Speed can be defined as a measure of the rate of motion and is therefore the distance travelled divided by the time taken to travel that distance (Murray and Kenny, 2016). Power is a measure of the rate at which energy is transferred – that is, power is force multiplied by distance divided by time (Murray and Kenny, 2016). So in simple terms speed refers to how quickly we move (for example, from the start to the end of a 100m race), while power is a combination of strength and speed, and refers to the ability to execute strong explosive movement at a fast pace (for instance, as with exploding from the starting blocks). Speed and power are closely related, and both are often important in specific sports or activities.
A needs analysis of your sport or activity will indicate how important speed and power are to you. There is a wide range of sports and activities in which speed and power are important – in some sports such as sprinting or power-lifting, achieving speed and power are the main objectives, whereas in other sports such as rugby or football they are just one aspect of the sport. Speed or power may be required in various parts of the body – for example, in cricket the arm of a bowler needs to be able to travel at speed to deliver the ball, but the legs and the rest of the body also need to move fast in order to enable this.
You probably chose your exercise by applying the principle of specificity. In other words, you probably tried to select an exercise that would be relevant to a 200m sprinter. Any of the lower body plyometric exercises with similar movement patterns (i.e. in a sagittal plane), or that work the muscle groups that a 200m sprinter needs to develop (i.e. quadriceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius) in order to improve her sprint performance would be beneficial.
In Video 6 you see a variety of exercises being performed, including power cleans, power snatch and squat jumps. What all these exercises have in common is that they’re performed with fast, explosive or jumping movements – so they differ from more traditional weightlifting exercises which tend to be performed more slowly. Explosive exercises require relatively more technical input from a qualified strength and conditioning coach. Weight training exercises to develop power include Olympic lifts (such as snatch, clean and jerk). Squat jumps, the snatch and the clean are very effective at developing explosive leg power for sprinting.
Right:
c) Strength x speed
Wrong:
a) Muscular endurance x strength
b) Cardiovascular endurance x speed
d) Anaerobic capacity x agility
Right:
b) Plyometric and weight training
Wrong:
a) Plyometric and balance training
c) Plyometric and endurance training
d) Plyometric and core training
Right:
b) Eccentric contraction
Wrong:
a) Concentric contraction
c) Isometric contraction
d) Isokinetic contraction
Right:
c) Running with a parachute
Wrong:
a) Running downhill
b) Running while being towed
d) All of the above
Right:
b) 75–90% of 1RM, 1–5 repetitions, 3–5 sets, 2–5 minutes rest between sets
Wrong:
a) ≥85% of 1RM, 1–6 repetitions, 2–6 sets, 2–5 minutes rest between sets
c) 67–85% of 1RM, 6–12 repetitions, 3–6 sets, 30–90 seconds rest between sets
d) ≤67% of 1RM, ≥12 repetitions, 2–3 sets, ≤30 seconds rest between sets