When you think of explosive power, your first thought is likely of sprinters or strongmen who need to move a weight (or themselves) from point A to point B as quickly as they can. But building explosive power won’t just make you faster or stronger, it will also help you build more lean muscle mass in less time. That’s because the quicker and harder you can contract a muscle, the more weight you can lift, and the more tension you can place upon it both during the concentric (lifting) part of a rep as well as the eccentric (lowering) part too. Fortunately, improving your explosiveness is simple. Try this five-move workout that requires just one bit of kit – a medicine ball – to fire up your muscles and build the explosive speed and power that will transform your training and performance, as well as your physique.
Pick a med ball at a weight that allows you to perform all the exercises explosively – the main aim here is to develop speed
POWER UP
This workout has five moves. The first four moves are paired in supersets. Do all five reps of move 1A, rest for 10sec, then do all five reps of 1B, then rest for 60sec. Repeat this for five sets, then move on to moves 2A and 2B and follow the same pattern.
The final move is performed as a straight set. Focus on keeping your abs, lower back and glutes engaged for every rep of every set to keep your body stable and improve power transfer between your upper and lower body.
Keep your heels off the floor for the duration of the set to keep your lower abs engaged and work your muscles harder