Charles I. Staley, B.Sc, MSS

International Sports Sciences Association

                                       Strength Defined

                                  The Many Faces of Strength

                                      Maximal Strength

                                       Relative Strength

                               Methods of Strength Development

                               The Stretch-shortening Cycle (SSC)

                                  Rate of Force Development

         Overcoming the Decelerative and Inhibitory Aspects of Traditional Weight Training

                          Strengthening the Antagonists and Stabilizers

                                       Ballistic Training

On January 11, 1994, a well known boxing commentator stated to his television audience that he felt

weight training was counter-productive to fighters, adding "muscle weighs more than fat." This

amusing statement reveals much about the enduring stigma associated with strength development in

boxing and martial arts circles. Of course, strength determines how much speed, power, agility,

stamina, and technical ability any athlete can develop, and combat athletes are no exception.

Strength Defined

Strength can be loosely defined as the ability to apply musculo-skeletal force. But for a more precise

definition, we must first consider the various types of strength expression available to athletes.

The Many Faces of Strength

Strength as a bio-motor ability has many expressions. Since all motor tasks require force production,

all athletes must concern themselves with developing their strength levels to the utmost. The

following list highlights the various types of strength needed by athletes involved in combat sports.

Maximal Strength

Maximal strength (also called absolute strength) is defined as the amount of musculoskeletal force you

can generate for one all-out effort. Maximal strength can only be demonstrated or tested in the weight

room during the performance of a maximum (1RM) lift. While only powerlifters need to demonstrate

this type of strength under competitive conditions, martial artists need to develop high levels of

maximal strength as a "foundation" for subsequent training objectives later in the training cycle.

Relative Strength

Whereas maximal strength refers to strength irrespective of bodyweight, relative strength is a term

used to denote an athlete's strength per unit of bodyweight. It can be used as a modifier for other

categories of strength, such as speed strength or strength endurance. Thus if two athletes of different

bodyweights can squat 275 pounds, they have equal maximal strength for that lift, but the lighter

athlete has greater relative strength.Similarly, if two athletes of different bodyweights have a vertical

jump of 30 inches, they have equal absolute speed-strength, but the lighter athlete has greater relative speed-strength

Sports which have weight classes depend heavily on relative strength, as do events where the athlete

must overcome his or her bodyweight to accomplish a motor task (i.e., martial arts, long jump,

sprinting, etc.).Further, sports which have aesthetic requirements (figure skating, gymnastics, and

forms competition in martial arts) rely heavily upon the development of strength without a

commensurate gain in bodyweight.

Methods of Strength Development

Strength can be developed either by applying stress to the muscle cells themselves, or by targeting the

nervous system. The former method is accomplished through "bodybuilding" methods (repetitions

between 6 and 12), and results in strength gains through an increase in muscle cross-section. The latter

is accomplished through higher intensity training (repetitions between 1 and 5), where increased

strength is the result of improved "intra-muscular coordination" (the ability to recruit a greater

percentage of the existing motor unit pool).

Athletes who need absolute strength (throwers, football linemen, etc.) may utilize both methods. First,

bodybuilding methods are used, followed by nervous system training. The result is an increase in

bodyweight and absolute strength. However, as bodyweight increases, relative strength decreases.

Athletes who depend upon relative strength should use bodybuilding methods sparingly, unless a

higher weight class is desired. Most strength training is characterized by high intensity (meaning, a

high percentage of the athlete's 1RM), low repetition sets, which improve strength through neural

adaptations rather than increases in muscle cross section.

The Stretch-shortening Cycle (SSC)

Most human movement is characterized by an eccentric phase immediately followed by a concentric

phase. This muscular action is called the stretch-shortening cycle, or SSC. Examples include throwing,

jumping, and even walking. During the eccentric phase, the tendons develop and store potential

kinetic energy, similar to a stretched elastic band. During the concentric phase, this potential kinetic

energy is returned, resulting in greater force output than if the movement had begun concentrically. In

some movements (jumping rope, for example), the muscle contracts statically, with movement being

provided by the storing and release of elastic energy through the tendons. Since static muscular

activity requires less energy than concentric activity, the SSC is an "economical" way of producing

force.

The efficiency of the SSC is easily demonstrated: Perform a vertical jump in a normal manner, where

you first crouch, and then jump upwards as explosively as possible. Next, crouch, but pause for five

seconds, and then jump upward. You'll see that the jump where the crouch (or eccentric phase) was

IMMEDIATELY followed by the jump was more successful. The key to preserving as much potential

kinetic energy as possible is to switch from eccentric to concentric as rapidly as possible. This switch is

termed "reactive strength" by some authors.

If you view a videotaped sparring match in slow motion, you'll see that almost all fighters "cock" their

punches, be it ever so slightly. The best fighters manage to minimize this preparatory movement,

because observant opponents can pick up on it. (note: sometimes, physical preparation methods must

defer to tactical requirements).

In order to respect the principle of specificity, strength training methods should reflect the SSC nature

of athletic skills. The best form of resistance training technologies to accomplish this task are constant

resistance, or "free weights," and variable resistance, which utilize either cams or levers, in an attempt

to "match" the resistance to the strength curve of the muscle being trained. The former technology is

preferred, at least in the case of advanced athletes, because machines tend to rob the synergists and

stabilizers of adaptive stress.

Rate of Force Development

For combat athletes, maximal strength is a means rather than an end. In most athletic endeavors, the

time available to develop maximum muscular force is extremely limited- usually only a fraction of a

second. While high levels of maximal strength are a necessary prerequisite for the development of

speed strength, too much time spent lifting heavy weights at slow speeds, without progressing to

speed strength methods later in the training cycle, results in slow athletes.

The ability to apply muscular force rapidly is called rate of force development, or RFD. Bodybuilding

methods slightly improve maximal strength, but have a negligible effect on RFD. Training with heavy

weights will improves absolute strength, but again, the RFD remains largely unchanged. Only when

speed strength methods (plyometrics, ballistic training, etc.) are used, is the RFD significantly

improved. Absolute strength declines during this period,but this is an acceptable (and temporary)

trade off. However, if absolute strength is allowed to degrade too much, RFD will suffer. For this

reason, many coaches alternate between maximum strength and speed strength phases during the

competitive period.

Overcoming the Decelerative and Inhibitory Aspects of Traditional Weight Training

Constant resistance (the most popular form of strength training used by athletes) has one distinct

disadvantage: deceleration. Using the bench press as an example, when your arms near full extension,

the antagonists (lats, biceps, rhomboids, and medial traps) begin to contract in an effort to decelerate

the bar before it leaves your hands, as a protective mechanism. This is contrary to your objective,

which is to accelerate your arm. There are at least two ways to address this inherent disadvantage of

constant and variable resistance training: strengthen the antagonists and stabilizers, and use ballistic

training.

Strengthening the Antagonists and Stabilizers

For every muscle in the body, there is another muscle that is capable of opposing its force. This

"pairing" mechanism is how we are able to move with precision of movement and speed. However,

when one part of this pair becomes too strong in relation to the other, force output capability suffers.

Many athletes often reinforce this inequity every time they train, thinking they are respecting the

principle of specificity by training only the prime movers (or "agonists"). An example would be a

martial artist who reasons that since the quadriceps muscle extends the leg during kicking, the

quadriceps should receive the brunt of the training focus. Soon, the hamstrings (which are the

antagonists in kicking movements) become weak in proportion to the quads, and power output

declines. The student understandably (but incorrectly) concludes that weight training "slows you

down," because for him, it did.

Weak antagonists contract prematurely to oppose the prime movers, resulting in reduced movement

speed. Stronger antagonists are less sensitive to this protective response- the body "knows" that they

are strong enough to decelerate the limb at the last possible moment. As an observation, the lats and

biceps of elite level boxers are always well developed.

Weak stabilizers also limit power output.Stabilizers are muscles which anchor or immobilize one part

of the body, allowing another part (usually the limbs) to exert force. The most important stabilizers are

those of the trunk- the abdominals and trunk extensors. If the motor cortex detects that it can't stabilize

the force provided by the prime movers, it simply won't allow the prime mover to contract with full

force.

Ballistic Training

In a recent article, William Kraemer, a professor at Penn State, used the term "ballistic training" to

describe movements that are "acellerative, of high velocity, and with projection into free space." Such

methods include plyometrics, modified Olympic lifting, jumping, throwing, and striking movements

(such as punching a heavy bag or kicking a shield).Since ballistic methods lack a deceleration phase,

they are much more coordination-specific for most athletes. Ballistic training is initiated relatively late

in the training cycle, as it requires significant preparatory training with lighter resistances to strengthen

tendons and ligaments.

Finally, there is an irony when it comes to strength training for sport: the objective of strength training

is NOT increased strength per se, but improved athletic performance. I would suggest that sports

conditioning coaches keep this in mind as they design conditioning programs for their athletes.

(Note: This article was adapted from Special Topics in Martial Arts Conditioning, course text for the

Members of

The British National Martial Arts Association

Combat Sports Worldwide

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