JC's Musings

Effects of Rebound, Ballistics & Load on Power Output

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Check the graph, what are you seeing?

BP = concentric only bench press
BPT = concentric only bench press throw
RBP = rebound bench press
RBPT = Rebound bench press throw

This was one of my first published studies in my PhD, way back when. It helped me to understand power production (PP) to better effect. So, what did you see?

Ballistics or throwing a load increases PP.
Rebound increases PP.
Combining ballistics and rebound produces the greatest PP.
There is a bandwidth of loads that have very similar PP i.e. 50-70% 1RM.

It helped me understand why plyometrics is such a great form of power training (ballistics + rebound) and perhaps instead of determining and training at the load that optimises power output, there is a bandwidth of loads that you can train with to achieve similar outcomes. What do you think?

Cronin, J., McNair, P. J., & Marshall, R. N. (2001). Developing explosive power: a comparison of technique and training. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 4(1), 59-70.