VBT for power
Using bar-speed data to train power output: the loads, the velocities, and the contrast methods that produce force × velocity.
Power is the product of force and velocity. Train one without the other and you cap the result. VBT makes the trade-off visible: load and velocity for any given lift live on a curve, and there’s a specific point on that curve where their product (power) is maximised. Programming around that point is a direct way to develop the explosive end of the strength-speed continuum, the power zone between heavy strength work and pure speed.
The peak-power load
Plot mechanical power output against load for any lift and the result is a curve, not a line. Power is low at very light loads (high velocity, low force) and at very heavy loads (high force, low velocity). It peaks somewhere in between — often cited around 30–50 % of 1RM for upper-body ballistics like bench throw, and 50–70 % for lower-body compounds like squat or trap-bar deadlift. Treat those as starting points and find the real number per athlete.
That peak-power load is athlete-specific and lift-specific. A jumper’s squat peak-power load isn’t the same as a thrower’s, and neither matches the same athlete’s bench peak. VBT lets you find each one in a single session by sweeping loads and computing F × V at each.
Max power calculator
Why VBT suits power work
A few reasons:
- Power is hard to feel. Strength athletes can self-rate effort; power athletes can’t reliably self-rate “power output” in the way the metric demands. Velocity readings give the missing feedback.
- The window is narrow. Stray above peak-power load and you drift toward pure strength; stray below and you drift toward pure speed. Neither is wrong, but neither is power. Velocity targets keep the work in the right zone.
- The athletes care about the number. Power-development populations (weightlifters, throwers, jumpers) already think in terms of bar speed. The data fits the mental model; less translation cost than for traditional rep-based athletes.
Where it fits in a block
Power work usually sits alongside a core strength or speed day rather than carrying the week on its own. The recurring shapes it takes:
- Pre-strength priming. Light sets at peak-power load before the heavy work, waking the nervous system up without accumulating fatigue.
- A stand-alone power day. Crisp sets at peak-power load with full intent and generous rest, where velocity confirms each set landed in the target zone instead of slowing into strength work.
- Contrast pairs. A heavy strength set followed by an explosive set at peak-power load; the velocity on the explosive set tells you whether potentiation actually happened.
The exact set-and-rep schemes and rest windows are programming decisions, not part of the concept.
Looking for the protocol? A full peak-power block — set schemes, rest, where it sits in the week — is its own write-up.
Power training program utilising velocity based training (VBT)
What it doesn’t replace
Power is downstream of strength. An athlete without a base of maximum strength has nothing to express explosively, and their peak-power load itself is undertrained. Pure power blocks come after strength bases, not in place of them.
VBT also doesn’t replace technical jump or throw practice — those skills are trained on the field, not under the bar. Bar-speed-derived power work is preparation, not transfer.
Articles in this topic
Faster reps vs slow reps: Why you should be using both in your program
Power metrics in the weightroom are flawed, but you should still use them
Explosive weight training to increase your vertical jump with VBT
Henneman's Size Principle explained - How it can help your lifting
Cluster set training — the complete guide for strength, size and power
Published! My first velocity based training research paper
Charts in this topic
Force–velocity curve
The hyperbolic relationship between contractile force and shortening velocity. Theoretical, derived from isolated-muscle physiology — distinct from the load–velocity profile.
Load–power profile
Mechanical power output across the working load range, plotted in watts. The parabolic shape peaks at an intermediate load — typically 30–50 % 1RM for the squat.
Maximum-power profile
A load–power profile with the apex called out — a horizontal dashed line at peak power in watts and a vertical dashed line at the load that produces it, meeting at the maximum-power point.
Cluster sets boost power gains
Morales-Artacho 2018 — cluster sets out-gained traditional 6×6 sets at every load tested (25 / 50 / 75 % 1RM), with the biggest gap at the peak-power region around 25 % 1RM.
Velocity feedback boosts transfer
Weakley 2019 — 4 weeks of augmented velocity feedback in rugby union players. Feedback group beat the no-feedback group on every test, including a peak-power loss the no-feedback group couldn't avoid.
Load–velocity and power curves
Linear LV profile (descending) and parabolic power curve (peaking mid-load) overlaid on the same load axis, dual y-axes. Shows why peak power lives between heavy strength loads and light speed loads.
How cluster sets break up a set
Four cluster-set protocols (4×5, 7×3, 10×2, 20×1) drawn to scale on a 10-minute session timeline. All four equate to ~20 reps at the same %1RM but distribute them very differently.