Power for Your Health

Power is the combination of strength and speed — the ability to generate force quickly. In practical terms, it’s not just how much weight you can lift, but how fast you can apply that force. Think of a golfer hitting their long drive, a sprinter exploding off the starting line, a basketball player leaping for a rebound, a golfer hitting their long drive, or even an older adult quickly catching themselves from a fall. Power is about moving with force and speed. Use power for your health!

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Benefits of Power Training

Power is often reserved for athletes focused on competition, but its benefits extend far beyond sports.

Improved Sports Performance

Power translates directly into faster sprints, better defence, higher jumps, longer kicks and throws, and more explosive movements in nearly every sport.

Enhanced Daily Function

Everyday activities like sprinting after a grandkid or for the bus, climbing stairs, lifting groceries, and righting yourself after you trip — all require some level of power.

Fall Prevention

For older adults, strength and quick muscle reactions can mean the difference between regaining balance or falling. 

Neuromuscular Efficiency

Power training improves the nervous system’s ability to rapidly recruit muscle fibers.

Metabolic Surge

Explosive movements engage large muscle groups intensely, burning more calories in less time.

Who Should Train for Power?

The short answer: almost everyone.

• Athletes in sports requiring speed, agility, or explosive movements benefit greatly.
• Aging Adults lose power as they age — maintaining power supports independence and mobility.
• Recreational exercisers can improve performance in the sport they love.
• The only exceptions are individuals with medical or orthopedic conditions where explosive movements could cause injury — in these cases, a medical professional should be consulted first.

How to Train for Power

Power training isn’t about endless heavy lifts or slow reps. It’s about generating force quickly and safely.

Build Base Conditioning

To prevent injury, try spending a few months focusing on building muscle strength and endurance with controlled lifting before adding speed. In the beginning, focus on consistency with your strength workouts. 

Plyometrics

Once you’ve completed the base conditioning phase, incorporate faster movements like jump squats, box jumps, and medicine ball throws to train speed and explosive movements. Be sure to only advance as much as your body can tolerate. You should be challenged but not in pain!

Incorporate Olympic Lifts

Power cleans, deadlifts, and snatches are highly effective but should be done with proper instruction from a certified trainer. 

Use Light-to-Moderate Loads

When working on speed, use equipment that is conducive to speed training, like medicine balls, kettlebells, body-weight exercises and tubing. 

Short Bursts

When working on power, we want to train for short durations like 30-60 second sets with rest in between. 

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Power isn’t just for elite athletes — it’s a fundamental fitness component that keeps you fast, agile, athletic and aging young. Power training now means moving better, reacting faster, and staying strong for decades to come.

Yours in health & fitness,
Sherri McMillan

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