PowerMuscular power

Power is the rate of doing work: how much force you can apply and how fast. A heavy, slow deadlift is a strength expression; a jump, a throw or a sprint start is a power expression. Mathematically it is force multiplied by velocity, which is why maximising it needs both and neither alone.

It matters because power declines faster with age than maximal strength does, and because the ability to generate force quickly is what catches you when you trip. In sport it is usually the quality that separates performance levels once basic strength is in place.

In practice power is trained with moderate loads moved with deliberate speed, plus jumps, throws and sprints. It is trained fresh, in low reps with full rest — chasing power under heavy fatigue simply trains something else.