I asked previously what was the significance of the concentric force-velocity relationship? What sports are predominantly concentric? Well some sports that come to mind are cycling, rowing, kayaking and swimming, where there is very little storage and utilisation of elastic energy. In these sports your concentric strength and concentric training would seem more specific than other forms of training.

So what training could be a great option to focus on concentric strength development? Well one such option would be pneumatics (P) or air resistance. Remember from a previous post P resistance has less inertia and momentum than free weight resistance, which in turn will affect the force/acceleration, velocity and power profiles when training athletes i.e. more of a concentric emphasis.

Pause training, where you hold or unload at the bottom of the eccentric phase for 3-4 seconds, similarly emphasises contractile contribution and concentric strength by reducing the contribution of elastic energy. If you want more ideas how to train concentric strength and much more, head to my block course all about eccentrics, concentrics and isometrics!