Strength gets a lot of attention as we age, and for good reason. But there’s another quality I’m thinking about just as much as I head into this offseason: power.
Strength is our ability to produce force. Power is our ability to produce that force quickly.
That distinction matters, and not just for athletes, but for anyone who wants to remain physically capable as they get older.
Power Is Part of Being Athletic
Think about the moments when you need to move quickly. Accelerating on a bike. Running up a hill. Jumping over something. Changing direction. Coaching your kids and deciding to jump into the drill instead of watching from the sideline. Strength helps with all of those things, but so does the ability to access that strength quickly.
For me, that shows up very clearly on the bike. I’ve been recording my cycling power for about 12 years. Despite getting older, my peak power and 5–10 second sprint power haven’t declined. In fact, this season I produced my second-highest 5-second power ever. I don’t think that’s an accident.
In previous seasons, I would typically stop strength training once cycling volume and racing increased. This year, I kept one strength session per week in my program until the middle of July.
I find the older I get, the more positive an impact strength training has on my performance. Incorporating specific training to improve explosiveness and power is an important part of that.
Strength First, Then Speed
As I outlined in my last post, I’ll start with several weeks of consistent strength training before introducing more explosive work. That progression is important. First, improve the ability to produce force. Then work on producing it faster.
Eventually I’ll introduce simple bodyweight plyometrics. Jumps, hops, and other movements that require me to absorb and produce force quickly will be the backbone of my power training. The volume doesn’t need to be high, but the intent does need to be there.
As a masters athlete, I don’t think the answer is to stop moving quickly because I’m getting older. I think the better approach is to prepare my body so I can continue to do it.
Keep Training What You Want to Keep
That idea extends well beyond competitive sport. Most of us want to keep doing things. Run, ride, ski, hike, play a game of tennis, coach our kids, get down on the floor and back up again, or react quickly when something unexpected happens. Those are all things I want to maintain.
Endurance and strength are important pieces of that puzzle, but they aren’t the whole picture. We need to keep some speed and power in the system too.
That’s part of how we think about training at Groundwork Athletics. The goal isn’t simply to prepare someone for their next race or event. It’s to build and maintain the physical qualities that allow them to keep performing and participating in the things they enjoy.
At 51, I’m not training power because I’m trying to move like I did when I was 25.
I’m training it because I’d like to keep moving like an athlete for as long as I can.
-Jon Bula, GWA Owner
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