Written by Tim Rigby
Do you know there’s actually a big difference between strength and power? Many people use these terms interchangeably, but in the fitness world they are in fact not the same thing. Strength improvement is an objective when you focus less on emphasizing building muscle and simply want to lift heavier weights for sets of low reps (e.g. between three and five reps per set). The strength you develop training this way can be very useful as applied to certain sports, and it’s also by no means lacking in terms of building fast-twitch muscle fibers too.
Power, on the other hand, is strength taken to the most extreme degree. It’s easy to appreciate this by considering that the competitive weightlifting sport of powerlifting is predicated on how much weight an individual can perform for just one rep in the squat, bench press and deadlift exercises. Power is therefore the utmost threshold of your human ability to lift a weight.
There are a number of training strategies taught by coaches and trainers regarding how to develop your power. Since recovery is absolutely vital to the long-term progression of power development, individuals do not actually perform their one-rep max every workout – it’s just too taxing, leads to overtraining, and can cause an inadvertent decrease in your power. So moderation is essential – and so is consuming the right supps which have specific roles for increasing your power:
CREATINE
Creatine is at the top of the list when it comes to supplements for raw power. Not only is it safe and effective for helping you build muscle, but it also increases your maximum muscle contractile force. Creatine supplementation is based on the concept of drawing water into your muscle cells which in turn gives them the ability to handle more resistance, compared to not supplementing. Look in any locker room of elite powerlifters and football players, and you’ll notice creatine is a staple. These athletes rely on explosive maximum power to achieve performance success. So when you’re looking to nail those bragging rights at the gym as the best bench presser in the house, make sure you’re taking your creatine.
Recommended Supplementary Dosage for Maximum Power: 5 to 10 grams daily
WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE
Lifting for power is extremely taxing on your body – but it provides a satisfaction like no other form of athletic movement. Keeping your body in a state where it recovers from such gruelling training is tantamount to long-term increases in power. Supplemental whey protein isolate is your number one supplement for muscle recovery and power. Other forms of whey protein are certainly effective as well; isolate happens to be the most efficient and has the best biological value. But rather than eating huge steaks just for the protein (which are saturated with fats and can inadvertently add unwanted body weight), whey protein is usually found containing zero to few carbs and fats, so supplementing is your perfect choice.
Recommended Supplementary Dosage for Maximum Power: 30 to 60 grams daily
JOINT SUPPORT SUPPLEMENTS
Funny how we tend to think only of muscles when it comes to power. But your joints also feel the burden of heavy training (and then need to recover and develop) so that your power remains pushing forward. Supplements like collagen, gelatin, glucosamine and chondroitin are effective for helping your joints recover from training for power. These all reduce inflammation effectively and are a better choice than anti-inflammatory medications which have nasty side effects. Be patient, though, and don’t expect immediate miracles, since these each need to be consumed for at least a few weeks before you notice significant improvements.
Recommended Supplementary Dosage for Maximum Power: On a daily basis, 10-15 grams collagen; 10 grams gelatin; 1,000 milligrams glucosamine; 100 milligrams chondroitin
VITAMIN D3
Yes, the “sunshine” vitamin can offer a hand at helping you increase your one-rep power over time. By supplementing, you increase your chances at stabilizing your hormonal levels (testosterone) after they take a wallop from heavy weight training. Research has in fact shown that excessive lifting with heavy weights can counterproductively cause a decrease in your T levels, so the usage of vitamin D3 is very helpful. Furthermore, it helps you sleep soundly, which is vital to recovery and the long-term progression of your power.
Recommended Supplementary Dosage for Maximum Power: 1,000 to 5,000 IU daily