Power

What It Is

The intent to accelerate the weight on the lifting phase.

Why It Matters

Muscle power is force multiplied by velocity: not just how much you can move, but how fast you can move it. Lifting with the intent to accelerate the weight appears to improve it, and that is the one benefit these trials find consistently. The intent seems to matter more than the speed you actually reach, since training to produce force rapidly improves your rate of force development even when the weight itself moves slowly.

No advantage for strength or muscle size over lifting under control has been shown. Trials comparing the two find no difference in one-repetition maximum or in muscle size, though few of them changed the lifting instruction alone, and where the comparison was cleanest a slight edge for lifting fast did show up at moderate loads. Carry-over to everyday movement is smaller and less certain: pooled trials give explosive lifting a modest edge on standing up and walking, while the largest analysis of them found no difference at all. Nearly all of that functional evidence comes from trials in adults over 60 training on machines, so whether the edge reaches younger lifters is untested, though the strength findings look much the same at any age.

Treat this as a small addition, not a substitute: keep the bulk of your training controlled and progressive, and on a few sets of your main lifts drive the weight up as fast as you can while holding your form, then lower it over about two seconds. Use moderate loads, roughly 40–70% of your one-repetition maximum, though no study has settled on a best load, and bear in mind these trials ran on machines rather than free weights, so they say little about accelerating a loaded barbell. In one Brazilian clinic cohort of middle-aged and older adults, a power test predicted survival better than a grip-strength test did, though no trial has shown that training for it changes how long you live.

• Davies, T.B. et al. (2017). Effect of Movement Velocity During Resistance Training on Dynamic Muscular Strength: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine. doi.org/10.1007/s40279-017-0676-4
• Orssatto, L.B.R. et al. (2020). Is power training effective to produce muscle hypertrophy in older adults? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2020-0021
• Blazevich, A.J. et al. (2020). Effects of Resistance Training Movement Pattern and Velocity on Isometric Muscular Rate of Force Development: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis and Meta-regression. Sports Medicine. doi.org/10.1007/s40279-019-01239-x
• Balachandran, A.T. et al. (2022). Comparison of Power Training vs Traditional Strength Training on Physical Function in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Network Open. doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.11623
• Lopez, P. et al. (2023). Does High-Velocity Resistance Exercise Elicit Greater Physical Function Benefits Than Traditional Resistance Exercise in Older Adults? A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis of 79 Trials. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A. doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glac230
• Morrison, R.T. et al. (2023). High-velocity power training has similar effects to traditional resistance training for functional performance in older adults: a systematic review. Journal of Physiotherapy. doi.org/10.1016/j.jphys.2023.05.018
• Araújo, C.G.S. et al. (2025). Muscle Power Versus Strength as a Predictor of Mortality in Middle-Aged and Older Men and Women. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2025.02.015