Velocity based training

Velocity based training (VBT) is a modern approach to strength training and power training which utilises velocity tracking technology to provide rich objective data as a means to motivate and support real-time adjustments in an athlete’s training plan. Typical strength and power programming and periodisation plans[1][2] rely on the manipulation of reps, sets and loads as a means to calibrate training stressors in the pursuit of specific adaptations. Since the late 1990s, innovations in bar speed monitoring technology has brought velocity based training closer to the mainstream as the range of hardware and software solutions for measuring exercise velocities have become easier to use and more affordable. Velocity based training has a wide range of use cases and applications in strength and conditioning. These include barbell sports such as powerlifting[3] and Olympic weightlifting and Crossfit, as well as rock climbing.[4] Velocity based training is widely adopted across professional sporting clubs,[5] with the data supporting many periodisation decisions for coaches in the weight room and on the field.[6]

Most commonly, velocity based training is used on compound strength and power movements such as squats, deadlifts, bench press[7] and the olympic lifting variations. Values such as mean velocity, mean propulsive velocity and peak velocity are recorded in metres per second (m/s)[7] and logged over time to monitor performance and fatigue levels in individual athletes or across teams or cohorts.

Velocity Based Training is built on the training principle of intent to move and Newton’s second law of motion.

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.[7]

Until recently, tracking this intent relied on a keen coaches eye and subjective feedback methods. The ability to track and monitor objective metrics such as velocity and power has become a key coaching tool for providing motivation to athletes, improving training adaptations and reinforcing this higher intent to training.[8][9]

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.[10] The relationship between load and velocity follow a predictable and consistent linear pattern.[11][12] 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.[11][13]

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.[14][15]

The minimum velocity threshold (MVT) is the slowest velocity at which a repetition can be completed for a given exercise.[11] This value is therefore synonymous with the 1 repetition maximum,[3] 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,[3][7] 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[citation needed].