One of
the most common arguments or sources of opposition on the part of athletes to
high intensity training is the fact that the movements are slow and controlled.
The question is asked: how can one develop explosiveness by training in a slow
and controlled manner?
Well, it’s quite simple really, when you consider the recruitment
of muscle fibers during an exercise. Everyday, sub-maximal movements use one’s
slow-twitch or type I muscle fibers. These are the fibers that are used at the
beginning of an exercise before fatigue has been achieved. As you begin to
fatigue during an exercise, your body naturally begins to recruit more and more
muscle fibers. Once the type I fibers are fatigued, you begin to recruit your
type II A and type II B muscle fibers, which are also known as your fast-twitch
muscle fibers. This is how you can become more explosive even when training is
slow and controlled. Even though the movements are slow, taking the muscle
tissue to momentary muscle failure allows you to train your fast-twitch muscle
fibers (Kenney, Wilmore, Costill, 42).
When people believe that you have to move resistance quickly to
become more explosive, they are thinking backwards. Most often when you move
weight quickly, you are eliciting the help of momentum to move the
resistance. Therefore, your muscles don’t have to work as hard and you
fail to bring your muscles to a deep-enough fatigue to effectively train your
fast-twitch muscle fibers (Asanovich, Jacksonville Jaguars strength and
conditioning manual). By training in a slow and controlled fashion, you are
minimizing the use of momentum and training the targeted muscle at every point
in the range of motion because there is constant tension on the muscle
(Brzycki, 23).
Finally, one of the common arguments of those in favor of
ballistic movements is that training explosively will somehow carry over into
explosive movements in your sport. However, there is absolutely no evidence of
this in any literature in the field. Even though these movements are fast when
compared to a slow and controlled lift, the movements are much slower than
those actually used in a competitive sport (Brzycki, 23). Therefore, the
movements couldn’t possibly transfer to one’s sport. The only way to become
more explosive in your sport is to train your muscles in a way that causes them
to gain strength and to practice the specific movements that you are going to
be asked to perform in your sport (specificity of training) (Brzycki, 30).
As you can see, the most effective way to become more explosive
is by training your muscles in a slow and controlled manner and by practicing
your sport-specific movements explosively. An explosive lift will not carry
over to more explosive performance on the field. If you would like to
train your muscles in a safe and effective fashion, high intensity training is
the way to go.
References
Bryzcki, Matt.
A Practical Approach to Strength Training. 3 ed. Lincolnwood: Masters Press, 1995. Print.
Wilmore, Jack H., David L.
Costill, and Larry W. Kenney. "Structure and Function of Exercising
Muscle." Physiology of sport and exercise. 2nd ed. Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics, 2012. 27-47. Print.
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