The Westside Method. 5/3/1. 5x5. Sheiko. Smolov. Just to name a few, these are all programs aimed at getting you strong and smashing weight like its no one's business. For the athletes we all know getting strong puts you at a huge advantage; hence the boom in the Strength and Conditioning field. Given equal skills the stronger/faster/better conditioned athlete will win.
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| Pictured: Skill level not being equal |
As we delve deeper into the programming of strength for athletes we need to draw a line of what works and what doesn't. One can draw a conclusion and say "a strong athlete is a good athlete, thus I will make my athlete as strong as possible in the squat, bench and deadlift; and therefore train him like a powerlifter." However we need to keep in mind the sport specific aspects of our athlete; the way they move and the types of postures and actions in their sport. Getting strong is great, I'm not arguing that, but the type of strength is even more important.
Differences
So what separates powerlifters and athletes? At face level, the end goal of their respective sports. Powerlifters strive to increase their maximal strength in the squat, bench press and deadlift. They can achieve this by lifting maximal loads (maximal effort), lifting lighter loads at high velocities (dynamic effort) and/or lifting moderate loads for higher volume (repetition effort). They perform their three main lifts, as well as secondary lifts meant to strengthen muscle groups involved in the main lifts. In the end, everything they do is meant to improve their squat, bench press and deadlift.
Athletes, on the other hand, have the main goal of improving their sport performance. If you play baseball your goal is to be able to hit more balls, throw a ball further, run bases faster. Performing the powerlifts can help; its been scientifically proven that increasing maximal force output has effect on athletic performance in all sports which require high force output. A lot of sports focus on power output - how fast you can apply a high force. However, the argument is whether or not training the athlete like a powerlifter is beneficial. I’ll list a set of pros and cons of powerlifting for athletics.
Pros:
- Powerlifting will improve maximal strength and possibly speed strength (depending on lifting style), which can carry over to athletics.
- Powerlifting can teach intensity, conditioning (GPP) and reinforce certain neural patterns used in sports.
Cons:
- Strength curve: powerlifts decelerate at the end ROM. In sports you have to accelerate through the entire motion.
- Injury risk. If you have a million dollar athlete, why risk season/career ending injury when you can improve performance through other means than powerlifting.
- Specificity to sport: will squat/bench/dead make you a better pitcher, wrestler or basketball player?
To Squat, Or Not To Squat?
Let’s look at the pros. First - getting strong can carry over to sports. True, to an extent. Athletes who rely on maximal strength (ie. offensive linemen, shotputters) can benefit from getting strong by performing the powerlifts. Getting strong won’t make you a good athlete, but when skill levels are equal the stronger/faster athlete will win. Going back to the comment I made earlier about a lot of sports being about power output, research comparing force and velocity curves has shown that as maximal force increases, velocity output at lower forces increases.
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| Science and Practice of Strength Training: Nonparametric relationship between maximal maximorum force (Fmm) and velocity |
From the graph above, as the Fmm increases (your maximal strength), velocity of movement when exerted against forces less than Fmm increases. In the example from the graph, a 6 kg load is used and lifted with the arm. The data plotted shows the velocity of the 6 kg weight, as the user's Fmm increases. Consequently, the higher your maximal force output, the higher your velocity output at lower force levels. Therefore, if your athlete is strong as hell and can squat 600 lbs they’ll be extremely fast when required to overcome only 300 lbs during a squat; much faster than an athlete who can only squat 400 lbs.
Secondly, look on Youtube and watch these powerlifters train. What do you see? Intensity, determination, drive. Who can’t benefit from that? By introducing the athlete to a powerlifter’s setting they can be shown higher levels of intensity and learn to push themselves while playing their sport.
The cons elaborate on the points previously listed. Getting strong can carry over to sports - true, to an extent. In research presented by Dr. Vladimir Zatsiorsky, strength definitions can vary depending on the type of athlete you are. Does a gymnast or freestyle wrestler worry as much about their max squats as offensive linemen should? The effects of maximal strength (how much weight you can lift overall) vs. relative strength (how much weight you can lift relative to your bodyweight) will play a role depending on the type of sport you play. Those who play sports involving their bodyweight (ie. gymnastics, wrestling) may benefit more from training with their bodyweight and not with increasing their maximal strength through the powerlifts.
Another big issue comes back to the statement made about athletes having to express high levels of force at high velocities. For example, when throwing a punch you want as high a handspeed as possible to apply as much power to your opponent’s face as possible - boxers don’t slow their hands down as they make contact with their opponent; they accelerate through and their hand comes out the back of their opponent’s skull. For football players as you make a tackle do you slow yourself down? No, you accelerate through your target to bring them down. So how does this apply to powerlifting? Look at the bench press. Some argue the horizontal pressing helps mimic the range of motion and position as throwing a punch. However look at the velocity of the bar relative to the range of motion.
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| Science and Practice of Strength Training: Bar velocity during concentric phase of explosive bench press (dotted line) and explosive bench press throw (solid line) |
Notice in the above graph that during a dynamic effort style bench press maximum velocity occurs around midway through the concentric portion, and that as we reach full ROM velocity is decreasing thus acceleration is negative. For the bench press throw (same bench press motion, but as you reach lockout you throw the bar up in the bar) velocity is steadily increasing even at the end ROM.
If a boxer wants to accelerate his fist through his ROM, performing a bench press where the hand slows down at the end ROM would be a bad idea. Ideally the boxer wants to connect when his arm is in full extension, not when its still bent halfway. If we keep training the boxer with the bench press, he eventually grooves the motor pattern to maximize velocity midway through his punch and then decelerate at the very end - bad idea if you want to knock someone out.
Secondary concerns involve injury risk. I know you’re all thinking “All sports have their risks; its not my fault you’re a huge p***y.” I understand that but think about this: what if you had an athlete who has the potential to make millions of dollars playing baseball as a pitcher. He wants to get stronger, and in turn throw a ball faster, so you make him bench press. However, while one day attempting a 1 rep max he tears his rotator cuff - season is over, career is never the same and there goes millions of bucks down the drain. What have you done?! What if you were able to improve the pitcher’s ball velocity by improving his technique; a much safer and effective method. When it comes to athletes, efficiency is key. Everything we do has a risk associated with it. Squat form is off and we herniate a disc. Throw one too many baseballs and there goes your rotator cuff. The big thing is knowing when and where to take these risks, and now exposing yourself to any unnecessarily.
Finally we’ll get into specificity of exercise. Defined by Dr. Vladimir Zatsiorsky, specificity has to do with how well performing certain tasks carry over to an end goal. For example, if an athlete were to train his squat in a powerlifter’s fashion, how well would his new maximal strength be applied to being an offensive lineman or the parallel bar event in gymnastics. In the first event, yes, improved maximal strength can be carried over to driving opposing players back for short bursts of time. In the second scenario the specificity of max effort squatting for gymnastics is much lower since the gymnast relies moreso on sustained periods of bodyweight strength. One can argue for the use of the powerlifts during an Accumulation Phase of periodized training but thats a story for another day.
Olympic Lifts?
As an aside, olympic lifts have been considered as a replacement for the powerlifts. They satisfy the requirements of teaching the athlete how to accelerate through the end range of motion, while providing enough load to improve maximal strength. Research from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) has indicated high levels of power output during the olympic lifts; exactly what athletes strive to accomplish. However, olympic weightlifters spend literal decades perfecting their technique. How can we expect a 14 year old football player who can barely walk in a straight line to master such a complex movement in a couple months.
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| He spent most of his life training to do this. Can Junior, while balancing football practice, calculus homework and an acne problem? |
In theory using the olympic lifts will help, but factors such as the learning curve required make it not as feasible. Exercises such as jumps, sprints and throws still apply the methods of teaching acceleration but without the complexity of olympic lifts. If you have a background in olympic weightlifting, however, feel free to incorporate them.
Conclusions
Training the powerlifts can be a very useful tool for anyone who wants to get strong; its applying it to specific sport practices which can cause controversy. For the athlete getting strong is only one facet of their training; they also must be fast, agile and hold skill in their sport. The biggest concern with powerlifting for athletics I’ve come across has to do with the velocity vs. ROM observations - as each of the powerlifts shows a marked deceleration as the end ROM approaches it is teaching the athlete to do the opposite of what they are supposed to. Injury potential is another factor, although this varies from person to person. For a beginner athlete who would benefit from increased strength, then yes, using a powerlifting style program may help; but for a million dollar athlete who’s livelihood depends on them staying healthy, you may have to reconsider your options. Specificity to sport also determines how you will train your athlete. If you play a sport involving mostly bodyweight it may not be so wise to improve your maximal strength.
What might I suggest for athletes looking to get strong for their sports? The powerlifts are a great building block for general strength, but only if used to accentuate the athlete’s training - not the end all be all. For the velocity/ROM problem, look at various plyometrics and thrown movements. Back to the graph posted comparing velocity and ROM of bench press techniques, the bench press throw is much more favourable for developing acceleration than the traditional bench press. Similarly using a medicine ball, sandbag or kettlebell to throw will illicit the same type of velocity output. For the lower body, look at various jumps and sprints. Olympic lifts were mentioned earlier but the complexity of the technique makes it unfeasible for most trainees. However, look at the lower body extension of the olympic lifts and jumps. At the peak of each the ankles, knees and hips are in full extension (triple extension). If olympic lifts cannot be done, jumping and throwing can mimic the explosive triple extension.
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| Full Extension of the body during a vertical jump |
At the end of the day, getting strong will help the athlete, no questions about it. The way we get them strong becomes the point of debate. Powerlifting can be one of the ways to get athletes strong, but as an assistance to their sport training. However, if you have the hand-eye coordination of a drunk chimpanzee no amount of squatting will help you shoot a basket, score a goal or punch someone in the face.
References:
- Spagele T, Kistner A, Gollhofer A. Modelling, simulation and optimisation of the human vertical jump. J Biomech 1999;32(5):521-430
- Garhammer J. A review of power output studies of olympic and powerlifting: methodology, performance prediction and evaluation tests. J Strength Cond 1993;7(2):76-89
- Chiu LZF, Schilling BK. A primer on weightlifting: from sport to sports training. J Strength Cond 2005;27(1):42-48
- Izquierdo M et. al. Effects of long-term training specificity on maximal strength and power of the upper and lower extremities in athletes from different sports. J App Phys 2002;87(3):264-271
- Jason Ferrugia. Death to the Conjugate Method? Testosterone Nation, 2006.
- Liao CM, Masters RSW. Analogy learning: a means to implicit motor learning. J Sports Sci 2001;19(5):307-319
- Zatsiorsky VM, Kraemer WJ. Science and Practice of Strength Training. Human Kinetics, 2006. p 6-8,18-21, 52-56, 76
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