Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Chapter 2: What is explosive power and why is it important?
You're listening to Life Kit from NPR.
Hey, it's Mariel. So you've heard of strength training and you've heard of cardio, but have you heard of training for explosive power? Sounds kind of badass, right? And it is.
Explosive power is the ability to generate a lot of force very quickly. It is not necessarily lifting the heaviest load. It's about moving a lighter load very quickly.
Jessica Scott has her Ph.D. in cardiovascular physiology, and she's the director of exercise oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Chapter 3: How does explosive power training benefit daily movements?
She says you'll need to do explosive power training, which is also sometimes called ballistic power training or plyometric training, if you're an athlete and you're running, jumping, throwing, hitting, flipping. But you'll also use it if you're not. It's a component of our day-to-day movement.
It's used for mobility when you're walking up and down stairs. If you stumble or catch yourself while walking down the sidewalk, explosive power is what allows you to catch yourself and not fall.
You even use explosive power when you're doing things like standing up from a seated position. And here's the thing. As we age, our muscle mass declines. And training for these forceful movements becomes even more important to prevent falls and injury.
Chapter 4: What age-related changes affect explosive power and mobility?
Starting at about age 40, we lose 1 to 2% of our fast twitch muscle fibers every year. These are a type of muscular cell that allow us to do these explosive movements. But even before you reach your 40s, adding explosive power training into your exercise routine can have a big impact.
For instance, my nephew is a toddler and he's always running around, grabbing at things, quickly changing direction. And recently he tripped and almost face planted, but I was able to catch his face in my hand right before it hit the ground. That's a classic example of explosive power in action.
Explosive power is really about when you need to change direction very quickly. How quickly can you change your strength into movement?
On this episode of Life Kit, how to train specifically for explosive power and how it's different from cardio or strength training. Jessica tells me about specific exercises we can all try. And we also talk about how to start because you don't want to jump straight into jump squats. That's coming up after the break.
All right, so if you don't currently train for explosive power, how can you get started?
It's really important to start slowly, and it's not jumping straight into doing explosive power movement. You need to start by including aerobic exercise first and starting with strength training.
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Chapter 5: How can beginners start training for explosive power?
You need a baseline level of strength before you start layering in some of that quick training that we do for explosive power. How do you know when you're ready? Usually if you've had a consistent training for at least three months, so that can be three days a week of aerobic training or walking or cycling, and at least one day, maybe two days a week of resistance training or strength training.
Once you've had at least three months of that, then you can start to layer in those quickness movements or that explosive power training.
Takeaway one. We tend to lose explosive power as we age, especially after 40. But training in your 20s and 30s is beneficial, too, because it can help you stave off injuries when you're playing sports or just doing life. And it can also help you run faster, jump higher and change directions quickly. Also, it'll help you preserve your power later in life.
As for the how, it's not a good idea to jump right into the more intense explosive power training if you don't currently work out. You'll want to get into an exercise routine first, doing regular cardio and resistance training for three months. But Jessica says most people can start right away with the lower intensity explosive power exercises.
Just make sure you're pain-free, you have full control over your movements, and you stop before you're fatigued. And what exercises do you like for explosive power?
One of the ones that we really like to start with is in a stable chair, doing three very quick standing up and slowly sitting back down in a chair. And you repeat that three to five times.
just standing up very quickly that starts to train explosive power and these can be done in your home it doesn't necessarily have to be at a gym and once you've done several weeks of movements like that then you can start to layer in jump squats where you're jumping up and then going into a squat position and again it's about doing these lighter loads with good mechanics And it's about speed.
What are some other ones you can do? I just tried the standing up one, by the way.
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Chapter 6: What specific exercises can enhance explosive power?
Yeah. The standing up quick is one that you can do at work or anywhere. The other movements that you can do are push-ups, even on a wall. If you do a push-up very quickly, you can start with the wall push-ups and then move to the floor push-ups and eventually maybe graduate to a clap push-up. So that's when you do a push-up and then clap in between and catch yourself.
You can gradually progress to other exercises like jumping up to a box and then jumping back down. So it's really important to gradually progress these movements.
Yeah. I was, you know, working with a strength training coach, and then he started layering in some of these jumps. Not jumping onto a box, but jumping up. And then also medicine ball snaps. Can you talk about that? Like, something you can do with your arms and with a weight, like a medicine ball?
A medicine ball is a great way to start that explosive power training. Medicine balls are typically a little bit lighter. So they can be two pounds or five pounds or 10 pounds. And using those medicine balls as the weight to move your body, that is what trains explosive power.
So you can do exercises like a squat and throwing the ball against a wall and then catching the ball and going back into a squat. That's a very explosive power movement. And if you have a partner, there are some great exercises that you can do together.
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Chapter 7: What modifications can be made for those with limitations?
You can do overhead throws where you catch it and throwing it, that also generates explosive power.
You can also just throw it at the ground, right? Snap it really fast down to the ground from above your head. Exactly.
You know, it also helps with getting out anger when you throw it down as hard as you can. That's a great movement as well. I also did one time with ropes.
It's like you have a rope in each hand and you're trying to like snap them to the ground basically fast, making waves with them kind of.
Yes. The rope one is more of an advanced exercise because... You're generating some cardiovascular movement. Your heart rate probably got up very high. And you're also doing that explosive power with your upper body as well.
And we talked about medicine balls. I think kettlebells are also useful, right? You can swing those around.
Kettlebells are a great way to get explosive power in. And kettlebells are a little bit different than medicine balls. They're typically...
a little bit heavier and require a little bit more balance when you're doing those motions, but they also are the best way to generate power because you're doing at more of a moderate load compared to a lighter load so that you would progress up to kettlebell exercises.
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Chapter 8: How can explosive power training be integrated into daily life?
Takeaway two, start off with the lighter, gentler explosive power exercises. Sit in a chair and then stand up quickly. Do fast push-ups against the wall. Try small hops before you start doing big jumps. And then you can do bodyweight exercises like jumping jacks or jump squats. Props can help too, like medicine balls, kettlebells, and ropes.
And if you start to feel pain in your knees, for instance, back off. We'll have more Life Kit after the break. What are some common modifications for folks who can't do the more intense explosive power exercises? Like I'm thinking, for instance, if you have knee pain and jumping doesn't work for you.
I remember one time, basically, I did one where you start in a squat and then you just kind of stop. stand up really fast and swing your arms up and get on your toes, but you're not actually jumping off the ground.
That's a great description. So it's about not jumping, but using your body weight to move quickly from one position to another position. So in that squat motion, it was moving from a lower position to a standing up position and then back down again. And And usually those movements are okay for individuals who've had knee injuries or arthritis.
Typically, it's when you have those fast movements from changing direction, that's when you might aggravate some knee pain. So if you stand in a single plane or if you think about doing those movements in a single plane, those are usually safe and still effective.
It seems like explosive power exists on a spectrum, right? Like you can do the simplest version of it or you can do the more intense version of it. What I always hear in training or in yoga classes is. Listen to your body. Don't push past pain.
Exactly. So we really start with low repetitions, so three to five repetitions. You're not like doing the resistance training where you're trying to go to fatigue. With explosive power, it is about generating that motion and movement quickly. but not getting too fatigued.
And do you recommend doing this right after you strength train or right after cardio or on its own?
I would definitely recommend doing this on its own. So you don't want to combine it with aerobic exercise or after you've done resistance training. This should be its own training day where you can have the best training possible. Again, it's about going in with generating high quality movements.
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