Force and Power: Maximizing Performance with Velocity-Based Training

Description

Velocity-Based Training (VBT) is a hot topic in the strength and conditioning industry. Over the last few years, there’s been a surge of VBT research and various ways to implement it, but nothing concrete enough to satisfy us.

So we started experimenting.

The Two Questions

As we dove into this project, we were looking for ways to optimize force production in our athletes.

Why?

You see, as we were working through our system, we had an epiphany…

Strength does not move us. Force does.

Faster athletes produce more force in less time.

After months of research, the two main questions that stuck around were:

1. How much force can I produce?
2. And how quickly can I produce it?

You see, most athletics are dependent on time. A powerlifter has infinite time to complete a lift, sure, but if a lineman reacts too slowly, he’s getting trampled. Football coaches everywhere have stories about a strong kid on the line who is constantly getting beat. What can you do to help this kid?

Answer: pay attention to the velocity at which he moves.

The problem, though, is that this opposes decades of traditional strength and conditioning.

They just need to get stronger!

Put more weight on the bar!

We’re not building sissies here!

Does any of that sound familiar?

Coaches all over the world focus on strength — and it works for some athletes — but what about those who don’t benefit from getting stronger?

Strength is Overrated

That’s right, strength is overrated.

Remember: the goal of training is not to get stronger. Performance is the goal of training.

We need a new model to train athletes. One which accepts that making an athlete “stronger” is sometimes the wrong choice.

This model has never existed… until now.

So what do I do?

We love actionable steps, but when we initially bought some velocity-tracking technology, we didn’t have much to go on.

So we dove into the research.

Side note: Have you ever clicked on an interesting YouTube video — maybe a short lecture, maybe a stand up comedy routine — and then find yourself in parts of the internet you wish you could forget?

We had six months like that, but with scholarly research articles.

At the time, all this work was necessary. But after going through all of these papers, we knew we could simplify things. We didn’t want our peers to go through the same torture.

So we decided to make a manual.

Steal Our System!

Velocity-based training is reshaping our industry. How can you find a system that tells you exactly what data to gather, how to interpret that data, and what changes to make to your athletes’ programs?

Well, you could go through the research out there. If you want to do all the reading and months of work that we did, don’t let us stop you. Download a free chapter of our manual to get a list of all of our cited works. That would be a good place to start.

But if you have a job, family, or just other stuff you’d rather do with your time, this manual is here to help.

There are other products out there, but none are quite like this one.

Here are some questions we answer in the manual:

• Should I focus on weight lifted? Or force output? What if I don’t have a force plate?
• Which athletes will benefit the most from accomodating resistance (i.e. bands, chains)?
• How is a strong athlete different from a quick athlete? Does it matter? (Spoiler: yes it does)
• How can I maximize the stretch shortening cycle to produce more force in less time?

Here’s the full outline of the book.

Wait, you want to give me something else for free?

In addition to the book — and for totally free — we’re going to throw in the Excel file that we use to classify our athletes.

Let’s pretend for a second that the two of us are athletes.

If we want to know what velocities we should train at, we first need to know how we produce force. Are we more like Gorillas? Or are we more like Kangaroos? Or are we different from one another?

(We discuss the animals more in the book. Just go with it for now.)

To know how each of us produces force, we need to see how our bodies respond to lifting with different weights. How fast can we move 100lbs? How fast can we move 200lbs?

If we answer questions like these, then we can use that data to create a Force-Velocity profile for each of us. This profile tells us if we’re more like a Gorilla or a Kangaroo?

Since we started to do this with all of our athletes, we made an Excel file to make it simpler, quicker, and more visual.

See it in action: check out our own Force-Velocity Profiles.

If you know how to measure bar speed, you can use this file to literally run your athletes through their individual assessments immediately.

Iron Clad Guarantee

We are not writers by training. We are strength coaches.

We know this information we’ve discovered is top notch. We’ve written, re-written, and given lectures on the same information over and over again.

Honestly, we’ll be honing this book forever.

So I promise you that…

• Everyone who buys a copy will receive future re-writes at no cost.
• Everyone who buys a copy has an iron clad 90-day guarantee of satisfaction.
• Everyone who buys a copy can ask us any question about the book.

Asking questions helps you make sense of the book and helps us refine it. It’s a win-win.

We want this information to spread like wildfire. Start a study group with your staff. Call up a friend across the world. Or just fill out our feedback form. We’re here to help.

And if you don’t like what you read, you can have your money back.

Coaching is Complicated

This manual bridges the gap between science and training.

We won’t sit here and tell you that we can account for everything — because we can’t. Athletics is just too complex.

We won’t tell you that VBT is magic — because it isn’t. Revolutionary, yes, but not magic.

We won’t tell you that every decision a coach makes is a good one — because it’s impossible. Everything is a guess.

We can tell you, though, that this system will…
…Help you account for more uncertainties
…Help you make better coaching decisions
…Help you make fewer coaching errors
…Help you write better programs
…Help you help your athletes become great

So what are you waiting for?

Ty Terrell & Tony Giuliano
Strength and Conditioning Coaches
Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training (IFAST)