Rate of Force Development in Powerlifting
How it Benefits Powerlifting, and Athletic Performance
Rate of force development (RFD) is basically a measure of explosive strength aka how fast a individual can develop the force. The way I think of it is in 2 ways:
1. How strong are you? – aka pure strength, not necessarily how fast can you generate the strength
2. How fast can you produce the strength? – aka power
Application
RFD can apply to so many sports – football, powerlifting, soccer, track and field, wrestling, BJJ, boxing, muay thai, etc.
The higher the RFD the better the performance and athletic development.
I’m going to use this picture for reference which illustrates how you can go from a 0 force output to a max force output then sustains itself.
In powerlifting you can introduce a Early Rate of Force Development Block into your program, which essentially means making the curve part of the picture above more steep. Training early rate of force development is to get to your maximum force development faster (which is useful for sprinting/speed sports). The faster you can generate the force, the better. Afterall the stronger you are, the better – for sports, and for life in general.
How does this benefit powerlifting? Well the faster you can move the weight the better. Afterall that’s what strength and power is combined! Here is a example:
Person 1 lifts 100 lbs, the first 2 seconds is from lifting it off the floor and the last 4ish seconds is grinding it out at the top.
Person 2 lifts 100 lbs, the first 3 seconds is from lifting it off the floor and the last 5 seconds is grinding it out at the top.
Person 2 is already fatigued as they try to finish the movement because of a lower RFD (higher time).
How to incorporate RFD into your workouts/training?
1. Choose a exercise
2. Estimate 30-40% of what you think your 1 rep max is.
3. Do 3-4 sets for 4-7 reps each and move the weight as fast as you can with quality form.
Have you ever seen people use chains in the weight room? It’s because the chains, like bands work so that the closer the barbell (in this case powerlifting) is to the floor the more chain on the floor. The farther up the barbell aka as you finish the lift the less chain on the floor. This is effective if you have a hard time finishing the movement in a squat, bench, or deadlift – locking out the squat, bench, and deadlift is usually one of the hardest parts although some people are the opposite where they aren’t too strong moving the weight at first, but are efficient at finishing it.
You can also trying holding a isometric for longer periods of time – holding a squat for 10 seconds, holding a bench pause for 10 seconds, holding a deadlift mid calf for 10 seconds. These are super beneficial, and you’ll see some serious gains from incorporating these over a 4-6 time frame.
If these tips helped you consider liking the post, share it with and friend, and subscribe to support the page.
Be well,
Yelena