them at the tail end of the workout and then forget about them. Even if they do remember they are not exactly performed enthusiastically or using proper form (which is why some people end up with crooked six packs). Adding exercises that train the abs into the workout such as woodchops (see photo at the top) will allow you to train your abs while doing a more enjoyable exercise.

Crooked Six Pack

5. They are not sport/activity specific - there is no sports that call for only your abs, although there are plenty of sports that call for balance. If you practice a discipline or martial art, it's a great idea to cater exercises to your activity. If you train in martial arts, kneeing a sparring pad while focusing on having the kick come from the core will train your abs for the sport. In yoga, planks are crucial for sun salutations. Train your abs according to your activities.

Crunches have their place so I don't recommend scrapping them all together - especially if you are one of the few who enjoy them. But there are other training options out there for people who want to train their abs differently.

The Benefits of Fresh Air

Lack of fresh air in the human body leads to the following symptoms:

• Fatigue
  
• Drowsiness
  
• Dullness of mind
  
• Irritability

The simple act of getting up and going outside therefore can do wonders to rejuvenate and motivate your body to keep going outside more regularly.

If a person stays indoors too often they will also get more of the harmful effects of tobacco smoke, city smog, re-circulating air in buildings, improper ventilation, exhaust, and many other pollutants.

Now you may think, wait, city smog indoors? Yes. In fact smog particles collect indoors whereas outside they are blown away on the wind and eventually filtered by rain, air moisture, etc. So since it doesn't rain indoors the quality of air suffers as the smog particles collect. (Which brings up a healthy reason to buy an air purifier.) In cities like Toronto where we have very good air quality the smog isn't such a big issue, but that doesn't mean you won't see huge physical and mental benefits from going outside more often.

However going outside regularly gives you many positive side effects:

• Reduces depression
  
• Promotes healing
  
• Sparks creativity
• Acts as a painkiller
• Reduces fat by introducing more Vitamin D into the body
• Boosts brain power (more oxygen to the brain)
• Less Fevers
  
• Less Colds
  
• Less Lung disease
  

A lot of this is because the air outside has a higher concentration of oxygen in it. You could try and fix this by having more plants inside your home, to give you a higher oxygen level, but the quick and easy solution is to simply go outside more often and breathe deeply as you go for a walk, jogging, walk the dog, nature hike, bicycle ride, etc.

Fresh air due to its higher oxygen levels helps with many things.

• Fresh air purifies the blood more.
  

• Fresh air soothes the nerves, stimulates appetite, helps digestion, and induces more refreshing sleep.
  

• Fresh air invigorates the vital organs and aids the body's defense system in getting rid of an accumulation of impurities and toxins.
  

• Fresh air brings life to your skin, and a healthy tan doesn't hurt either.
  

• Fresh air influences your mind, imparting a degree of composure and serenity while simultaneously acting as a natural painkiller.
  

• Fresh air, especially when we exercise outdoors, will stimulate our appetite, and greatly aid and improve digestion of food.
  

• Exercises performed outdoors in fresh air offer increased aerobic benefits. Taking in more clean air helps improves your breathing technique. Better technique increases stamina. More oxygen to the muscles reduces the lactic acid build-up in the muscles which leads to cramping and pain.
  

• Oxygen electrifies the whole system, causes the body to be strong and healthy, and will refresh the system.

• Oxygen has negative ions that are useful in giving electrical energy to the body, especially the nervous system. This will give us a sense of well-being, serenity, and composure.
  

• Oxygen kills bacteria as it strengthens your immune system. When the white blood cells are called upon by the immune system to destroy germs, bacteria and viruses, they need much more oxygen than normal.
  

CONCLUSIONS

More oxygen to your brain, more oxygen to your muscles, more oxygen to all your vital organs, more oxygen to your skin, your blood, everything. Everything benefits from fresh air and boosts your health dramatically.

Balancing your Mirror Muscles

 Body symmetry is exceptionally important for bodybuilding and weightlifting - but what many people don't realize is that body symmetry also effects many other things too.

MUSCLE IMBALANCE = BACK PAIN

For example, did you know that pregnant women develop overly strong back muscles during the pregnancy? The reason is so they can support the extra weight of a baby and all the extra water weight, and that with time this leads to back pain - even after the baby has been born.

Now you might think, wait, why would they have back pain if their back is STRONGER? Shouldn't a strong back eliminate back pain?

Nope, and therein lies the problem. Many people don't realize that the primary source of backpain is a loss of balance between front mirror muscles and their back muscles. Often it is directly connected on a lateral level.

Examples

Small pectoral muscles = upper back pain.

Small abdominal muscles = lower back pain. (Especially since people often have weak lower back muscles in the first place.)

The reason is because the pectorals and abs are also used for balance, and if those muscles are smaller / weaker the back muscles in the corresponding mirror muscles have to work twice as hard in order for a person to maintain their balance and posture. A person with really lax muscle mirror muscles is going to have really bad posture and lots of back pain.

It is possible to have overdeveloped front torso muscles, which is exceptionally rare for the common person, but more common for bodybuilders who place too much emphasis on their front muscles because they want large pecs and abs. Since humans use their backs for so many things it is usually the back muscles which become overdeveloped and the front muscles which suffer.

AESTHETICS

Training for muscular balance is important is also important for aesthetics. Visually people are just not attractive if they have one part of their body that is abnormally large to the point it becomes grotesque.

For example people who don't exercise properly often develop a "crooked six pack" in their abdominal region - like in the photo below.

So basically there is many ways a person can screw up the symmetry of their muscles - both front and back, and also side to side.

It can be fixed with time fortunately, but it is best to take preventative measures while you are exercising so you use proper form. The use of proper form during each exercise means you won't be sloppy and then overusing one muscle compared to the other - the constant use of one muscle and ignoring its mirror muscle will always result in an imbalance over time.

On an aesthetic level bodybuilders can see their front muscles in the mirror easily, and exercises wise it is more fun to do bench presses and bicep curls. For most people however it is the opposite. They use their back for lifting things regularly, whereas weightlifters have been taught proper form and to lift with their legs more so they don't injure their back - and thus training their backs becomes a problem.

The end result is that aesthetically different people need to do different things to correct their muscle imbalances.

STABILITY / PREVENTS INJURIES

Having strong and well balanced front and back muscles means you will have better balance and stability - which is important while lifting heavy weights as you will be using your muscles both to lift the weight and to maintain balance. Having the extra mirror muscles will take up some of the effort of maintaining your balance while the other muscles do the job of lifting the heavy object.

Trying to lift the heavy object AND maintain your balance with just the one set of muscles is going to lead to injury over time due to bad posture. In my head I see a cartoon of a man falling over and the box landing on top of him because he can't maintain his balance, but this is only a literal interpretation. The reality is that overuse of one set of muscles will cause them to eventually rip - ripped muscles is normally a good thing in bodybuilding - but in this case a rip could mean ripped ligaments, which is exceptionally painful and sometimes untreatable.

Common injuries like hernias for example can be prevented by developing better mirror muscles. It is well worth it to make the effort. Do a google image search for hernia sometime and that should scare you into exercising your mirror muscles more to correct your imbalances.

FIXING MUSCLE IMBALANCES

Overdeveloped Back

The majority of you are probably reading this because you are an average person and have back pain. So the quick answer is for you to work on your pectorals, abdominal muscles and even your oblique (side) muscles.

This means doing exercises like push ups, sit ups, and side twists to build up pecs, abs and obliques. It is a relatively easy fix, takes you about 5 - 10 minutes every day and keep doing that for several months and you should have a lot less back pain as those muscles grow. (Unless you have chronic back pain caused by something else, like a slipped disk in your spine. In which case see your doctor.)

Overdeveloped Front

If you are the opposite however, someone who has been weight training for a long time and has developed overly large front muscles and neglected your back then there is a variety of exercises you can.

#1. Take up archery (archers tend to develop overly large back muscles, so this is a quick solution to your problem if your front muscles are currently overdeveloped - see Mirror Muscles for Archery).

#2. Use any kind of pulling machine in the gym. Rowing machines work well too.

#3. Be creative and use dumbbells in pulling exercises. Exercises like reverse flies. Make sure the weights are heavy enough to challenge you.

#4. Body weight exercises that use your back muscles. Pull ups, chin ups use your back shoulder muscles and your back muscles for balance.

#5. T Flies - Bend forward at the waist so that the back is very straight. Look down and with straight arms, slowly flap your arms. You may feel silly doing this at the gym so do it at home. Each time your arms come up to as high as they can go, really focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together. When they come all of the way back down, focus on stretching the back and shoulder muscles forward.

#6. Yoga - Hold the poses for longer periods of time to stress your muscles more. Try
Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga to get a more powerful workout.

OTHER WEIRD IMBALANCES

Biceps Vs Triceps

Pain in your biceps can mean you are overusing your biceps in your effort to get bigger - a common problem with newbs at the gym. This affliction is rare because the triceps are used in many exercises so the good news is you can easily fix it by doing more triceps exercises regularly.

Biceps may get more attention, but anyone who has been concerned over the back of the arm being flab, or just having nicely toned arms in general, will have trained their triceps.

The triceps are easy to train with exercises such as dips, overhead extension, and skull crushers but also shows results really quickly because the triceps build bulk muscle faster.

Lower Back and Abs

The lower back is probably the least trained muscle group of all. If any muscle should be trained, it is this one - but you need to exercise your abs too so you correct the imbalance without making a new imbalance.

I recommend doing abs and lats exercises FIRST during a workout so you get it over and done with. Many people do these exercises last and sometimes forget to do them. Or skip them entirely. This doesn't help them since the lower back and abs is used for core balance, and injury prevention.

Nobody is ever going to compliment you on your toned lower back, but the muscles there are exceptionally important for balance, posture and injury prevention.

Try doing alternating back extensions, either on all fours or on your belly. See photos below.

Another good one is Superman Pushups. They make look easy but they are harder than they look because most people have weak lower back muscles.

Hamstrings

Many people neglect to exercise the back of their legs. But there are man common exercises that build muscle there.

Squats
Bicycling
Lunges
Standing Leg Curls
Straight Leg Deadlift
Snap Kicks
Sprinting (especially on a sandy beach, because it works them harder)

CONCLUSIONS

Mirror muscles are exceptionally important for aesthetics, sports training, balance, strong core muscles, pain prevention and preventing injuries. I cannot emphasize the importance of Mirror Muscle Training enough. For whatever exercise goals you have set forth for yourself, you should do complimentary Mirror Muscle Training to give yourself a physical edge.

Mirror Muscles for Archery

Many archers over time develop really strong back muscles because they are using the back muscles a lot for pulling and steadying their bow.

However the problem is that as time progresses their back muscles becomes overdeveloped, their form deteriorates and they can't balance properly while performing a shot.

There is however a solution.

Push ups.

Just good old fashioned push ups targets the Mirror Muscles for archery - which in this case is the pectorals or "pecs". Push ups also build shoulder and triceps, muscles archers also use a lot, so it is ultimately a very good exercise for archers to be doing on a daily basis.

I recommend 100 pushups per day. Either 5 sets of 20, 10 sets of 10, however you get them done so long as you can do them and build up the corresponding muscles and mirror muscles.

The problem however is that many new archers don't know this - often because they're new to the sport and no nothing about sports conditioning. So they are operating under the illusion / myth that they don't need to do push ups and don't know the benefits that stronger mirror muscles will give to their form.

And this is true for many newcomers to sports. Many people who take up boxing for example don't understand why boxers often train by skipping rope - because it builds endurance, balance and feet coordination, all of which are important during a boxing match.

It is purest simple minded thinking (combined with a dose of laziness) that causes amateurs to think they don't need to do something to reach their goal. It never occurs to them that to reach (a) goal, they have to (b) train regularly and (c) do complimentary exercises. Or even (d) eat a healthy balanced diet.

Other complimentary exercises for archery...

#1. Yoga - builds balance and core muscles. Also boosts mental acuity and concentration. 20 to 30 minutes of yoga every day can give an archer a serious edge.

#2. Situps - builds abdominal muscles, which also boosts balance and is a mirror muscle for the lower back. 100 per day is a good number.

#3. Squats - builds leg muscles and boosts the balance in your legs. 100 per day.

Basically archers use almost all their body in performing a shot because they need better balance so they can steady their shot. It is true that certain muscles, like the back, shoulders and triceps are used more - but overdeveloping those muscles will cause their form to fall to pieces.