Power and Speed: The Metrics That Actually Drive Athletic Performance

After nearly four decades working at the highest levels of track and field and professional sport — from the Chinese National Athletics Team to the Swedish Elite Hockey League, from Olympic preparation to developing the 1080 Sprint technology — one misunderstanding stands out as the most damaging and pervasive in high-performance coaching: the conflation of strength and power.

These are not the same quality. They do not respond to the same training. And if you confuse them in prescription, you will systematically fail to develop the athletic attribute that determines performance in virtually every dynamic sport.

Sport reduces to a series of moments where there is a race to a spot or a ball. Win those moments, and you win the game. In track and field, everything further reduces to moving from A to B as fast as possible — sprinting, jumping, throwing. In all of these contexts, power is the decisive physical characteristic. Strength contributes to power, but strength is not power, and training for maximum strength is not the same as training for maximum power expression.

Power is defined mathematically as force multiplied by velocity. This equation carries enormous practical implications that most practitioners never fully internalize. To increase power, an athlete can in principle do four things: increase force output, increase range of motion, decrease the time to achieve peak velocity, or reduce body mass. Of these, decreasing the time to peak velocity — increasing acceleration — is the primary and preferred strategy in most sport contexts. Reducing body mass works in weight-class sports but is not universally applicable. Increasing range of motion extends movement duration, and for events where everything critical happens in the first 100 to 200 milliseconds, longer movements are counterproductive.

The Metrics That Matter

The quality of a power training program cannot be assessed by feel or by how much weight moves. It requires objective measurement. The metrics that matter most in the practical development of explosive athletes are: peak power, average power, peak velocity, Time to Peak Velocity (TPV), the Elastic Acceleration Index (EA Index), and Eccentric Rate of Force Development (ERFD). Counter-movement jumps, squat jumps, and drop jumps provide additional windows into neuromuscular status, reactive capacity, and fatigue states.

Linear encoders attached to barbells during training allow coaches to capture all of these variables in real time across virtually any exercise. What they reveal — consistently, across years of testing with elite athletes — is that the concentric phase of any explosive movement is almost entirely determined by what the athlete was able to do eccentrically. The capacity to produce force rapidly in the concentric direction is the output; the eccentric phase is where that output is prepared. The more dynamic and reactive the sporting event, the greater the demand on eccentric capacity.

Time to Peak Velocity deserves far more attention than it typically receives. It is not simply how fast the bar moves — it is how quickly the system reaches that peak speed. Two athletes may achieve identical peak velocities in a squat jump but have very different TPV values, and the athlete who reaches peak velocity in less time is expressing a fundamentally superior quality of explosive power. This distinction becomes critical when the ground contact times of a sporting event are measured in tens of milliseconds.

The EA Index and the Filament Winding Theory

The EA Index was developed to quantify an athlete's ability to utilize stored elastic energy for rapid power expression. It is calculated by dividing peak velocity by time to peak velocity. A high EA Index reflects an athlete who can accelerate very rapidly — not just move quickly, but reach high velocity in minimal time. A low EA Index reveals an athlete who, despite potentially high peak velocities, takes too long to get there to be competitive in short-duration explosive events.

A refined version of the EA Index captures only what happens in the first 100 milliseconds of the concentric phase (POP100). Events such as the 100 meters sprint and the men's long jump involve ground contact times of 80 to 120 milliseconds. Everything that matters mechanically happens in that window. An athlete whose concentric acceleration is slow but whose peak velocity is high may look impressive in the gym but will underperform in competition — because the relevant time window closes before they reach their best output.

A numerical illustration makes this concrete. Consider an athlete with a peak velocity of 2.46 m/s and a TPV of 240 milliseconds — an EA Index of approximately 10.25. If peak velocity increases to 2.76 m/s while TPV remains constant, the EA Index rises to 11.5. But if instead TPV drops from 240 to 200 milliseconds while peak velocity stays at 2.46 m/s, the EA Index jumps to 12.3. That is a larger improvement from reducing TPV alone than from adding 0.3 m/s of peak velocity. The steepness of the force-velocity curve, not its endpoint, is what drives performance in explosive events.

The physiological mechanism underpinning this quality is what I describe as the filament winding theory — also framed as dynamic isometric strength. During the latter stages of a rapid eccentric movement, muscle fiber shortening does not continue linearly. Instead, the system transitions into a transient isometric state, driven by a calcium-mediated process that stiffens the myofilaments. The protein titin acts as a molecular bungee cord, binding myosin and actin filaments and allowing the muscle to store and release elastic energy with extraordinary speed and efficiency. This mechanism is triggered by two variables: the velocity of the eccentric movement and the load applied to the tissue. Training this system requires both conditions to be present simultaneously — slow eccentrics alone cannot develop it.

Five Strength Qualities, One Coherent System

A framework of five strength qualities organizes training across a full development cycle: slow-velocity strength, fast-velocity strength, rate of force development, reactive strength, and skilled performance. These qualities do not all receive equal emphasis at all times of the year, and they are not developed by the same exercises or intensities.

Intra- and intermuscular coordination — the synchronization of motor unit firing patterns in high-speed excitation and relaxation cycles — is the mechanism through which maximal motor unit recruitment is achieved. This is not developed by slow, heavy loading. It requires progressive coordination training at high speeds, using motorized training tools that bridge the gap between what an athlete can currently run and what their nervous system needs to experience. Overspeed training, resisted sprint tools, and systematic technical drill progressions all serve this function — and they do not have a substitute in conventional gym work.

Range of Motion as the Hidden Periodization Variable

One of the most practically powerful and underutilized training variables is the systematic manipulation of exercise range of motion across the annual cycle. This is directly connected to TPV. A parallel squat involves a large range of motion and typically produces

a TPV of 240 to 260 milliseconds. As the training year progresses, range of motion is progressively reduced: from parallel squats in the general preparation phase, to box squats in the maximum strength phase, to quarter squats in the pre-competitive phase, to 10–20 centimeter step-ups during the competition season.

At the shortest ranges, TPV drops below 100 milliseconds — approaching the ground contact times that actually occur in the athlete's sport. At that point, the neuromuscular system is being subjected to timeframes that directly match the competitive demand, and transfer from the gym to the track becomes real and measurable. This is not a conceptual argument — it is a practical one, and the progressions that achieve it can be planned to the week across a full annual cycle.

Acceleration and Maximum Velocity: Two Different Speed Problems

Speed is not a single quality. Acceleration and maximum velocity make fundamentally different demands on the athlete and require different training strategies. Heavy power training — moving large loads rapidly — transfers well to acceleration, particularly in the first 5 to 20 meters, because the physics of acceleration are dominated by force production against inertia. That same training does not transfer to maximum velocity.

A world-class 100-meter sprinter sustaining approximately 12 meters per second must cycle their limbs at 4.5 to 5 steps per second. At those speeds, the determinant quality is lower-limb elasticity. Without sufficient elasticity in the soleus, gastrocnemius, Achilles tendon, and hip flexor system, a sprinter will reach a limit in maximum velocity regardless of strength levels. The foot must cycle through a full circular path — toe-off, recovery, repositioning, ground contact — in fractions of a second. An inelastic system cannot complete that cycle fast enough. Usain Bolt's stride length at maximum velocity is not a product of his strength; it is a product of his elastic capacity and the efficiency with which his system stores and releases energy through each ground contact.

Ground contact mechanics at maximum velocity demand that the foot strikes near or under the center of gravity. Contact in front of the center of gravity creates braking forces. When leg stiffness is insufficient, the support phase lengthens as musculature absorbs force passively rather than redirecting it actively — collapsing running economy and introducing injury risk. Ankle and calf strength, particularly in the soleus, is foundational to maintaining the leg stiffness that defines elite sprint mechanics.

Building Eccentric Rate of Force Development

The development of eccentric rate of force development follows a logical progression. It begins with slow, controlled eccentrics to build tissue tolerance and neural familiarity with high eccentric loads. Over time, eccentric velocity is progressively added — the eccentric phase of the squat is performed faster, with more deliberate downward acceleration — so the athlete learns to absorb and redirect greater forces in less time.

The same principle applies to Olympic lifting variations. A standard hang clean develops explosive concentric power. A drop hang clean — where the athlete drops slightly from the hang position before initiating the pull — introduces an additional eccentric demand that requires greater concentric acceleration to overcome the increased pre-load. The exercise evolves through the year in parallel with the range of motion manipulations described above, always moving the timeframe of the critical force application closer to what the sporting event actually demands.

The Annual Block Structure

The annual program is organized around six-week training blocks: two weeks of accumulation, one recovery week at approximately 50% volume, two weeks of intensification, and one final recovery week. The distinction between accumulation and intensification is not simply about load — it is about the velocity of the exercises within each category. An exercise performed during accumulation from the floor is transitioned to a hang variation during intensification, which requires greater acceleration due to the shortened pre-stretch available.

High-intensity training days are limited to two per week. Three per week is physiologically possible for short periods, but unsustainable across a full year without accumulated fatigue eroding both performance and injury resilience. With two high-intensity days — typically Tuesday and Thursday — there is always sufficient time for full recovery before the next maximal stimulus.

This structure has produced a remarkable injury record across decades of work with world-class sprinters, jumpers, and multi-event athletes. Not a single hamstring injury among athletes who followed this model from the beginning. The system works because it respects the relationship between eccentric loading and recovery, because it progresses range of motion and TPV intelligently, and because it monitors the EA Index and ERFD continuously to verify that adaptation is occurring in the directions that actually matter.

What Drives Performance

Everything here resolves into a single guiding principle: elite explosive performance is not built in the concentric phase — it is built in the eccentric phase, and expressed in the concentric phase. Developing eccentric rate of force development, training the filament winding mechanism through high-velocity eccentric actions, systematically reducing range of motion across the season to align TPV with sport-specific contact times, and tracking the EA Index to verify that the neuromuscular system is actually accelerating faster — these are the variables that differentiate athletes who are merely strong from athletes who are fast, powerful, and competitive on the highest stages.

Strength is necessary. But power is the destination.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the most common mistake coaches make when trying to develop explosive power?

Confusing strength and power, and treating them as the same training target. An athlete who can squat 200 kilograms but cannot express that force in under 200 milliseconds is not a powerful athlete in the sport context. Maximum strength training builds the force ceiling; power training teaches the system to reach that ceiling in the timeframes that sport actually demands. Most programs spend too long on the former and not enough time on the latter.

Q: Why is Time to Peak Velocity more important than peak velocity itself?

Because sport happens in very short time windows. A 100-meter sprinter is on the ground for 80 to 120 milliseconds per contact. A volleyball player reaching to block a ball has a similar constraint. The athlete who reaches peak velocity in 160 milliseconds outperforms the one who reaches a slightly higher peak velocity in 280 milliseconds — because in the sport context, the window for expressing force is already closed by the time the slower athlete gets there. TPV tells you whether the training is developing the right quality.

Q: How do you actually train the filament winding mechanism?

You need both high eccentric velocity and meaningful eccentric load simultaneously. Slow eccentrics with heavy loads develop tissue tolerance and maximal force — they do not develop the calcium-mediated myofilament stiffening that drives elastic acceleration. The way to train it is through progressively faster eccentrics, drop variations of Olympic lifts, and depth jumps that impose high eccentric loads at high velocities. These exercises must be integrated appropriately in the training cycle — they are demanding and require proper periodization.

How does range of motion manipulation work across a season?

A: The principle is simple: as the competition season approaches, the range of motion in key exercises is progressively reduced. Parallel squats early in the year produce TPVs of 240 to 260 milliseconds. Quarter squats and step-ups late in the year can bring TPV below 100 milliseconds. This aligns the neuromuscular timeframe of the gym stimulus with the actual contact times of the sport. The athletes feel the difference immediately — the exercises become more explosive and more specific to the demands of competition.

Q: Can maximum velocity be improved with conventional heavy training?

No — not directly. Heavy power training transfers to acceleration. Maximum velocity is dominated by lower-limb elasticity: the capacity to store and release energy through the ankle, Achilles tendon, and lower leg in fractions of a second. This quality requires dedicated elastic development through plyometric progressions, ankle stiffness work, and the systematic range of motion reductions described above. An athlete who trains for strength alone will improve their first 10 meters significantly but will hit a hard ceiling beyond 30 meters, regardless of how strong they become.

Rolf Ohman is a coach and innovator with over 35 years of experience in global sports such as Track and Field; he was a high level decathlete before beginning his coaching career. 

Between 2016 and 2017, he served as Head Coach for the Dalian Olympic Sports Center before becoming the Assistant Head Coach under Randy Huntington for the Chinese National Team in Sprints and Jumps, he then moved to a Head Coach role at the Hong Kong Sports Institute until the summer 2023. He is also the renowned creator of the 1080 Technology, including the revolutionary 1080 sprint device and 1080 quantum.