Velocity based training

Velocity Based Training is built on the training principle of intent to move and Newton's second law of motion. Intent to Move When training for strength and power, athlete should aim to apply as much intent as possible to their movements. By trying to lift weights as explosively as possible, an athlete will accelerate and increase the recruitment of their largest, most powerful type II motor units through the Henneman Size Principle. This higher effort and intent in training in turn increases rate of force development, preferential type II fibre hypertrophy through the SAID principle. The load velocity profile In most traditional strength movements, as the amount of load an athlete aims to lift increases, the velocity at which they are able to move decreases. The relationship between load and velocity follow a predictable and consistent linear pattern. The stability of this load velocity relationship has made Velocity Based Training a useful tool to be able to predict and estimate strength levels, fatigue and readiness to train. The load power profile Similarly to the velocity profile, power and load share a stable relationship, however its shape is a single factor polynomial, with the point of peak power occurring between 30 and 80% of 1RM varying based on the exercise and individual. Minimum velocity threshold The minimum velocity threshold (MVT) is the slowest velocity at which a repetition can be completed for a given exercise. This value is therefore synonymous with the 1 repetition maximum, a common test and indication of an athletes strength levels and progress in the gym. The MVT has been shown to be consistent for a number of common strength training exercises, although the homogeneity of the research cohorts, variations in lifting technique and differences in velocity values given by different tracking technologies used across exercises may suggest a wider level of individual variation in the minimum velocity values than is currently presented. == Velocity based training use cases ==

Velocity based training has many varied uses and applications in training. recent research has highlighted that high variations can exist between individuals, and therefore individualisation of load velocity profiling and VBT program design can lead to superior training adaptations. Feedback and motivation By using velocity as a marker of quality in strength training, coaches and athletes can take this feedback to motivate and compete on these metrics. showed that providing real-time objective feedback to athletes could lead to instant improvements in jump performance and ultimately greater jump improvements over 6 weeks of training by simply displaying jump performance to the athletes as they completed their repetitions. A further study Real-time fatigue monitoring When strength training, sets with higher repetition ranges lead to higher levels of muscle damage, metabolite build up and greater fatigue effects. This fatigue often presents itself in the form of decreasing velocity across a training set or session. Through the use of velocity monitoring, coaches and athletes can monitor, in real-time, the amount of fatigue that is accumulating as a product of velocity decrement across a set. Velocity stops can be used to limit the amount of velocity loss that is allowed through either a percentage cut off or by setting a limit on how slowly an athlete is allowed to complete a repetition before they must end their set and begin a rest period. Even tighter velocity stops of 5-10% are also common place during tapering or when chasing specific power adaptations. While a velocity loss of 30% and above may have benefits in increasing hypertrophy, this high volume, high fatigue approach to training does also lead to greater type 1 muscle fibre hypertrophy. Auto-regulation Physical performance levels, also known as readiness, are known to fluctuate wildly on a daily or even hourly basis. Lifestyle stressors, sleep quality, nutrition, hormonal fluctuation and general arousal levels can have a significant impact on strength, power, speed and fitness. These variations can make standardised percentage based training programs difficult to implement and often suboptimal for helping athletes maximise their performance over time. Coaches, sporting organisations and individual athletes typically monitor their daily readiness levels in order to auto-regulate their training loads and volumes. Technologies such as heart rate variability monitoring, GPS data, blood oxygen sensors, along with subjective readiness questionnaires and regular performance testing is used to adjust and calibrate the optimal training stresses on a daily basis. Velocity tracking can be a vital tool in the auto-regulation of training too. As an athlete trains, coaches can receive and analyse training data for their warm up sets, comparing their velocity and power outputs relative to individual testing baselines or recent contextual training data. Drops in velocity relative to normal during these warm up sets can signify fatigue or low readiness to train, prompting intervention and training load adjustments to match this low readiness to train. Testing and profiling Due to the stable, linear relationship between velocity and load, Tracking peak power relative to bodyweight can provide valuable insights especially for athletes who may be gaining or losing weight in weight class sports or during off-season periods. == Velocity based training devices and technology ==

There are a range of laboratory based and commercially available technologies that offer a range of features and options for tracking velocity in the gym. === Lab based 3D motion capture === Largely considered the gold standard, large multi-camera, high frame rate systems can accurately track and measure movements in 3D space, giving a high precision picture of bar position, bar path, velocity and power metrics. Whilst these systems are incredibly accurate, These hardware systems are often mounted into a squat rack and programmed to automatically detect and trace athlete movements, providing feedback of movement velocity, range of motion and more. Linear Positional Transducers One of the earliest technologies and still one of the most popular to be used in elite sport, a device containing a rotary encoder and string spool is connected to the training implement, unspooling during movement. As this string uncoils and retracts, it transmits positional data to a digital display or smart device, calculating displacement, velocity and power outputs. Linear positional transducers are a valid and reliable method for measuring bar speed and velocity. for bar path, velocity, range of motion, and power metrics. The affordability, easy of use and reliability of the data makes smartphone applications an appealing option for coaches and athletes at every level. Accelerometers, IMUs and wearable technology Wearable technology incorporating multi-axis accelerometry or inertial motion units (IMU) are common place in a broad range of health and fitness tracking applications. Various commercially available wearable and bar mounted accelerometer devices have been validated to measure and track velocity in real time across a range of exercises. Due to their simpler construction and smaller size compared to positional transducers, these units have had a somewhat wider adoption in the fitness world outside elite sport due to portability, convenience and cost. Wearable devices such as the Apple Watch have also been explored for their potential to measure VBT, demonstrating promising applications in tracking movement velocity during resistance exercises. While IMUs have been found to be reliable and valid, some inconsistency at slow movement speeds along with interference from bar vibration at high speeds can be problematic. == See also ==