Dan:
I was delivering a level one course in Essex where his gym is based and I went there to do some formal testing for the end of my training program, and one day we just did some max tests for some lifts. My deadlift’s okay, my bench press is horrific because my arms are really long because I’m a gibbon. Sorry everybody. Then on the second day of testing, which was after a rest day, we measured what’s called my dynamic strength index, and we set up what we called a mid-thigh pull, which is a static barbell set into a rig, that is just above the height if my knees, and that you cannot move. On the floor is a force plate, and you set yourself for the deadlift position where the bar is just above your knees, and you just pull on this bar as hard as you can and what it essentially does is it measures how strong your deadlift is from that position because you’re pulling yourself down into the force plate.
Craig:
Right.
Dan:
You take this number and you compare it with a bit of maths to the standing counter movement jump, which is like the acute sports science jump where you put your hands on your hips, you bend down, you jump as high as you can. We did three readings on each, just going for maximum effort, you compare the two and you see how balanced you are. The mid-thigh pull tells you the maximum force that your body is capable of producing, your maximum strength, and the counter movement jump gives you your maximum power. The relationship between the two shows you if you’re strong but not powerful, powerful but not strong, or balanced.
