The problem: strong, but not quick
Many people reach a point where they are clearly stronger than they used to be, yet something still feels missing. The tennis serve has no snap. The punch is slow to land. Standing up from a low sofa takes a moment of rocking forward. Catching a stumble on the stairs feels a little late. None of these are problems of strength alone. They are problems of power: how quickly you can turn the strength you have into movement.
In the previous article you saw that strength is the ability to produce force. This article answers the next question in the goal phase of the course: what does training for power actually mean, who needs it, and how do you train for it without getting hurt or wasting your effort?
The simple answer
Power is force produced quickly. A heavy, slow lift shows strength. A jump, a throw, a sprint start or a fast rise from a chair shows power. Training for power means practising a small number of fast, high-quality efforts with full intent and full recovery between them, built on top of a base of strength and good landing and throwing skill.
Power is not the same as being out of breath. Twenty fast burpees leave you exhausted, but by the last ones you are moving slowly. Power training is the opposite: few repetitions, each one as fast and crisp as you can make it, then rest.
Why it matters, and to whom
Power is often treated as something only athletes need. It is broader than that.
- Sport and athletic goals. Jumping, sprinting, changing direction, throwing, striking and tackling all depend on producing force in a short time. Stronger athletes tend to perform better on these tasks, which is one reason strength and power are trained together[1].
- Combat sports. A strike, a takedown or a scramble is decided in fractions of a second. Power is part of the job.
- Ageing well. Research on older adults suggests that muscle power declines with age and is closely linked to everyday physical function, such as rising from a chair, climbing stairs and walking speed, in some studies more closely than strength alone[2]. Being able to move quickly is part of staying independent.
- Everyday life. Catching yourself when you trip, lifting a child quickly out of harm's way, running for a bus. These are power tasks too.
So the question is not whether power matters, but how much priority it deserves for your goal right now.
What the evidence says
Here the research evidence is kept separate from how APEX uses it.
Research evidence
- Power has more than one ingredient. Reviews of power development describe it as depending on maximal strength, how quickly force can be produced, muscle and nervous system qualities, and the skill of the specific movement[3]. That is why training only one ingredient tends to give limited results.
- Strength supports power. Greater muscular strength is associated with better jumping, sprinting and change-of-direction performance, and stronger individuals often respond well to power training[1].
- Jump training works, modestly. A meta-analysis found that plyometric (jump) training improves vertical jump height, with small to moderate improvements on average. It helps, but it is not magic.
- How power is usually trained. The American College of Sports Medicine position stand on resistance training progression recommends that power training uses light to moderate loads, few repetitions per set, movements performed as fast as possible, and adequate rest, built on a foundation of strength training[4].
How certain is this?
The general principles (strength supports power, fast intent and low fatigue matter, jump and throw training improves jump and throw performance) are well supported. The exact best loads, sets and weekly doses vary between studies and between people, so treat any specific numbers, including the ones in this article, as reasonable starting points rather than rules.
The APEX principle: power sits on top, never underneath
APEX organises power using ideas you already know from this course.
- Capacity and skill are different. Power needs capacity (strength, the ability of tendons and joints to tolerate landing) and skill (how to jump, land, throw and coordinate). A person can be strong but land badly, or skilled but too weak to produce much force. Both tracks need work.
- Landing before height. In APEX, the first jump skill is not jumping high. It is landing quietly and under control. Absorbing force is the foundation of producing it.
- Quality over fatigue. A power repetition done tired is no longer a power repetition. Power work goes first in a session, when you are fresh, and stops when speed drops.
- Progress by competency, not by calendar. You move from a small hop to a bigger jump, or from a light ball to a heavier one, when you can control the current version, not because a set number of weeks has passed.
- Specificity. The power you need depends on your goal. A sprinter, a boxer and a seventy-year-old wanting to climb stairs confidently all train power, but not the same way.
What it looks like in real life
Imagine a 38-year-old office worker who plays five-a-side football at weekends. After a year of consistent strength training, his squat and deadlift have improved a lot, but on the pitch he still feels slow off the mark. He does not need a new program from scratch. He needs a short power block added to the start of his existing strength sessions: a few jumps with careful landings, a few medicine ball throws, long rests, then his usual strength work. He measures a standing broad jump at the start and every few weeks after.
Now imagine a 67-year-old woman who already walks daily and does basic strength work twice a week. Her goal is not jumping. Her power work might be rising from a chair as quickly as she safely can while lowering slowly, or stepping up onto a low step briskly. Same principle, very different dose.
What people commonly get wrong
- Confusing exhaustion with explosiveness. Circuits of fast movements done to breathlessness train conditioning, which has its own value, but they are not power training once speed drops.
- Jumping before landing. Big box jumps and repeated bounding with poor landings put load on knees and ankles without building useful skill.
- Skipping strength. Power training alone, with very little strength base, gives limited gains. Strength and power develop best together.
- Doing too much. Power work is low in volume. Fifty jumps in a session is usually not more power, just more fatigue and more landing stress.
- Doing power work last. Adding jumps at the end of a hard leg session turns them into tired, sloppy repetitions.
- Assuming Olympic lifts are required. The snatch and clean are excellent tools for people who have the skill and coaching, but jumps, throws, kettlebell swings and fast-intent lifts can develop power too. No single exercise owns power.
Where power fits in APEX
In the APEX program families, power belongs to the Power / Athletic family (speed, power, agility, jumping, throwing and athletic development). It also appears inside other families: hybrid programs, sport-specific preparation, and health programs for older adults.
On the aesthetic-to-performance spectrum from article 4, power sits firmly toward the performance end. It changes what your body can do more than how it looks. If your main goal is fat loss or muscle, power work is optional and can be a small addition. If your goal is athletic performance or sport, it becomes central.
What this means at different stages
- Restoration: power is rarely the priority. The focus is restoring basic function and tolerance. Where a healthcare professional has cleared movement, gentle intent to move briskly (for example a controlled sit-to-stand) may be part of rebuilding function.
- Foundation: learn to land, hop small, throw a light ball and stand up with intent, while building basic strength. Power work is a few minutes per session.
- Transformation: power can be a short addition to body-change goals, keeping athletic qualities alive. It should not compete with recovery.
- Development: jumps, bounds, throws and swings become more structured, alongside heavier strength work. This is where many people see clear improvement.
- Performance: power becomes specific to the sport or event, with more precise loading and planning across the season.
- Mastery: maintaining power with age and managing joint stress and recovery carefully.
How much do you need?
Less than you think. As a coaching principle (not a strict rule), many people do well with:
- one to three power exercises at the start of a session;
- about three to five sets of three to five repetitions each;
- one to three minutes of rest between sets, longer for heavier or bigger efforts;
- two or three sessions a week, often inside sessions you already do.
Stop a set when the movement slows or the landing gets loud and messy. That is the signal that power has turned into fatigue.
How to measure it
Measure what you are trying to change. For power that might be:
- standing broad jump distance or vertical jump height;
- medicine ball throw distance with the same ball and the same technique;
- a short sprint time over a marked distance;
- for older adults or people building function, a timed sit-to-stand test or how briskly you can climb a flight of stairs.
Test fresh, warm up the same way each time, take the best of a few attempts and compare every four to six weeks rather than every session.
What not to copy
Videos of athletes jumping onto chest-high boxes, doing depth jumps from tall platforms, or performing heavy Olympic lifts show years of built-up strength, tendon tolerance and coached skill. The box height is often more about hip mobility than power. Copying the outward version without the base underneath brings risk without the benefit. Copy the principle instead: few, fast, high-quality repetitions, landed well, when you are fresh.
A note on safety
Jumping and fast movements place higher forces on joints, tendons and bones than slow training. If you have joint pain, a past or current injury, a bone health condition, a heart or blood pressure condition, are pregnant or have recently given birth, or take medication that affects balance, heart rate or bone, speak to a qualified healthcare professional before adding jumping or explosive work. This article is fitness education, not medical advice, and power work should never be done through pain.
Your next best step
Do one thing this week: set a baseline and add a small power block. Pick one simple test that fits your stage (a standing broad jump, a medicine ball chest throw, or a timed sit-to-stand). Record your best of three. Then, at the start of your next two or three sessions, after your warm-up, add one or two fast-intent exercises for three sets of three to five repetitions, resting fully between sets, and stopping each set the moment quality drops. Retest in four to six weeks.
If power is a supporting quality for you, that may be all you need. If it is central to your goal, the next article in this goal phase moves on to cardio, and article 22 brings power together with speed, agility and endurance in training for athletic performance.
