Dynamic Effort Training

There are various types of strength but the two strengths I am going to talk about are starting strength and accelerative strength. Working in team sports, I find these two strengths important. At one time or another you are doing a combination of these two strengths throughout the game. In this article I am going to discuss what these two strengths are and how I apply it to the sports I work with.

Starting strength is defined by the capacity to generate maximal forces at the beginning of the concentric contraction to overcome resistance and initiate movement. This type of strength comes into play for linemen in the sport of American Football where one must start from a dead stop and upon movement of the ball you explode into the opposition.

Accelerative strength on the other hand is the capacity to develop continuous rise in force through the concentric contraction once the movement has been initiated. This type of strength is seen in tackling sports such as rugby and American football. When tackling the goal is to physically displace the opponent, this is done through triple extension of the hip, knee, and ankle. In theory, as the defender extends into triple extension there is a continuous rise in force. This is a quality that is trainable in the gym through various exercises.

When it comes to applying these two strengths to your sport, you as a practitioner need to understand your sport through a needs analysis or the in vogue term used now “reverse engineering” your sport. Let’s take American football for example, the closer you are to the ball the more starting strength work your athlete will need. On the contrary, the further you are away from the ball the more you need to work on accelerative strength. In the sport of Rugby XV’s or 7’s I believe accelerative strength is of greater importance due to the continuous nature of the game. In the sport of rugby athletes are hard pressed to start from a dead stop with the exception of scums, line outs, and restarts (only make up a small portion of the game). Compare that to the sport of football where athletes start from a stand still at the beginning of every play. At the end of the day, understanding your sport and how the different strengths apply is very beneficial to you as a strength and conditioning practitioner. Understanding of the sports I work with has really helped me grow as a practitioner and has benefitted my athletes.

Below is a simple workout that works on both strength qualities, this is something that I would do on one of my dynamic effort days. As a simple rule of thumb, exercises that use bands work more on accelerative strength. Exercises that start from a dead stop such as cleans from blocks or jumps from a fixed position work on starting strength. Doing a combination of exercises from a dead stop with bands, or a combination of bands with a countermovement, now you’re just cooking with gasoline! My advice to anyone reading this, experiment with different methods, variations, and combinations on yourself as well as your athletes. A simple step progression I like to ask myself when it comes to experimentation: 1. Will my athletes get hurt? 2. Is there a chance this could make them 1% better? If no to question number 1 and yes to question number 2, I try it.

Dynamic Effort Day – Accelerative Strength Focus

1.   Box Jumps – 24-40 Reps

2.    Speed Squats – 8 x 3 @ 40% Bar weight + 15-25% Band Tension

3.    Power Clean – Blocks – Knee Level – 6 x 3 @ 50%

4.    Romanian Deadlift – 2 x 8

5.    Split Squat – 2 x 8 + 8

*Someone who needs work on accelerative strength*

Dynamic Effort Day – Starting Strength Focus

1.    Seated Box Jumps – 24-40 Reps

2.    Trap Bar Deadlift Jumps – From Floor – 8 x 3 @ 40%

3.    Hang Power Clean – 6 x 3 @ 50%

4.    Romanian Deadlift – 2 x 8

5.    Split Squat – 2 x 8 + 8

*Someone who needs to work on starting strength*

Kris