Power vs. Strength

Slow Twitch Muscles are not Stronger Muscles

Recently a club has opened up calling themselves "Slow-Twitch". They advocate pure strength training, with no other facets of fitness being addressed. I cannot even consider this "power lifting". They claim to be "strong men", but if you have ever seen a strong man competition, those guys are much, much more well rounded.

They have an excellent balance of slow and fast twitch muscles. I am not trying to put down the importance of strength. I am trying to explain why slow twitch muscles are pretty much useless on their own.

Who are some of the most revered athletes in the world? NFL, NBA, name any sport under the sun, INCLUDING Olympic lifting, and you will see athletes who excel in recruiting FAST twitch muscle fibers. Boxers, mixed-martial arts, even firearm specialist are the last guys you ever want to run into in a confrontation. Is it because of their brute strength? Is it because they are slow? No, it is because they are FAST, POWERFUL, and have excellent COORDINATION. (Training fast increases coordination)

"A powerful athlete is not a strong athlete, but one who can exert his strength quickly. Since power equals force times speed, if the athlete learns to make faster movements he increases his power, even though the contractile pulling strength of his muscles remains unchanged. Thus, a smaller man who can swing faster may hit as hard or as far as the heavier man who swings slowly." - Bruce Lee

Lets do some physics! I promise this won't be too painful.

S = Strength, P = Power, W = Work,
T = Time, D = Distance, F = Force

W = F*D
P = W/T

Notice how S is not in these equations? Power is the most important thing when "strength" training. Taking a weight from the floor and throwing it directly over head (a snatch) will result in about 7-8 ft total D for the weight. The mass of the weight will affect the force, but so does the acceleration. So you may create more force using a lighter weight, with greater speed. Now POWER is the the work done over the amount of time it is done in. A snatch may take .5 seconds. A rep of heavy bench can take 1 - 2 or more seconds and he will only move the weight an armlength (theoretically). In order for a slow twitch lifter to match the amount of power done in a 95lb snatch, he may have to lift many times that weight.

Rotationally P = Torque*Velocity

When purchasing a vehicle, you will try to choose the best motor. You want a motor to be strong (torque), but also fast (Rpm's), to give you maximum horsepower. With out the fast, all that strength is for nothing. You want an engine with both strength and speed.

M = Mass, A = Acceleration
F = M*A

So, less A equals less force with the mass being the same.

Say you are trying to move your hand through someone's face. The hand may weigh slightly more on a Slow-Twitch lifter, but the difference is small. So increasing fast muscle fibers and speed will result in a more forceful punch. Accelerating a hand to incredible speed is the mark of many great fighters. Ali, Tyson, Mayweather, De La Hoya, and others are known for their incredible hand speed.

"The athlete who is building muscles though weight training should be very sure to work adequately on speed and flexibility at the same time. In combat, without the prior attributes, a strong man will be like the bull with its colossal strength futilely pursuing the matador or like a low-geared truck chasing a rabbit." - Bruce Lee

Also, the more Impulse you deliver, the more jarring a punch is.

I = Impulse, F = Force, T = Time
I = F*T

The T will be pretty much the same. The amount of time that a fist and face spend together is very short. So it all comes down to F. You would think, more strength = more force, but it does not in this situation.

Ever hear of the expression "SPEED KILLS"? Have you ever heard of the expression "slow kills"?

Neither have I.