Training Tip For Developing Muscular Power

Bodybuilders are focused on muscle size. For other types of athletes muscular power is the priority. There are a number of ways to approach this goal, and a study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise compares the effects of 3 different power development programs.
 
Thirty nine athletes trained 2 to 3 times a week for 8 weeks. Some did clean and snatch Olympic lifts while others engaged in motorized high-force, high-power squats. The rest did traditional free weight squats.
 
Compared to tests taken before the 8-week intervention, Olympic lifts produced only modest improvements. The motorized protocol increased squat one rep max by 3% to 13%, and was as effective, if not more effective, than free weight squats for improving squat jump, drop jump and loaded countermovement jump performance.