How to Improve Force Production

There are many factors that affect force production (the amount of force produced in a muscle, or muscles).  Improvements in force production can optimize sport-specific skill performance, including running, jumping, throwing, and hitting/striking.

Lift Heavy

Lifting heavy weight (e.g, 65-80% 1RM) produces greater tension in the muscle which, in turn, leads to greater motor unit (neuromuscular) recruitment, which affects force production.  The number of active motor units is directly proportional to the amount of force production.  (It should also be noted that heavy lifting and explosive concentric training [see below] have the potential to activate more fast-twitch muscle fibers)

Preloading

Preloading is the tension developed in the muscle before you move the weight.  When you bench press, deadlift, or squat, you can’t move the bar off the rack or floor until sufficient force is developed in the muscle to overcome the inertia of the barbell.

Overload Eccentric Training

Use very heavy resistance (≥ 100% 1RM) to perform “negatives,” which emphasize the lowering phase/movement of a lift.  For safety reasons, it may be advisable to use a spotter (or spotters) for certain exercises, such as the bench press, to assist in returning the weight to the original (up) position.

Explosive Concentric Training

When training for explosive concentric movements — where the goal is generating velocity — use relatively light resistance.

Plyometrics

Plyometric exercises exploit the stretch-shortening cycle to generate maximum force in minimum time.  This involves “prestretching” a muscle immediately before a concentric action to enhance force production during the subsequent muscle action.

Rest

It’s important to incorporate rest days into your training regimen in order to allow muscles time to recover and repair.

Your thoughts?

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How to Improve Force Production

There are many factors that affect force production (the amount of force produced in a muscle, or muscles).  Improvements in force production can optimize sport-specific skill performance, including running, jumping, throwing, and hitting/striking.

Lift Heavy

Lifting heavy weight (e.g, 65-80% 1RM) produces greater tension in the muscle which, in turn, leads to greater motor unit (neuromuscular) recruitment, which affects force production.  The number of active motor units is directly proportional to the amount of force production.  (It should also be noted that heavy lifting and explosive concentric training [see below] have the potential to activate more fast-twitch muscle fibers)

Preloading

Preloading is the tension developed in the muscle before you move the weight.  When you bench press, deadlift, or squat, you can’t move the bar off the rack or floor until sufficient force is developed in the muscle to overcome the inertia of the barbell.

Overload Eccentric Training

Use very heavy resistance (≥ 100% 1RM) to perform “negatives,” which emphasize the lowering phase/movement of a lift.  For safety reasons, it may be advisable to use a spotter (or spotters) for certain exercises, such as the bench press, to assist in returning the weight to the original (up) position.

Explosive Concentric Training

When training for explosive concentric movements — where the goal is generating velocity — use relatively light resistance.

Plyometrics

Plyometric exercises exploit the stretch-shortening cycle to generate maximum force in minimum time.  This involves “prestretching” a muscle immediately before a concentric action to enhance force production during the subsequent muscle action.

Rest

It’s important to incorporate rest days into your training regimen in order to allow muscles time to recover and repair.

Your thoughts?

WE WILL HELP YOU BECOME A BETTER ATHLETE!

We provide motivated athletes with a simple, customized training plan to help them improve performance and reduce injury risk.

How Protein Becomes Muscle

Protein consumption, following a workout, is an important component of the muscle and strength building process.  But how, exactly, does the process work?

Here’s a terrific resource from Men’s Health titled, How Protein Becomes Muscle.  This animated video explains the process from ingestion through each subsequent stage — transport; response; repair and growth; and construction.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Burn Fat Faster

Training longer and harder isn’t necessarily the best workout formula.  If you want to boost your metabolism and stoke your body’s fat-burning furnace, try reducing your rest time between sets.

According to researchers at Cal State, subjects who reduced their rest time to 30 seconds, between sets, burned nearly 10 percent more fat compared with those who rested for 90 seconds between sets.

Shorter rest intervals require your muscles to work considerably harder.  This means your body also has to do extra work repairing and regenerating, after your workout, which burns more calories.  As an added bonus, you’ll shorten your workout time and train more efficiently.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Boost Your Metabolism With These Protein-Rich Foods

The benefits of dietary protein are well-documented.  Unfortunately, most of us do not get enough protein in our diets.  It is estimated that we should consume 0.6-0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight, each day, to help protect against age-related muscle loss (that’s 105-140 grams of protein per day for a 175 pound man).  Active individuals should aim for the upper end of this equation, and athletes may need even more.

Additional benefits of adequate dietary protein consumption include:

• Muscle repair
• Increases fat-burning
• Increases satiety (full feeling) after a meal
• Decreases subsequent energy (calorie) intake
• Leads to weight loss

I found an interesting article in Prevention magazine that lists several protein-rich food sources that can help you get 20-30 grams of protein at each meal.  I especially like the idea of supplementing your daily protein intake with whey protein powder.  8-10 oz. of milk, mixed with a scoop of whey protein powder, provides 30+ grams of quality protein.  Mix it the night before, then drink it the next day — a few sips, throughout the day — at work, home, school, etc.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

How to Improve Force Production

There are many factors that affect force production (the amount of force produced in a muscle, or muscles).  Improvements in force production can optimize sport-specific skill performance, including running, jumping, throwing, and hitting/striking.

Lift Heavy

Lifting heavy weight (e.g, 65-80% 1RM) produces greater tension in the muscle which, in turn, leads to greater motor unit (neuromuscular) recruitment, which affects force production.  The number of active motor units is directly proportional to the amount of force production.  (It should also be noted that heavy lifting and explosive concentric training [see below] have the potential to activate more fast-twitch muscle fibers)

Preloading

Preloading is the tension developed in the muscle before you move the weight.  When you bench press, deadlift, or squat, you can’t move the bar off the rack or floor until sufficient force is developed in the muscle to overcome the inertia of the barbell.

Overload Eccentric Training

Use very heavy resistance (≥ 100% 1RM) to perform “negatives,” which emphasize the lowering phase/movement of a lift.  For safety reasons, it may be advisable to use a spotter (or spotters) for certain exercises, such as the bench press, to assist in returning the weight to the original (up) position.

Explosive Concentric Training

When training for explosive concentric movements — where the goal is generating velocity — use relatively light resistance.

Plyometrics

Plyometric exercises exploit the stretch-shortening cycle to generate maximum force in minimum time.  This involves “prestretching” a muscle immediately before a concentric action to enhance force production during the subsequent muscle action.

Rest

It’s important to incorporate rest days into your training regimen in order to allow muscles time to recover and repair.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

How Protein Becomes Muscle

Protein consumption, following a workout, is an important component of the muscle and strength building process.  But how, exactly, does the process work?

Here’s a terrific resource from Men’s Health titled, How Protein Becomes Muscle.  This animated video explains the process from ingestion through each subsequent stage — transport; response; repair and growth; and construction.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Burn Fat Faster

Training longer and harder isn’t necessarily the best workout formula.  If you want to boost your metabolism and stoke your body’s fat-burning furnace, try reducing your rest time between sets.

According to researchers at Cal State, subjects who reduced their rest time to 30 seconds, between sets, burned nearly 10 percent more fat compared with those who rested for 90 seconds between sets.

Shorter rest intervals require your muscles to work considerably harder.  This means your body also has to do extra work repairing and regenerating, after your workout, which burns more calories.  As an added bonus, you’ll shorten your workout time and train more efficiently.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Boost Your Metabolism With These Protein-Rich Foods

The benefits of dietary protein are well-documented.  Unfortunately, most of us do not get enough protein in our diets.  It is estimated that we should consume 0.6-0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight, each day, to help protect against age-related muscle loss (that’s 105-140 grams of protein per day for a 175 pound man).  Active individuals should aim for the upper end of this equation, and athletes may need even more.

Additional benefits of adequate dietary protein consumption include:

• Muscle repair
• Increases fat-burning
• Increases satiety (full feeling) after a meal
• Decreases subsequent energy (calorie) intake
• Leads to weight loss

I found an interesting article in Prevention magazine that lists several protein-rich food sources that can help you get 20-30 grams of protein at each meal.  I especially like the idea of supplementing your daily protein intake with whey protein powder.  8-10 oz. of milk, mixed with a scoop of whey protein powder, provides 30+ grams of quality protein.  Mix it the night before, then sip on it the next day — throughout the day — at work, home, school, etc.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?