Before you start to think this has to do with how fast the bar moves in some curved pattern, let’s get down to what the title really means. The Force-Velocity Curve (FVC) is basically the interaction between how much force a weightlifter actually has to overcome versus how fast the bar is actually moving. In weightlifting, powerlifting, etc., it refers to how much weight a lifter is lifting versus how fast that lifter is able to move the bar. The curve actually refers to what the relationship looks like on a graph. When you see this graph, you will hopefully realize through your own experience that while a bar can move fast, it really depends on how much is loaded on the bar.
 
So why do we even care about this relationship? First off, if you do not take this into consideration, you may not be training in the right domain, and it will hurt your performance. You need to be performing the correct lifts at the correct speed for your sport in order to maximize your performance on the field, ice, pool, court, and for most of us, on the platform in some super sweet looking shoes. For a weightlifter, it’s all about moving fast, exploding into extension at the right time, and then pulling under a bar at the exact moment to successfully catch the bar overhead or in a front-rack position. (I know, it is way more complicated to do this correctly, but you get the idea.) If you are training with the correct weights, you can work on maximal strength, strength-speed, power, speed-strength, or speed while utilizing this FVC. But there is still the question of, why bother?
 
Let’s start with an example of what this looks like. Visualize the last time you just lifted your 1RM for a deadlift, clean, or snatch. How fast did the bar move off the floor? Now visualize that you are performing the same lift at 135 pounds. How much different, or more easily, did it move? When you lift your 1RM, the bar may not move as fast as you’d like. This means that the amount of force you must overcome is exceeded by your muscle force, but your bar load and the muscle force applied moves the bar in what seems like super slow motion, like when Jim Carey performs a perfect button hook pattern (maybe even in super slo-mo instance replay) in Ace Ventura. The weight is so heavy that your muscle contracts, but between overcoming gravity and the weight itself, the concentric phase of muscle action can only move the body as fast as the weight it has to overcome. On the other hand, when you lift 135, the bar moves off the floor as you move through triple extension with ease. At this point, the muscles are able to overcome the weight of the bar and the force provided occurs with so much force that the bar moves from light-speed to ludicrous-speed very quickly. That is the FVC.
 
The lighter the weight we lift, the faster that bar with weight on it will move. The heavier the weight that we lift, the slower that bar will move. If you press the gas pedal in a car versus an 18-wheeler, the car will take off much faster because it weighs less, but both will eventually get to the same distance at some point (fingers crossed). The same holds true for lifting. Looking at some research, a study done by Cormie, McBride, and McCaulley (2008) showed how force production and speed are associated using jump squats with specific loads (0kg, 20kg, 40kg, and 60kg). This was one of the first research studies that showed the jump squat on a force plate at specific stages of the movement, and it proved to be very informative. When the participant performed the jump squat with 0kg (body weight), the velocity was the fastest throughout the whole range of motion of the movement. The higher the load provided, the lower the velocity of the participant.
 
So how can we take the results from this research and put it to use? One interesting aspect that can be seen in this research is that while lifting at 20kg of weight, the velocity was similar to the body weight motion for approximately 66 percent of the lift. How does this translate to your training? If you are working on speed-strength, using lower loads at an extremely fast speed will help with explosive motions that any athlete is trying to achieve. This is great, and we can use many different motions to help improve speed-strength, but when is the right time to use these motions? Filling your whole training session with speed-strength may not elicit the desired effects from the beginning of the training session to the ending if you are trying to increase max strength, so we must place them in the correct place, with the correct rep schemes, and for the correct number of exercises. If you follow Catalyst Athletics at all, you will notice that Greg likes to use these “Speed-Strength” and “Speed” types of motions at the end of the training session and I will back this premise 100 percent. The reason for this is what we saw with the research earlier. The loads we are using to stimulate muscles for fast contractions with all-out efforts will not be very high but will be pretty taxing on the body. Therefore, if you place something like full-depth jump squats and box jumps with or without weight in your training, it should be used at the end of the training session for about four to six sets, but with five to eight reps or less per set. Those eight reps may be a little high, but think about what the weight is going to be before you go that high with the reps. Also, if you are going to apply weight to these motions (which you can do for sure), going above 40 percent will start to indicate a slowing of velocity (speed), and you will start to transition into a different phase of the FVC. Usually, loads around 20-25 percent of your 1RM are enough to propel the body and still provide a response that will help you off the floor, explode into your second pull, and then aggressively pull under the bar during the third pull. So, if you are a person who can back squat 200 pounds, then you can technically work at loads around 40 to 50 pounds and use that weight to get off the ground as fast as possible. If you are someone who can squat 500 pounds, then you can work with 100 to 125 pounds and stick those lifts as fast as possible. Remember, the idea is velocity and not amount of weight lifted. If you are trying to go through the motions, then you are not creating enough force output to elevate off the ground. So, you get the idea, whatever you lift, use lower loads at max speed, and you are getting the desired effects we are talking about with the FVC.
 
Knowing where specific exercises fit into your periodization schedule is going to be very important. If we go back to the FVC image earlier in the article, you can see how we transition from max strength to strength speed to power to speed-strength, and then finish with just speed work. This is also the way that you can and should progress through your training sessions. The main premise behind this is that as we start to fatigue from high amounts of weight lifted, the accessories lifts need to begin to progress lower in weight, but work on speed as much as possible. In a simplistic version of a weightlifting program, we would start with the snatch or clean and jerk or some variation of the lift at a moderately-high to high weight and lower reps. As we progress into the first stage of accessory exercises, we may want to consider something like pulls at a higher weight of the snatch or clean (even above 100 percent of your 1RM), but this should be done at speeds that replicate the motion or faster (obviously with the best technique possible). The next grouping may be a squat-based motion with weights that are lower, but challenging enough where all reps are completed at speeds necessary for those weights. An athlete should not be going through the motions, but should be working on properly deceleration (eccentric muscle contraction), using the bounce (or bar whip) in their amortization (transition) phase, and then explode out of the bottom using bar whip to get back to their starting position (concentric muscle contraction). Although the weight is going to be moderate for squatting, we want to move that bar as fast as possible so that we can enhance strength, strength-speed, and power, or a combination of the three. Lastly, we can always place something that is body weight oriented or another item with low weights that we can move as fast as possible for the upper or lower body. Jump squats or upper body work like tall jerks can use relatively low weights, but they are moved very rapidly to produce the desired effects, all while maintaining technique. Again, this would be a generic style of daily periodization, but it can be the start of developing a well-rounded approach to being as strong and as fast as possible. As we begin to realize how important it is for periodization to enhance not only strength but speed, we start to realize that it is not only about moving as much weight as possible. Weightlifting requires strength, speed, and (of course) technique, as each program is specific to the individual.

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