Power is not strength; power is not speed, and power is not velocity.
Power = w/t, meaning it equals work divided by time elapsed. Power is the ability to exert maximum force in the shortest time, requiring both force and speed. The SI power unit is Watt (W), joules per second (J/s). Power is the rate of doing work, whereby work is defined as the energy needed to apply a force to move an object a particular distance, where force is parallel to the displacement.
For work to be done, force must be exerted, and there must be a motion of displacement in the direction of the force. Work is the product of the component of the force in the direction of the displacement and the magnitude of this displacement. Power is how fast a given force can move an object. To learn more about Work, CLICK HERE for my post exploring what it means and how it applies to weightlifting.
Power is the motion that results from force in a given amount of time. A high power value equals a significant force that creates a relatively large motion. It's important to note that power doesn’t always result in maximum velocity. Power is relative to the load; movements at slow velocities due to external loads that must be moved can be described as powerful as the velocity is high relative to the force required.
In sports science, powerful movements occur at high velocity relative to the force they must produce or the load they must overcome during the movement. This means that slower-velocity movements caused by heavy external loads that must be moved may still be described as powerful because the velocity is relative to the force required or the mass being accelerated.
Simplified further, as velocity equals displacement divided by time, we can adjust the equation to power = force (newtons) * velocity (m/s). Power is the mechanical construct of force and velocity.
As seen above, both athletes’ body weight is the same (80kg), and they completed the same work, which is 744.8J. However, the time to complete the lift is different. Athlete A did it in 2 seconds, and Athlete B did it in 4 seconds. Therefore, to get the power, we take the work done and divide it by the time taken. We see Athlete A as more powerful, with a power of 372.4W and Athlete B's 186.2W. We can also see that power is relative to body weight by dividing the power by the body weight. For example, Athlete A was more powerful relative to his body weight than Athlete B.
What is Speed?
The equation for speed is the distance travelled divided by time (Speed = D / T). speed is the rate at which an object moves measured in meters per second; it refers to how fast an object moves or the rate at which an object covers direction. For example, a speedometer states the vehicle travels 100 miles per hour. This shows that speed is a scalar quantity; it has magnitude (speed) but not direction, it's measured by its size and magnitude, not direction. Fast-moving objects cover large distances in short amounts of time, and slow-moving objects cover small distances in the same amount of time.
Speed and velocity are NOT the same. Speed is how fast an object is going, whereas velocity is how fast it is going in a certain direction. Speed is the time rate at which an object is moving along a path, and velocity is the rate and direction of an object's movement.
Now that we understand power, force, velocity, and speed, we can start to identify what explosive strength training consists of.
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