Thread: Logging power rather than strength

Pete Cisco in his book "Train Smart" does it like this:

We measured Alpha strength with a Power Factor and Beta strength
with a Power Index.

1. Power Factor

You can calculate a Power Factor by simply dividing the total amount of
weight you lifted per exercise (or per workout) by the total amount of
time it took to lift it. If you leg pressed 58,000 pounds in 2 minutes, your
Power Factor is 29,000 pounds per minute. So next time you do the leg
press, make sure your Power Factor is more than 29,000. That ensures
progressive intensity ... the absolute key to new muscle growth.

2. Power Index

Suppose next leg workout you feel much stronger and you lift 87,000 pounds in 3 minutes. That’s a lot more weight, right? But when you calculate your new Power Factor (87,000 lbs / 3 min.) it comes out to 29,000. The same! So where is the improvement? Well, last workout you had to stop at two minutes of hammering away on the leg press with a big weight ... you were at complete failure ... but this workout you blasted past two minutes and kept going for three minutes ... so you absolutely, positively must be stronger!! But the Power Factor measurement didn’t move! Why? Because your Beta strength got higher ... not your Alpha strength.

eg. Workout #1
Weight = 58,000 pounds • Time = 2 min.
58,000 x 58,000 = 3,364,000,000
3,364,000,000 / 2 = 1,682,000,000
1,682,000,000 / 1,000,000 = 1,682

Your Power Index was 1,682

eg. Workout #2
Weight = 87,000 pounds • Time = 3 min.
87,000 x 87,000 = 7,569,000,000
7,569,000,000 / 3 = 2,523,000,000
2,523,000,000 / 1,000,000 = 2,523

Your Power Index was 2,523

Just a simple way of breaking it down - I guess it gives you something to measure.

Why do you want to do this???

Originally Posted by ForemanRules

Why do you want to do this???

Good question.

why do you want to do it?


you could chart power by having someone time your repetition(s) on a given exercise. or, you could chart it by a vertical jump, or soem sort of sprint.

Yeah, it is typically charted as the movement you are doing. For example, a bench press is not a power movement, but speed presses and bench throws are.

Originally Posted by ForemanRules

et. al. Why do you want to do this???

I was just reading about strength versus power and I wanted to try to log power to see if it was more accurate, and hence beneficial.

But I guess it makes little sense. Thanks for the input guys.

Originally Posted by DOMS

I was just reading about strength versus power and I wanted to try to log power to see if it was more accurate, and hence beneficial.

But I guess it makes little sense. Thanks for the input guys.

If you are talking mathematically, it makes sense for an elite athlete who has a couple of trainers around him, timing reps and sets, but unnecessary for us chumps. It is definitely a valuable piece of info, so if you have a training partner and are working to develop speed-strength or power, give it a go.

Those of us who train for power, myself included, may stick with a weight for a while to try to work on moving it faster, without ever knowing if it is going faster. This is especially true when you are moving something very fast already, where you can't really get a feel for the tenth of a second difference. The only option aside from getting a trainer is to get a training partner, and that ain't gonna happen with me.

So I should just stick with logging load x reps / time?

Originally Posted by DOMS

I was just reading about strength versus power and I wanted to try to log power to see if it was more accurate, and hence beneficial.

But I guess it makes little sense. Thanks for the input guys.

So you would improve on time rather than weight??? Not sure if I understand .

Originally Posted by ForemanRules

So you would improve on time rather than weight??? Not sure if I understand .

Yes, you can increase power by increasing ROM, weight, or time. Unless you do half reps like KEFE, you are pretty much stuck with either changing the load or the speed.

Originally Posted by ForemanRules

So you would improve on time rather than weight??? Not sure if I understand .

I wanted to factor power into my logbook. I'm aiming for power as my main goal (not now anyway), but I thought it might be an aid in crafting more intelligent workouts.

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

Yes, you can increase power by increasing ROM, weight, or time. Unless you do half reps like KEFE, you are pretty much stuck with either changing the load or the speed.

Wouldn't I want to decrease my time?

Originally Posted by DOMS

Wouldn't I want to decrease my time?

Increase=improve for that post only.

You could always simply try to maintain your natural tempo, avoid rest-pause repetitions, and reduce the rest intervals between sets. This way you increase density, and therefore overall power for the total amount of work for the duration of an exercise.

However, you would be hard-pressed to accurately determine if you are increasing power on a per repetition basis without some sophistated equipment. Testing a vertical jump or short sprint as P indicated would be a viable alternative. You could also try something like logging the distance of a chest pass or testing your distance on a shot-put toss for some upper body action.

Got it. I lack the nessecities (and the need) to log such a metic. I'll work on my vertical and sprint then. There's a good article over at T-Nation about increasing you vertical.

On a related note, are Jump Squats really okay to do?

Originally Posted by DOMS

On a related note, are Jump Squats really okay to do?

I do them all the time, just make sure you have pretty good eccentric squat strength to land, and there is no real need to go super heavy. I do 135 most of the time.