Every athlete wishes they could run a little bit faster, jump a little bit higher, and hit a little bit harder. Whether you are running down a basketball court, leaping off the blocks, scoring a goal, or winning a soccer game, power is the driving force behind the line that distinguishes a good from a great performance.
The hidden secret behind the development of power? Dynamic movements develop quick and efficient force. Specifically, while power is manifested in strength, its underlying phenomenon is explosion. That is, power is a product of strength and speed.
Imagine a home run slugger or a volleyball player demonstrating high-tension spiking energy. These instances take place in a flash. They are the result of muscles contracting quickly and reaching maximum force before emerging. In descending order, the seven moves I will walk you through today target the quick-twitch muscle groups that perform high-speed expressions. They are ideal for advancing your nervous function and instructing your neuromuscular system to recruit more muscle fibers and increase your force utilization rate in various muscle groups.
None of this, though, requires a lavish facility or high-tech gym. This article deconstructs several high-concentration dynamic motion exercises to transform your athletic performance. All of this is easy to do with the details, guides, and adaptations for each workout. Therefore, whether you are a student athlete attempting to win your varsity letter, a weekend fitness enthusiast looking to up your exhibition performance, or an ambitious aspirant who competes for championships, these routines will make you experience explosive power.
Before we start imitating them, let us acknowledge why every athlete, regardless of their sport of specialization, can gradually exercise the importance of specialty. Power is power produced over time. The dissolved time is the greatest force possible. For example, sprinting from the suggestions, bursting through a tackler, or undergoing a time course flip.
Why Power Training Matters
Too many young athletes make the mistake of only working on muscle size or lifting heavy weights slowly. Strength is a part of it, but it’s only half the battle. You have to teach your body how to use that strength in a powerful movement. This is where dynamic exercises play a role — they fill in the middle ground between pure strength and actual, on-the-field athletic performance.
Studies suggest that athletes who integrate power training not only enhance their sport-specific skills but reduce the risk for injuries. Because the faster your muscles can respond and absorb force, the less likely you are to experience strains, sprains and other common sports injuries. Your joints become stronger, your tendons more resilient, and the quality of your movements enhances in an unprecedented way.
Movement #1: Box Jumps — The Best Explosive Lower Body Power
Box jumps are the benchmark for developing lower body explosiveness. This exercise will help train your legs to explode by producing power in your lower body in an instant, just like the sport of football and other fast-twitch sports demand. While you’re doing a box jump, your glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves are coordinating to help you make the landing.
Correct Way to Do Box Jumps
You can begin by standing in front of a sturdy box or platform that is 12-24 inches high, realizing some may need to start lower. Stand with feet shoulder width with foot angle turned out slightly. Bend your knees and swing your arms back, loading up the hips like a compacted spring. Explosively swing your arms forward and up, driving through your legs to jump up onto the box. Land softly on top of the box with both feet fully on it, bending your knees slightly to absorb the impact. Step down slowly – don’t jump down as this is a very jarring action for your joints.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Most of the athletes commit the mistake of getting momentum from few small hops and not one strong jump. This is counterproductive behavior. Begin each rep from a dead stop in order to develop power! Landing on stiff legs is another common blunder that can lead to injuries and compromise the quality of your training. Cat-like, always land soft with your knees slightly bent and prepared to siphon off force.
Progression Strategy
Week 1 and 2 should be about perfecting form with a shorter box. Shoot for 3×5 at full rest (90-120 seconds). As you become stronger, increase the height of the box over time – go up in 2-4″ increments every fortnight. More advanced athletes can advance to single-leg box jumps or wear a weighted vest for added resistance.
Movement #2: Medicine Ball Slams — Total Body Explosive Power
Medicine ball slams are a world-class power exercise that go widely underappreciated. This movement builds full-body power, as well as serving as a great way to release some intensity and aggression (which can be directly applicable in competitive settings).
Medicine ball slams are a great and effective work of art. Whereas a lot of exercises will isolate the muscles, causing them to mimic each other’s movements as your body is reduced to a collection of parts, slams threatens to force your entire body to move with it. There’s power in the legs from the ground, a transfer of that power by engaging your core as you pull up and an explosive finish with your arms. This full-body coordination is precisely what occurs during most athletic movements.
Proper Technique Breakdown
Select a medicine ball that weighs anywhere between 6 and 15 pounds, depending on your experience and strength level. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold the ball between both of your hands. Reach the ball up, coming on to your toes and lifting up to lengthen the whole body. This is your loaded position. Using your core to generate power, slam the ball all the way down to the ground as hard as you can. Bend your knees and hips as you slam, propelling your entire body down with the ball. Catch the ball on the bounce (or pick it up with a dead ball) and perform another rep.
Training Parameters
They work best with higher intensity and moderate reps. Do 4 sets of 8-10 reps, ensuring maximum intensity for vital slams. Take 60-90 seconds rest between sets to allow for continued explosive power. The secret is not volume, but intensity—every thrust should be as hard as the first.
Variations to Keep Progressing
Once you get the plain ol’ slam down, give rotational slams a go by twisting your torso as you throw it to either side. This variation is ideal for sports that require rotational power such as baseball, tennis, golf. Overhead backward throws are another option, where you throw the ball behind you for distance, which will help to develop explosive hip extension that is essential for sprinting and jumping.
Movement #3: Broad Jumps — Horizontal Power That Transfers Across the Board
While box jumps build vertical power, broad jumps teach horizontal explosiveness — the ability to cover ground rapidly. This makes them vital for sports that include sprinting, cutting and changing direction. Basketball players charging to the basket, soccer players sprinting past defenders and football players exploding off the line of scrimmage all depend heavily on horizontal power.
Broad jumps are all about training your body to transfer power forward effectively. They work to develop the posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes and lower back) in addition to promoting coordination between your upper and lower body. The arm-swing rhythm you gain on broad jumps carries over to better sprinting technique.
Step-by-Step Execution
Stand at a starting line with feet hips-width apart. At the same time you bend your knees and sit back, swing your arms backward. Your weight will shift back into your heels. Swing your arms explosively forward and up (as you drive through your legs to help propel you), jumping as far forward as possible. Try to land on both feet at the same time, with bent knees to cushion the impact. Stick your landing — no extra steps, no falling backward (a sign that you jumped too far for the amount of control in this stage).
Measuring Progress
One nice thing about broad jumps is that progress can be pretty well measured. Set a marker and measure how far you land. Count on your personal best—jump and record it and try to better it next time. Most athletes will make very big gains in the first month as your nervous system adapts and technique improves.
Programming Recommendations
Do them early in your workout, when you’re fresh and your nervous system is sharp. Perform 3-5 sets with 3-5 reps at full rest (2-3 minutes). You always want to ensure quality over quantity on power exercises. Do not fatigue your body with broad jumps, as this will cause technique and training to suffer.
Broad Jump Performance Standards
| Level | High School Males | High School Females | College Males | College Females |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 5-6 Feet | 4-5 Feet | 7-8 Feet | 6-7 Feet |
| Intermediate | 7-8 Feet | 6-7 Feet | 9-10 Feet | 8-9 Feet |
| Advanced | 9+ Feet | 8+ Feet | 11+ Feet | 10+ Feet |
Movement #4: Kettlebell Swings — Good Hip Workout for All Athletes
The kettlebell swing is one of the best exercises to train powerful hip extension—which is the basis for most things people want out of athletically-inclined activities: jumping, punching, throwing, running, and just being able to bang away at life with vigor! Running, jumping, cutting and throwing all rely on your capacity to explode your hips. Kettlebell swings, when done right, build powerful glutes and hamstrings, and are an invaluable teaching tool for hip hinge mechanics.
The kettlebell swing, in fact, is so much more of a “bridge” exercise – taking strength building moves to turn them into power athletic moves. The violent hip drive necessary for an effective swing is analogous to the acceleration in sprinting and takeoff of jumping. Moreover, swings enhance grip strength and core stabilization–crucial for athletes.
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Technical Breakdown
Begin standing, with a kettlebell on the ground about a foot in front of you. Start with your feet a little more than shoulder width apart. Grab the kettlebell handle with both hands, palms towards you. Hike the kettlebell back behind your legs, as though a football center were snapping you the ball. Your back should be flat and your chest up — you are moving at the hips, not the low back. Then, when the kettlebell swings to the back of your swing, use that momentum to aggressively drive your hips forward as you powerfully contract the glutes. This hip snap drives the kettlebell forward and upward. The kettlebell should float to roughly the height of your chest, powered only by your hips—do not lift with your arms. Allow the kettlebell to naturally swing back down, hinging at your hips to absorb the momentum, and immediately explode into the next repetition.
Critical Form Points
The most common error I see is squatting the kettlebell instead of hinging at the hips. Your knees should bend slightly, but it’s your big movement only if the hips drive back and snap forward. Another mistake is lifting the kettlebell with your arms and shoulders—the arms are just ropes that connect your hips to the weight. Last, many newbies allow the kettlebell to drop too far on the backswing, endangering lower-back safety. This kettlebell should not go lower than your knees.
Workout Application
Kettlebell swings are also effective with high-rep schemes to build power and conditioning simultaneously. 5 sets of 15-20 swings (60 seconds rest between sets as always). Picking an appropriate weight of kettlebell is important, go heavy enough so you can’t say, “Oh I didn’t feel it.” But not too heavy where your form sucks at all. Men start with 35-50 pounds, women with 20-35 pounds.
Movement #5: Depth Jumps — High-Performance Reactive Power Training
Depth jumps are a high-level plyometric exercise that increases reactive strength – that is, the ability of your muscles to make that quick switch from lengthening (eccentric) to shortening (concentric) contractions. This type of quality is paramount for sports that require continuous jumping, landing and quick changes in the direction of play. But depth jumps are also borderline crazy and should be performed only by more advanced athletes with a good strength base and jumping technique.
The added benefit of depth jumps comes from using the stretch-shortening cycle of your muscles. When you step down from a box and hit the floor, your muscles lengthen under tension. If you can jump straight up before all that elastic energy has time to leak away, you’ll get a more powerful jump than what’s possible from a standstill. This conditions your nervous system to respond immediately — a useful skill, particularly in competitive sports.
For more information on plyometric training principles, check out the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s guidelines.
Proper Execution Protocol
Begin with a box height of 12-18 inches. Shift your weight to the other foot while transferring the box under your raised heel. Keep standing on top of the box, toes close to the edge. Step off (don’t jump!) and let yourself fall to the ground. As soon as your feet touch the ground, drive up explosively into a maximum height vertical jump. The contact time between your foot and the ground should be short—consider the ground as a hot stove you want to touch for just an instant. Softly land from the vertical jump with bent knees and rest on your knees before your next repetition.
Safety Considerations
Depth jumps are very hard on the joints and connective tissues. Do them only when you are fresh, not at the tail end of your workout, or in a fatigued state. An athlete should have at least six months of plyometric training experience and be able to squat 1.5 times their body weight before attempting depth jumps. If you feel any joint pain, lower the box height right away or don’t do this movement.
Training Volume
With depth jumps, less is more. Do 2-3 sets of 3-5 reps single or twice a week with at least 48 hours rest in between workouts. Rest 3-4 minutes between sets to maximize full nervous system recovery. The emphasis is on maximal output and explosive quality, not fatigue building.
Movement #6: Rotational Medicine Ball Throws — Power for Multi-Directional Sports
A typical strength move goes from A to B, like forward or back, up or down. But sports take place in three dimensions and involve a lot of rotation and lateral movement. Rotational medicine ball throws in particular build the rotational power necessary for throwing, swinging and changing direction explosively.
No matter whether you’re a baseball pitcher with a fastball, a tennis player taking a forehand or a basketball player using pivot to get away from your defender, rotational power is where it’s at. They teach your obliques, hips, and shoulders to work together in producing and transferring rotational force—the very movement pattern that dominates every sport.
Exercise Demonstration
Stand side-on to a sturdy wall, 3-4 feet away with both hands on your hip furthest from the wall holding a medicine ball (8-12 lbs). Feet should be a little wider than shoulder width. Turn your torso away from the wall and load up the back hip and muscles of your core. Now explode back towards the wall, using your hips to power you through it, and throw as hard as you can against the wall. You shall naturally pivot your back foot as you twist. Catch the ball on the way back, get into your starting position and again repeat for as many reps as desired. Do all of the repetitions on one side before switching to the other side.
Key Coaching Points
Power in all rotational throws should originate from your lower body and core — not just your arms. You want to be driving through that back leg and rotating your hips first, with your torso and arms just following it around. Throughout, keep your core engaged to protect the spine and maximize power transfer. Too often athletes only use their arms, greatly decreasing the amount of power that can be developed and negating the very purpose of the exercise.
Sets and Repetitions
Do 3-4 sets of 6-8 throws each side. Concentrate on each throw as a maximal effort, but don’t get sloppy. Rest 60-90 seconds between sets. As you get stronger, the weight of the medicine ball can be increased, as can the distance between you and the wall.
Movement #7: Trap Bar Jumps — Loaded Power Training
Trap bar jumps, otherwise known as hex bar jumps, offer the same benefits of Olympic weightlifting movements and jumping exercises without the complexity or risk. The purpose of adding external load to a jumping movement is to put your muscles under even more force, so they have to generate greater force — and in turn more power. For athletes that want to get the benefits of Olympic lifts but they have not learned how to do cleans and snatches or they haven’t yet mastered them this is a great exercise.
The design of the trap bar allows you to load your body with a neutral spine alignment, which is more favorable on your lower back than loaded positions through traditional barbell exercises. And, you can produce a boatload of power from your legs and hips without the technical overhead or potential for injury that comes with catching a barbell on your shoulders. This will allow more athletes to perform trap bar jumps while getting elite level power development results.
Execution Guidelines
Load a trap bar with 25-40% of your deadlift one-rep max (beginners should use just the bar). Jump into the trap bar and grab the handles with straight arms. Your feet ought to be hip-width distance apart. First, sink down and load your hips and knees. Then jump as high as possible while holding on to the bar, straightening your hips and knees, and extending your ankles explosively. Keep your arms straight — the bar should rise solely due to the jump of your body. Land softly on your legs slightly bent to absorb the impact. Fully reset for every rep.
Load Selection
The weight should be heavy enough to give you resistance, but not so heavy that you can’t jump explosively. If the bar doesn’t break from the ground, it’s too heavy. If you are jumping as high as you would without any weight, the weight is too light. The idea is to find the “sweet spot” where you’re being challenged, but are still able to be explosive.
Training Approach
Do trap bar jumps 1-2 times a week getting in 4-5 sets of 3-5 reps. Rest fully between sets (2-3 minutes) to keep up the explosive nature. It’s best placed towards the beginning of your workout when your nervous system is fresh and your body has not yet built up a considerable amount of fatigue from other training.
The Full Power Program: How It Works
Now that you know the individual moves, let’s discuss how to organize your training for the most effective results. Power training is a tightrope walking act between training hard enough to make gains and recovering sufficiently so that one does not overtrain or acquire any injuries.
An effective power program consists of 2-3 specific power training sessions a week with at least one day of rest between them. 30-45 minute training session should include 3-4 exercises from the list provided. When your nervous system is primed, you can move on to more challenging exercises such as depth jumps or loaded movements.
Sample Weekly Training Schedule
Monday – Lower Power
- Box Jumps: 4 sets of 5 reps
- Broad Jumps: 3 sets of 4 reps
- Trap Bar Jumps: 4 sets of 3 reps
Wednesday – Total Body Power
- Medicine Ball Slams: 4×10
- Kettlebell Swings: 5×15
- Rotational Medicine Ball Throws: 3×8/side
Friday – Advanced Power Development
- Depth Jumps (advanced athletes only): 3×4
- Rotational Medicine Ball Throws: 4×6 each side
- Box Jumps: 3 sets of 5 reps
Just remember, when it comes to power training, quality always trumps quantity. Each repetition needs to be given 100 percent effort, maximum performance level form. If you find that you’re getting tired and your speed is dropping, terminate the set—pushing through fatigue trains endurance, not strength.
Nutrition and Recovery for Peak Performance Gains
Training is only half the battle when developing athletic power. Your body requires appropriate fuel as well as sufficient recovery to adapt and develop. Unless you take into account all these reasons, even the best-designed training system will fail.
Carbohydrates are the body’s fuel. Did you know that when your muscles are physically contracting the constant energy is being ‘burned’ as carbohydrates? Carbohydrates should really only be eaten mission specific for power athletes: to fuel a workout and to recover from it (before and after). Healthy options are rice, potatoes, oatmeal and fruit. Protein is a necessity as well to restore and build the muscle tissue that produces power. Make it a priority to eat quality protein at every meal.
Power training is one form of training where sleep should be given particular emphasis. Your nervous system — which is largely responsible for power development — recovers and adapts mostly when you sleep. 8-10 hours of quality sleep nightly is what an athlete needs to shoot for. If you are working your tail off and not seeing results, poor sleep is often to blame.
Through active recovery between training sessions, your body is able to recover more quickly. Light activities such as walking, swimming or easy cycling will help to increase the blood flow to your muscles without adding in any training stress. Stretching and foam rolling can also help lower muscle soreness and keep your mobility up so that you can train with better form in your next session.
Mistakes That Can Sabotage Power Improvement
So, while you may have great exercises and your programming is on point, a lot of athletes screw up in spite of themselves by making mistakes that are totally avoidable. You will save hundreds if not thousands of wasted hours and aggravation by recognizing these pitfalls.
Training to failure: Whereas in bodybuilding training to muscular fatigue can be beneficial, during power training fatigue must not be approached. Each rep should be quick, explosive. Once you start to slow down, that’s no longer power training — that’s endurance or strength training. Keep movement speed up and stop a set as soon as your movements slow down even slightly or you lose explosiveness.
Too little rest between sets: You are taxing your nervous system a lot with power exercises. While you would rest 30-45 seconds in between sets of a cardio based exercise, with power movements you need to allow for 2-4 minutes. It lets your nervous system replenish so every set stays explosive. Racing through training and skipping rest times will significantly hinder your power gains.
Forgetting about mobility work: You are not strong when you can’t get through a proper range of motion. If you’ve got tight hips, ankles or shoulders, these restrictions are preventing you from producing force and making you prone to injury. Spend 10-15 minutes before every power workout doing dynamic mobility work to the joints you’ll be using.
Overdoing it: More isn’t always better when it comes to power training. Your nervous system can only tolerate so much high-intensity work before it takes a dive. 2-3 focused power sessions a week and not 7 days of training per week is where most athletes will make their greatest gains. Quality and intensity are far more important than volume.
Tracking Progress and Setting Goals
It is vital for you to track your progress in order to stay motivated and verify if your training plan is effective. Power generation is expected to result in verifiable development of certain measurables.
Keep a training diary for each exercise including the weights used, distance jumped, box heights etc. Monthly, measure your vertical-jump height with a jump test or app on your phone. The best part is, many athletes are shocked to find out that they have gained 2-4 inches on their vertical in less than 2 months of regular power training.
So ditch the vague aspirations and come up with specific, measurable goals. Rather than saying, “I want to be more explosive,” make a promise about what your explosiveness will look like in just a short amount of time: “In the next 8 weeks I’ll have increased my broad jump from 6 feet to 7 feet” or “In one year’s time I will have improved upon my box jumps from a height of 20 inches to standing on top of a 30-inch box at the end of camp.” Goals help hold you accountable and can also help with developing the right training.
Power Development Timeline Chart
| Duration of Training | Approximate Improvement(s) | Adaptation Type |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-4 | 0-10% in maximum jumping height and distance | Neural adaptation, increased coordination |
| Weeks 5-8 | 8-12% higher muscle fiber activation for jump, better jumping technique | Neural, Muscular |
| Weeks 9-12 | 5-8% increase | Muscle growth, shift towards fast contraction |
| Months 4-6 | Continual small improvements (3-year study on volleyball players showed athletes improved the entire routine even after a year of training) | Sport-specific transfer |
Frequently Asked Questions
At what age can athletes start power training?
It is generally safe for athletes to start incorporating fundamental power training exercises like box jumps and medicine ball work at around age 12-13, after they’ve gone through puberty and have built up a basic foundation of strength. The secret: Nice timing and nothing more than all-out form, not all-out effort. Younger athletes should not perform advanced exercises, such as depth jumps, until 16 years of age with the proper supervision.
Can power training reduce injuries?
Absolutely. Power training is not only about muscle, it also involves strengthening of tendons and ligaments as well as increasing body control and coordination. Athletes with higher power output will land safer from jumps, change direction more fluidly and be able to absorb contact better—all of which reduces injury risk. But power work can be injurious by itself if executed with lousy form or volume, so you’ve got to progress well.
Power training: How long does it take to see results?
Most athletes see gains after 3-4 weeks of dedicated training. The early gains are mostly based on adaptations of the nervous system as your brain figures out how to contract more muscle fibers at one time. You will begin to notice improvement after 8-12 weeks, as your muscles get structural adaptations. Power evolution over the long term continues after months as technique refines and physique improves.
Do I need any special equipment for power training?
Although tools such as boxes, medicine balls and kettlebells have tremendous value, many of the best power-building exercises can be performed with minimal or no equipment. No equipment is required for broad jumps, just open space. Box jumps can be performed on a stable bench or bleachers. You can do exercises that involve jumps, using only your body weight. Imaginative athletes can achieve impressive power with very modest equipment or even bodyweight exercises.
Is it okay to do power training on the same days as sport practice?
This all depends on intensity of training and your ability to recover. In general high-intensity power training should not be performed within at least 4-6 hours of demanding sport practices to allow for partial recovery. Since it is possible to train at any time of day, often athletes perform power training in the morning and skill work in the afternoon, or vice versa. Do them both in the same session if you have no choice, but perform your power work when fresh: never after other forms of exhaustive practice that compromise form and explosiveness.
Can I train for strength and power at the same time?
The answer is yes, but you have to be smarter about it in programming. Power training, on the other hand, and hypertrophy (building muscles) have competing demands—power training requires fresh nervous system that can recruit a lot of movement while explosively moving one’s body while hypertrophy tends to happen at high volumes/under fatigue. Many athletes effectively blend the two by doing power movements at the beginning of each training session while fresh and then moving on to traditional strength exercises. Just be aware: over-the-top soreness in response to bodybuilding-style training can temporarily decrease power output.
Boosting Your Athletic Performance to the Next Level
Power on the gridiron is what distinguishes mediocre players from great players. The 7 dynamic movements I’ve shared with you here – box jumps, medicine ball slams, broad jumps, kettlebell swings, depth jumps, rotational medicine ball throws and trap bar jumps – make up a total power development system which hits every facet of explosive performance.
And keep in mind that power development is a process, not a goal. Regular training with progression, sufficient rest and focus on technique can lead to significant increases in your explosiveness. Begin slowly, make sure you get the basics right before working your way up in intensity. Give the process time — building real, lasting athletic power takes months of focused training but it’s worth every second.
The competitors that invest in power training get a physical and mental edge on the playing field when it’s counting the most. Whether it’s making a starting lineup, earning a scholarship or playing at the highest level possible, these movements are crucial for unlocking explosive ability. It’s just that there is no quasi-short-cut-take-this-more-expensive-variety of power work, and you simply may not want to do the boring, consistent actual work.
You are in the very beginning stages of your journey to becoming an explosively powerful athlete. Pick 2-3 of these exercises in this article, get them mastered, and consistently train for the next eight weeks. Keep tabs on your progress, praise advances, and fine-tune your program as you go. The explosive, powerful athlete that you want to become is put together one quality repetition at a time.
Now go out there and get active. Your competitors are not going to wait, and neither should you.
