Explonic can be found in the EGYM “Athletic” and “General Fitness” training programs. The new method for practicing "power" doesn’t just appeal to athletes but also to older gym members. Having explosive strength or “power” is not only important in sports but also in everyday life, for example, going up flights of stairs, getting up, or preventing yourself from falling. The EGYM strength test determines the weight and makes sure peak physical performance is achieved with each and every repetition in order to train explosive strength in the most effective manner possible.
Explosive Strength Is Required in Daily Life Too
Explosive strength or “power” means being able to overcome resistance in the shortest possible time. It is not only a decisive performance factor in sports but also in day-to-day activities (Izquierdo & Cadore 2014). Functional movements carried out in everyday life, such as “climbing stairs” or “getting up from a chair,” requires your entire body weight to be accelerated within fractions of a second.
Older people in particular often have problems doing this. They don’t lack the basic strength needed to get up from a chair, for example. What they lack is the ability to build up strength quickly. The main reason for this is that explosive power drastically decreases with age when compared to maximum strength (Izquierdo & Cadore 2014).
Power Deteriorates with Age More than Maximum Strength
Studies show that exercising for power is the most important type of exercise for maintaining general capabilities and muscle performance. Unfortunately, however, explosive power is also the physical ability that disappears most quickly in old age (by -3.5% per year starting from the age of 65) – much faster than maximum strength (-1.5% per year), endurance, or mobility.
Working out for power is considered to be particularly important in old age for functional rejuvenation and the prevention of falls (Izquierdo & Cadore 2014). Increased power ultimately means better performance, smoother movements, and greater safety in everyday life (Cadore et. al 2014).
Each Rep Performed at Peak Effort Optimally Improves Power
A basic rule is: Train at the limit you want to increase! If you want to train muscular endurance, you have to do a lot of reps. If you want to train maximum strength, you have to train with maximum weight. If you want to increase your power or performance, you have to train at peak performance.
What Is Peak Performance? Performance (physical) is the product of weight and speed. Speed should always be kept as high as possible when working out and then vary depending on how heavy the weight is.
If you use a heavy weight for repetitions, you can only move very slowly and thus obtain a low level of performance (e.g. 100 kg × 0.1 m/s = 10 watts). Working out with low weight lets you achieve a high speed but ultimately only low performance (e.g. 10 kg × 1 m/s = 10 watts.) A medium weight lets you work out at an average speed and thereby achieve a higher level of performance (50 kg × 0.5 m/s = 25 watts). This means that if you work out with a medium weight and go as fast as you can, you will achieve a higher level of physical performance per repetition. Depending on which muscle group is being trained, the ideal weight for working out should be approx. 45–60% of the maximum strength.
Courtesy of egym.com
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