Tip Fire Up Your CNS For Better Lifting Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip Fire Up Your CNS For Better Lifting Do a couple of these drills before you lift and you' ll get the best workout you' ve had this year by TJ Kuster May 11, 2018August 18, 2019 Tags Athletic Performance, Powerlifting & Strength, Tips, Training Use the Force This is a great way to begin any lifting workout. The idea behind "rate of force development" is to do an exercise that's explosive in nature and that utilizes all of the body's major muscle groups. Doing an explosive exercise prior to lifting fires up your central nervous system and gets your body physically ready to lift hard and heavy. Some lifters do rate of force development work by incorporating jumps, explosive push-ups, or variations of the Olympic lifts. While these are undoubtedly great ways to produce force, there are people that need less impact on the body. Heavier-set lifters and those recovering from an injury will have a hard time absorbing the impact from a jump. And beginners may not have the technical skills to perform Olympic lifting variations. If you're one of these people, try out some of the exercises below before your next lifting session so you can still reap the power and strength benefits from force production. Medicine Ball Force Production Options Medicine Ball Chest Pass Similar to a basketball throw, step out with one leg while pushing off the other. Explosively extend your arms as you throw the ball to a partner or against a wall. This exercise goes well with any pressing day. Medicine Ball Thruster Make sure you drive your knees out as you squat down. Utilize the stretch reflex (the bounce you feel at the bottom of the squat) to rocket your body back into a standing position. Once you reach this standing position, continue to explode up while forcefully extending the arms. This exercise works great before squatting. Backward Medicine Ball Throw Keep a strong, flat back as you bend down towards the medicine ball. Explosively drive your hips forward as you go to rip the ball from the floor. Make sure you're bracing your core the entire time and don't hyperextend the back at the end of the throw. This exercise fits well on deadlift day. Jumping Force Production Options Banded Broad Jump This one is great for practicing a broad jump without as much impact. Placing a resistance band around your waist will greatly reduce ground impact as you land. Make sure you land with a flat back and knees tracking outward to prevent injury. Banded Lateral Single-Leg Hop This will feel awkward at first but it's great for producing force laterally as well as activating the glutes and hamstrings. When you set up, remember to get your arms involved. Pretend you're skating or running and hop using your opposite arm and opposite leg. Think of bringing your arms from your chin to your back pocket as you hop from side to side. Sets and Rep Scheme Remember that rate of force development is supposed to be explosive in nature. Don't do these exercises as conditioning prior to training. Do 3-5 sets with no more than 5 reps per set. Give yourself plenty of time to recover between sets. These exercises are neural in nature which means you should be taking longer breaks between sets and should attempt to produce as much force as possible with each rep. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Build Muscle Anywhere Anytime Yes, you can build size with bodyweight exercises. But these aren't your typical beginner moves. Check 'em out! Training Dan North November 15 Training Tip Do a Deep Bodyweight Squat Daily Want to retain athletic functioning and mobility for life? All you need is 30 seconds a day. Here's what to do. It Hurts Fix It, Tips, Training Bret Contreras November 22 Training Why Women Should Train Harder Than Men Women not only need to train harder than men, their physiology makes it so they can. Here's what every female lifter needs to know. For Women, Training Charles Staley November 15 Training Tip Make the Bulgarian Split Squat Even Tougher Use this exercise and you'll squat more weight for more reps. Here's how to do it. Tips, Training Bret Contreras December 7