Why Traditional Strength Training is Failing Athletes (And How to Fix It)
Power = Force × Velocity.
This isn’t just a physics formula; it’s the secret to unlocking your true potential in sports and movement. But here’s the truth that most trainers don’t understand: Strength alone isn’t enough. If you want to generate true power, you need more than just raw muscle.
The Trap of Too Much Strength
When athletes lift heavy weights without considering speed, they’re sacrificing one half of the power equation—velocity. Heavy loads slow down your movement, and power drops.
The Trap of Too Little Force
On the other hand, moving light weights fast can make you feel powerful, but without enough force, velocity alone doesn’t generate optimal power. It’s a balancing act that’s often overlooked.
The BIG Mistake
Most training systems focus on strengthening individual muscles. Sure, building strength is crucial, but what trainers often miss is that athletic power isn’t about isolated muscle groups—it’s about the whole kinetic chain working together at the right velocity.
Too many athletes are taught to overload one muscle (like the shoulder for a throw or hips), which creates inefficient, unbalanced movements. It’s not just about getting stronger—it’s about how efficiently your muscles and joints work together to produce force at the right speed. As you can see in the running pic – even the most distant muscle from prime movers is acting at its best to provide for speed at prime movers.
The Result:
If we don’t use the circuitry as it is designed then it would lead to suboptimal power generation and often, injury in long term. Just look at the epidemic of elbow injuries in baseball: Athletes build strength, then throw harder, but only a few muscles are truly coordinating. The rest of the kinetic chain is underutilized, leading to overuse and strain in the joints. I have studies elbow injuries at depth and I couldn’t find any other reason for so many elobow injuries in baseball.
Human Movement Science Rule:
Overactivated Muscle and Inhibition of Others: This idea is rooted in the concept of muscle inhibition. If certain muscles are overly dominant (e.g., overly strong or overtrained), they can inhibit the action of less powerful muscles, disrupting the natural, efficient flow of movement. This imbalance can result in overuse injuries or chronic pain, particularly in high-demand sports.
Biomechanics:
Even with imperfect mechanics, athletes can still produce power—but at what cost? When muscles don’t work together properly, it leads to muscle imbalances leading to stress on joints, and eventually developing chronic pain. Correct biomechanics are critical for longevity in sports but necessariy power generation.
The Truth:
Strength is crucial, but it’s not enough on its own. To truly unlock your peak power, you need to train how the body works as a cohesive unit—with the right amount of force and optimal velocity. Focus on coordination across the kinetic chain, not just isolated strength.
If you’re only training individual muscles, you may be setting yourself up for inefficiency and injury at a young age. True power comes from the synchronized movement of every muscle, working together at the right speed.
Stop training like everyone else. Start training smarter. Your body wasn’t built to move in isolated muscle groups. It was built to move as one.
My submission on the basis of Strength Science & Human Movement Science
1) Compound movements and exercises are better than isolated for sportsmen unless it’s a sport of brutal strength
2) Use of wearable resistance is better than weight training for power generation closer to the season or in season
3) Gym strength is majorly off season work. Putting that strength to use is in season
Ques: If strength were the only factor, shouldn’t every athlete with the same level of strength throw or bowl at the same pace?
Umesh Chhikara 