Build Explosive Power & Speed: Q&A with Craig McGill

This is a continuation of our exclusive Q&A series, we talk now with Craig McGill, a personal trainer and one of Northern athlete ambassadors,  to find the exact gym equipment, what strategy and methods to use to improve athletic performance.  Craig shares on these Q&A his favorite home gym equipment, and some tips about one of the best gym equipment for developing speed and explosive power - slam balls.

Craig offers training and coaching with  former SF military and busy professionals including academy players, semi-pro footballers, and rugby athletes. His workout approach is applicable for every fitness level, as it combines targeted strength and conditioning exercises to deliver measurable results for beginners and pro-athletes.

What gym equipment do you use to develop explosive power and speed? Can you share any experience how this equipment works as an alternative?

If it’s explosiveness and speed… Slam Balls could be Secret Sauce.
 
An S&C course I once completed (or its leader), was fixated with Olympic Lift Variations (OLVs) workout. It seemed to be the route to developing true athletic power.
While there’s no doubt many athletes have used power cleans in their programmes – if you only own a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
 
Good research suggests OLVs might only be one option (and not the best option) when trying to ‘Surf the Curve’ and develop strong muscular contractions, across distance, as fast as possible.  They’ll certainly increase power more effectively than only conventional strength training.  But are there more effective choices?

A key aim in OLVs is achieving ‘triple extension.’  Hip. Knee. Ankle.  ‘Triple X’ is a vital component in generating athletic force away from terra firma.  But does the OLV Triple X best fit the multi-planar, single limb movements associated with football, boxing, rugby, or tennis?  Does it transfer naturally onto the battlefield?
 
Some view OLVs as a sort of Swiss Army Knife.  Generally covering bases – but not as good as the actual tool for a specific, specialist job.  Not delivering the force or the time-under-tension that would create maximum strength… and too heavy to deliver the velocity stimulus necessary to optimally improve maximum speed. This where slam balls cover all these bases.

Slam balls, on the other hand, are designed to target exactly what OLVs often miss. Their manageable weight allows athletes to move explosively, maintaining speed and maximising power output. Slam ball workouts also enable multi-directional force development—lateral, rotational, and vertical. This generates force in real sporting movements.

Slam balls also offer maximum strength training, blended with genuinely high-velocity drills that could deliver more effective results in power performance. Two key types of muscular adaptation required for generating explosive power and speed.  To be fast, you must do fast things in training.

Why do you think slam balls are effective?  What benefits do slam balls offer? 

I love my Slam Balls.
 
They’re light – so they target the right high velocity training zone. As soon as significant loads are added during power exercises (more than c.10%) – significant changes happen to the force/velocity curve.  Athletes are no longer working in maximum speed adaptation thresholds. Lighter SBs don’t give you this problem.
 
Slam balls offer athletes lateral, rotational and vertical force development.  They have far more game or sport transferability. SBs more closely imitate the way the body develops force when an external load is not present.  This means – how your body moves under its own weight when throwing, punching, sprinting, jumping etc.
 
Slam ball allow an athlete to accelerate fully through the whole concentric cycle i.e.) you don’t throw a bar during OLVs and keep on accelerating movement -at some point you must decelerate and stop it, with an associated decrease in peak power. With an SB you can take it to the full range of movement and accelerate through on release.
 
SBs might offer athletes weeks more of training potential and reduce the risks of injury.  Olympic Lifting is a technical rabbit hole to master and a highly skilled sport requiring exceptional levels of joint mobility to achieve perfect form.  Ask a purist Olympic Lifter about a Cross Fitter’s technique – it can get spicy.  If better results can be achieved with maximum strength training and simpler velocity drills… Why wouldn’t you?