Congrats on making the team and now considering how to advance. I hope that someone like Alex can help on this question, but I would like to throw in a small bit of something to consider when thinking through all of this. Certainly this is probably something you already know, but sometimes it is good to just go over it again as we think about how to approach this topic.
For me coming from a strength background and still training along those lines I have some observations as we look at strength and power. I kind of went into some rambling about it here cyclingforums.comstrength training during cycling season thoughtsOpen ↗. Through the years of training every model that I have seen that is successful leans heavily on specificity. When training / recovery time is limited one then begins to think about creating the most efficient plan and as a result of trimming off the fat of various methods one then gets down to specific movements. But if time is not limited and recovery is not impacted then one can look at things that may indeed help from a different angle. Then one needs to really study if it really will transfer to success.
If you think about everything in the toolbox of training you have so much in that box that you begin to sift through stacking one thing in the non-useful pile and pick out maybe a couple of things to consider and then study if it is useful.
So how would I approach it if I were looking into the box of training methods and picking out some things to consider? I would go about it looking at the Force Velocity Curve aspect and then determine what do I need strength or power. So is maximum strength what you need?
Look at the terms of strength of a Powerlifter's deadlift compared to an Olympic Lifter's strength in a similar movement doing power cleans. The amount of weight used by a Powerlifter for a 1 rep max. lift usually is a very slow and controlled movement (Force is high, Velocity is low) because that person is at the limit of maximum force. An Olympic lifter will use a higher velocity as if throwing the weight. Being that I was in a gym that had such a variety of world class strength athletes and got to witness and personally experience this (except I did not do olympic lifting) the olympic lifters form of technique was vastly different in that of a powerlifter even though both were attempting a 1 rep max. lift.
The Mauy Thai kickboxer that used me for a live target only trained in fighting. As mentioned on the other thread I never saw him nor did I ever hear him speak of other forms of training. Not push ups or anything. His conditioning was at the top because when he sparred that alone emulated perfectly have the conditioning to fight all out for about 5 minutes before needing rest. His kick was powerful because he trained the technique of kicking properly with a rotation of his hips and pivoting his foot at such quickness (velocity) that he could break your ribs easily or hit a nerve in your leg that would disable you with in a fraction of a second. For improving that kick was many hours of improving the technique and the speed over and over again. The specific movement is what made him successful. Strength training could not emulate this. My lifting did not help and in fact it actually was extra hard for me to improve my kick because I spent so much time training like a powerlifter using a lot of force and low velocity. My body was well trained to go heavy with a very controlled slow motion in squats, deadlifts and bench.
So one may benefit at looking at the Force Velocity Curve when picking out things that are not actually activity specific and also consider sustainability. A powerlifter and Olympic lifter only has to walk up to a bar and do 1 rep. A kickboxer benefits by having repeatable power in their punch and kick throughout the duration. An endurance cyclist a greater amount of sustainable power. A track sprinter maybe less sustainable power duration with a greater amount of force than the endurance cyclist.
You are doing specifics as you mentioned. Can I think of anything in my bag of tricks that may hit the force velocity issue? Well it hurts that I don't know much about track sprinting so I am not sure, but if I were to make a guess outside of the specific training it may be movements like high jumps, weighted step ups on a medium high bench, running stadium stairs, single leg leg press with about 50% maximum and some movements like that all with velocity in mind. You've got to watch some of these movements though to prevent injury because with bad form in velocity has a higher risk. I don't call those things strength training though, but others might. I may be totally off about what I am telling you. I am not at the level of a lot of trainers, but I have been doing this for a while and have worked with a variety of athletes in the strength training aspect. I am more apt to call this fitness training than strength training. My definition of strength training is improving 1 rep max regardless of the mix of force velocity. Whatever it takes to get that bar movement completed in 1 rep, be it some sloppy fast jerk motion or slow methodical movement.
I watched a young girl at the gym this morning doing high jumps and she let me take some photos. This type of movement takes a good mix of velocity and force to make it. She had the platform at a height that was about at her maximum for the jump and yet was repeatable. She did about 5 in a row with a brief rest between sets. At near maximum height you will not be able to stop the momentum and will probably need to go off the front. If you can stop the momentum you may not have the platform high enough.
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Near maximum height
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Touch the top of the platform
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Momentum will take you off the front
Anyway I probably did not tell you anything new, but maybe it will prompt you to think about different angles of how to approach as you look at different avenues.
