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Building A Muscle-Bound Machine
The Difference Between Strength And Power!
Bradley Abbott
March 11, 2025
Definition of Strength
Definition of Power
The Latest ‘Strong Man’ News
Building Your Plan
References
The Definition of Strength
Strength is the body’s ability to generate force.
- Ross Edgely, 2018.
When you generate strength it is important to stay controlled. Some movements you will perform in the gym (and out of the gym if you are competing in events within Strong Man and CrossFit), will require you to move the barbells or dumbbells at a slower rate, thus displaying your control over the movement. Displaying this control shows great strength contrary to what the younger generation or even some of what the older generation think - we all know the type: ‘lift heavy, no control, slamming the weights down.’
The different types of contractions in strength training can all be pieced together in your perfect plan. Evidently, this is what also helps gym-goers and athlete alike stay injury free preventing them from Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS).
These contractions include:
Concentric contractions -
Eccentric contractions -
and Isometric contractions -
Each of these contractions have their benefits and you will move your body differently depending on what type of muscle contractions you’re focused on in any given session.
When training for strength the rep-range varies, depending on the type of movement (i.e. compound or isolated), and experience level. For example, strength for a compound movement is anywhere from 8-15 reps, however, the ‘heavier-end’ of the strength-curve can be as little as 6-8 reps.
Below 6-8 reps, and you’re training for power.
The Definition of Power
Power is the product of strength and speed.
- Ross Edgely, 2018.
Power on the other hand, is more explosive; and although you should be in control of your movements, those who practice power-based movements should build a foundation of strength first. This is for your own natural progressions as well as your safety, and the safety of others around you.
When performing power-based movements, technique is vital. Because of the type of contractions used when lifting, pushing, pulling, or throwing, your technique needs to be on point otherwise you are at risk of injuring yourself, especially if you haven’t got much experience training for power.
Examples of power lifts are your Power-Cleans, Clean & Jerk Lifts, and your Barbell Power-Snatches.
Notice in the clean & Jerk how there are three parts to the movement?
There’s the starting position with the back straight, head up, toes under the bar, and a firm grip on the bar. While this is happening the gentleman performing the lift is getting right to brace his core muscles (i.e. lower back and obliques).
Then there’s the clean, which involves performing an upright row to get the bar on his shoulders. Followed by the jerk, lifting the bar in an explosive version of a shoulder press.
Now let’s take a look at the barbell power snatch . . .
The starting position for this movement is similar except, I you can make an argument here that your legs and fee have to be further apart in comparison. Your hands ar eplace much further apart when gripping the bar.
The next stage of this movement is a shoulder shrug. If you look close enough you’ll be able to recognise this when people in the gym are performing the snatch.
The next part of the movement, you are ‘jolting’ the barbell over your head in a locked position.
Because of the speed of movement, you will see a lot of people generate more force which is why they can usually use heavier weights, but there are other ways to train power - like through the use of resistance bands and applying them to exercises like a single arm dumbbell row, or running with a resistant band or heavy ruck sack attached to you.
Other examples can be in the form of explosive bodyweight movements like squat-jump, a single-leg squat jump, kneeling clap push-ups, and so on.
Bruce Lee trained his biceps with isometric bicep curl-holds, where he would just hold the bar in a curled position with it chained to a heavy weight so it couldn’t move. Isometric holds produce powerful punches in martial arts when practiced correctly and frequently.
Since power is the merger of strength and speed, you must work your way up by engaging in strength training first. Then by training speed - this will give you a good foundation of preparation.
The Latest ‘Strong Man’ News
‘The World’s Strongest men compete in Sacramento, California, on May 15-18, 2025!’
The Sun has also stated that ‘Eddie Hall has revealed his next fight with Strong Man rivals …’
Building Your Plan
When building your plan you should first ask yourself these questions . . .
What am I training for?
How much time can I make to allocate towards my training goal?
How much time will I need to recover my body from the exercise?
How much time will it take to achieve my fitness goal?
What adjustments will I need to make to my eating pattern to make recover easier to achieve?
These question require reflection and a decision. You need to realise and accept that your fitness goal will take time to achieve and you must be willing to dedicate some of your time to it. Which leads to the questions a lot of people don’t seem to think about . . .
Can I see myself achieving the goal?
What do I want my body to look like?
How will I feel once I’ve achieved this goal?
Will I inspire my loved ones to adopt a better lifestyle after they’ve seen me accomplish it?
First, recall the Principles of Fitness:
Frequency
Intensity
Time
Type
Let these principles guide your workout structure down to the minute details. Examples? Exercise (Type, and at what Intensity?), sets and reps (Frequency), Rest (Time). Now let’s look at a sample:
A sample adopted from Edgely, (2021)
Notice each exercise has it’s own purpose, it’s own component of fitness you’re trying to improve?
Now, think about the areas that you want to improve, what are they (strength, power, endurance, coordination, balance, speed)?
Try that mental exercise and come to a decision.
For the interest of this particular article, we are sticking with a plan to build your strength.
To start, use the method of ‘Push, Pull, Legs’ and begin by using a three-day-a-week plan.
Push | Rest | Pull | Rest | Legs | Rest | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
This will allow enough time for your body to recover. Once you’ve taken the time to adapt your body to this ‘frequency’ then move to a four-day-a-week system to progress your strength, muscular endurance and you nervous system.
Push | Pull | Rest | Legs | Extra | Rest | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Recovery
Protein
For muscle growth and recovery protein intake should be between 1.2g-2.0g/kg of body weight, the literature has been consistent with this range no matter where you look. And there are some articles that recommend an upwards of 2.5g+/kg of body weight.
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, who practices ‘Muscle-Centric Medicine,’ recommends 30-60 grams of animal and/or whey protein per meal at 3-5 meals per day, because, and she strongly urges, ‘muscle is not just used for lifting weights, it is the organ of longevity!’
Sleep
The journal of . . . strongly recommends 7-9 hours of sleep for the average person (the non-athlete), however, if you are training more frequently it is strongly recommended you get 8-10 hours of good quality sleep.
The literature is very clear you need to improve sleep hygiene by turning off blue light technology 30-60 minutes before bed, and engaging in activities like drawing, writing, reading (obviously, . . . don’t read thrillers or horror stories 😱), puzzles, meditation and other deep breathing exercises.
Calories
Be sure to eat the correct amount of calories for your body weight/body shape goal (e.g. professional body building, Strong Man, Marathon, Triathlon, CrossFit, etc.).
In more specific cases the literature recommends 1800-2400kcals/day for people participating in 30-40 minutes a day or about 25-35kcals/kg/day for a 50kg-80kg individual, because the caloric demands of the session is not too great (i.e. 200-400kcals/session). You’ll need more if you are taller or have a larger build, to meet the energy needs of the regular exercise. Or, if your aim is to lose weight, then this may be enough for you.
However, athletes, or people who are training at that level (i.e. 2-3 hours/ day, 5-6 days a week) need more calories to meet the energy demands. You’re looking at any amount between 2000-7000 kcals/day, because the energy demands are so high for the sessions (i.e. 600-1200kcals/session).
Due to the high demand on the musculoskeletal, endocrine and nervous systems this level of exercise imposes, you should really be consuming a sports drink with minerals, and protein in. Ideally, you should be looking to consume a sports drink with carbohydrate and electrolytes (calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, etc.) in.
References
Aragon, A. A., Schoenfeld, B. J., Wildman, R., Kleiner, S., VanDusseldorp, T., Taylor, L., Antonio, J. (2017). International society of sports nutrition position stand: diets and body composition. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-017-0174-y
Chad M. Kerksick, Colin D. Wilborn, Michael D. Roberts, Abbie Smith-Ryan, Susan M. Kleiner, Ralf Jäger, Rick Collins, Mathew Cooke, Jaci N. Davis, Elfego Galvan, Mike Greenwood, Lonnie M. Lowery, Robert Wildman, Jose Antonio & Richard B. Kreider (2022) ISSN exercise & sports nutrition review update: research & recommendations, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 15:1, 38, DOI: 10.1186/s12970-018-0242-y
Edgely R. (2021). Blueprint.
Edgely R. (2018). World’s Fittest Book.
Lyon G. (2023). Forever Strong: A New Science-Based Strategy For Aging Well.
If you like this article and you found that it helped you in any way, then please share it, it’s all I ask. Additionally, if you liked this article, you may like ‘MuscleWiki.’
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This service provides a great service if you want to change up your routine, or you’re looking for alternative ways to do different exercises. It adds to your library of exercises so you can pick and choose the ones you like.
Additionally, you may find my e-books of use. They provide a guide to your fitness goals and there are many structure blank pages, so you guys can write your own fitness journey.
Fitness Performance: A Sample of a Recovery Microcycle eBook : Abbott, Bradley: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
A 'HOW-TO' GUIDE in DEVELOPING FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH, POWER & ADAPTABILITY (The Fitness & Philosophy Collection Book 1) eBook : Abbott, Bradley: Amazon.co.uk: Books
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