FORCE – STRENGTH – POWER – ENDURANCE

force < Latin fortis strong

strength < Old and Middle English strang strong

power < Latin potere, posse to be able, to have power

(or from potis meaning powerful)

FORCE (F)

(German: Kraft; Croatian: sila)

amF or t

vmF

STRENGTH (also: muscular strength,

muscular force)

(German: Kraft; Croatian: jakost)

“ability of a muscle or muscle group to exert

force against a resistance” (Anshel, M.H., Freedson, P., Hamill, J., Haywood, K., Horvat, M.,

& Plowman, Sh.A. (1991). Dictionary of the sport and exercise

science. Champaign: Human Kinetics Books.)

- usually measured as one maximal

effort

- general strength – typical examples of

exercises applied to develop this type

of strength are body weight exercises

and traditional weight lifting

- transitional strength - examples of

exercises applied to develop this type

of strength are medicine ball exercises

and plyometrics exercises

- specific strength

That which changes or tends to change the

state of rest or motion in matter.

There are three manifestations of strength:

1 maximal strength

2 power

3 endurance

1 MAXIMAL/MAXIMUM STRENGTH

the capacity to exert the greatest force in a

single maximum voluntary contraction

2 POWER (German: Schnellkraft; Croatian: snaga)

Power refers to the ability to exert maximal

force in the shortest possible time.

In physics power (P) can be calculated:

work divided by time, t

WP

(= it can be enhanced by decreasing

the time necessary for the execution

of an activity or a task)

the product of force and velocity,

vFP

(= the greater the force, the bigger

the power output)

>> strength + speed = power

Beyer, E. (1987). Wörterbuch der

Sportwissenschaft: Deutsch, Englisch,

Französisch. (p. 347) Schorndorf: Verlag

Karl Hofmann. “(…) Strength refers to the capacity of the

musculature:

- to contract against a resistance without any

change in position of insertion and origin

(isometric contraction),

- to overcome a resistance (one own’s body,

implement) through shortening of the muscle

(concentric contraction),

- to work against a resistance while yielding.

The muscle stretches (eccentric contraction).

The way in which strength manifests itself

( maximal strength, power, muscular

endurance) depends on a multitude of factors

(…).”

vertical jump

horizontal jump

20m sprint

Ng, N. (2016). Differences between muscular strength and power. http://www.livestrong.com/article/507621-differences-between-muscular-strength-and-power/

“The terms "strength" and "power" are sometimes used interchangeably when

exercise and athletic performance are discussed. Although both variables have

similarities, there are distinctions that you should recognize when you talk about

someone who is strong vs. powerful.”

“Strength is the ability of your nervous and muscular systems to produce enough

internal force in your connective tissues and muscles to move an external force,

such as weight or your body against gravity. Unlike power, strength requires

no quick movements to produce force, and it does not take time as a factor

for work. For example, a strong person may take three to five seconds to stand

up during a heavy barbell squat, but a powerful person can stand back up in one

second.”

“Power is producing the greatest amount of force in the shortest possible time.

With the exception of powerlifting, most power exercises are performed

repetitively over a period of time to improve speed, quick reflexes and stamina,

such as vertical jumps, lateral hops and kettlebell swings.”

lateral hops kettlebell swings

3 ENDURANCE (muscular endurance)

(German: Ausdauer; Croatian: izdržljivost)

ability of the muscle to continue to perform

without fatigue (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1996, from

Wilmore & Costill, 1994)

The time limit of a person's ability to

maintain either an isometric force or a power

level involving combinations of concentric

and/or eccentric muscle actions.

Old term in Croatian: repetitivna snaga

The terms force, strength, power and endurance and the concepts they designate are frequently a cause of a significant amount of misunderstanding. Physics operates with terms force and power. Kinesiology, which in one of its areas is based on physics, operates with the same concepts, however, under sometimes different terms. The basic function of skeletal muscle is to produce muscular force (Marković, 2008), and from this functional point of view skeletal muscle is capable of producing maximal force, it is capable of producing force quickly, and finally it is capable of producing force throughout a longer period of time (Marković, 2008). Thus kinesiology uses the term of strength, i.e. the name for a particular type of force – this type being muscular force. One of the three manifestations of strength/muscular force is maximal strength.

Physicists regard force as a physical magnitude (F) that is the product of mass (m) and acceleration (a). Since acceleration is the quotient of velocity and time, then force can

also be given as the product of mass and velocity in the unit of time, that is, t

vmF

.

The term force was derived from the Latin adjective fortis meaning strong. Strength, i.e. muscular force, is in terms of physics identical to the concept of force, and this is the reason for using the word of English origin and of the same meaning (of being strong, having muscular strength) as the Latin predecessor of the word force, namely, the adjective fortis, meaning strong and powerful.

In the scientific and technical literature written in the English language, strength is defined as the “ability of a muscle or muscle group to exert force against a resistance” (Anshel, Freedson, Hamill, Haywood, Horvat, & Plowman, 1991) and it is “usually measured as one maximal effort” (Anshel, Freedson, Hamill, Haywood, Horvat, & Plowman, 1991).

Strength is usually classified into maximum strength, elastic strength and strength endurance. The capacity to exert the greatest force in a single maximum voluntary contraction is referred to as maximum strength. Within the context of maximum strength we also talk about strength in terms of its absolute and relative values. The former is regarded as the maximum force an athlete can express regardless of body weight, whereas the latter takes into account body weight. Elastic strength refers to the capacity of the neuromuscular system to overcome resistance with a high speed of contraction. Strength endurance implies the capacity to maintain strength expression through fatigue.

Power is in physics understood ast

WP , or vFP . When power is calculated as the

product of force and velocity, this means that the greater the force, the bigger the power output. Power, the second manifestation of strength, implies the notion of explosiveness (> explosive power), and finally endurance (either of static or dynamic character) which implies the capacity of performing work for an extended period of time. Within the concept of physical fitness training in exercise and sport the term power is also referred to as explosiveness. The concept of explosiveness implies that the speed of movement is either controlled or extreme. The term power was derived from the Latin term potere, i.e. posse, meaning to be able, have power, or the adjective potis, meaning powerful. Within the context of sport and exercise two types of endurance are distinguished – these are cardiorespiratory endurance and muscular endurance. Endurance refers to the

“ability of bearing the given load during the longest possible period of time“ (Daintith & Nelson, 1989). Muscular endurance is considered to be a complex manifestation of strength and is characteristic for the ability to withstand fatigue during either static or dynamic work against high resistance. Within the athletic context stamina refers to “the ability to maintain a high performance level in spite of having incurred a large oxygen debt“ (Beyer, 1987). To repeat, power represents the ability to reach the highest possible force impact in the shortest possible time (Beyer, 1987) and thus implies the attribute of explosiveness. On the other hand, endurance refers to the “ability of bearing the given load during the longest possible period of time“ (Pavlovič & Erčulj, 1994) without decreasing the performance efficiency. Muscular endurance is estimated by measuring the magnitude of the applied force (in relation to maximal strength; e.g. 30-70%) and the endurance performance (number of possible repetitions or maximal stopping time) (Beyer, 1987).

References:

Anshel, M.H. (Ed.), Freedson, P., Hamill, J., Haywood, K., Horvat, M., & Plowman, S.A. (1991). Dictionary of the sport and exercise sciences. Champaign: Human Kinetics.

Beyer, E. (ur.) (1987). Wörterbuch der Sportwissenschaft. Deutsch, Englisch, Französisch. Dictionary of sport science. German. English. French. Dictionnaire des sciences du sport. Allemand. Anglais. Français. Schorndorf: Verlag Karl Hormann.

Daintith, J., & Nelson, R.D. (ur.) (1989). The Penguin dictionary of mathematics. Middlesex: Penguin Books.

Hollmann, W., & Hettinger, TH. (1980). Sportmedizin – Arbeits- und Trainingsgrundlagen. Stuttgart: F K Schattauer Verlag.

Marković, G. (2008). Jakost i snaga u sportu: definicija, determinante, mehanizmi prilagodbe i trening. U I.Jukić, D. MIlanović i C. Gregov (ur.) 6th annual international conference Kondicijska priprema sportaša – Trening snage. Zagreb: Kineziološki fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Udruga kondicijskih trenera Hrvatske.

Pavlovič, M., & Erčulj, F. (1994). Košarkarski slovar Ljubljana: Univerza v Ljubljani Fakulteta za šport.

VOCABULARY

acceleration ubrzanje

amount količina

apply glagol primijeniti

athletic sportski

barbell dvoručni uteg

bear, bore, borne/born glagol podnijeti, podnositi; držati; nositi

capable sposoban

concept pojam, koncept

connective tissue vezivno tkivo

decrease glagol smanjiti

derive glagol izvoditi, proizlaziti

designate glagol označavati

distinction razlika

distinguish glagol razlikovati

effort napor; rad

endurance izdržljivost

enhance glagol povećati

estimate glagol procijeniti

execution izvedba, realizacija

exert glagol ispoljiti

express glagol ispoljiti; iskazati

expression ispoljavanje; iskazivanje

force sila

horizontal jump skok u dalj s mjesta, vodoravni skok

impact učinak; udar, sraz; utjecaj

implement predmet; sprava

imply glagol podrazumijevati

incur glagol nastati; ući u; povući za sobom

insertion hvatište

interchangeably naizmjenično

kettlebell girja

lateral hop poskok u stranu

load opterećenje

maintain glagol održati

multitude mnoštvo

notion pojam, koncept

origin podrijetlo; (of a muscle) polazište

overcome, overcame, overcome savladati

physical magnitude fizikalna veličina

power snaga

powerful snažan

predecessor predak; prethodnik

produce glagol proizvesti

product umnožak; proizvod

quickness brzina reakcije

regardless of bez obzira na

repetitively ponavljajući

resistance otpor

significant značajan

squat čučanj

stamina izdržljivost

strength endurance jakosna izdržljivost, izdržljivost u jakosti

strength (also: muscular strength, muscular force) jakost

swing zamah

throughout tijekom

unit jedinica

vertical jump skok u vis s mjesta, okomiti skok

voluntary voljni

weight težina

withstand, withstood, withstood glagol oduprijeti se

yield popuštati, popustiti; proizvesti