First off - this will be a multiple blog post series. This first installment will be an introduction to the topic. Each subsequent blog post will get more in depth. Secondly, I would like to state that since 2011 when I first learned about VBT it has been a GAMECHANGER for myself and my athletes that I have worked with. It has also helped someone like myself who is a “grinder” of a lifter who was born with more type I muscle fibers. Back when Nick DiMarco worked at Iowa football together and we competed in power lifting I had hit a bench press rep at 0.09 m/s.

Why talk about VBT? 

The reason I feel this blog post is necessary is because there are still coaches out there who put VBT measuring tools on a barbell that has no plates on it, and 1 chains. This external load of roughly 100lb at the top and 65lb at the bottom for a hand supported rear foot elevated split squat is not how coaches should be programming VBT. I also feel it is important for coaches to know that you might have athletes like myself who can complete a rep when the speed is below 0.2 m/s. Yes, generally that is a good cut off for an athlete being maxed out - but just know there are some outliers.

VBT, in my experience across 14 years of college athletics working with some of the most elite athletes, is for athletes who are already strong. Taking athletes who are novice (which typically means they are weak or do not have high movement skill) and putting accommodating resistance and VBT measurement on the bar is not appropriate. To quote the strength coach formerly know as Rugby Strength Coach, Keir Wenham-Flatt, you are robbing the athlete twice. Once during the training when you apply a stimulus that is not appropriate for them at the time. And second when they need that novel stimulus and they have already been exposed to it.

Take for instance the athlete in the first scenario. They do not need to be doing VBT with an empty bar and 1 chain on each side. If this is velocity training for them - then that means their 1RM is EXTREMELY low - and they would be better served working on improvement of maximal strength.For a youtube video on how to progress strength work prior to VBT from click here. 

VBT and the Force-Velocity Curve

Now some strength coaches might say well Justin these athletes are just surfing on the force-velocity curve and are just on the bottom right hand side of the curve at high velocity. I would listen to that argument if the coach was not instructing their athletes to hit 0.8 m/s. You see that speed of 0.8 m/s is in the “strength speed” part of the curve according to Dr. Bryan Mann in his webinar on SCN. Speed strength is right in the middle of the F-V curve. So these athletes were not hitting the accelerative strength portion of the curve where speeds are > 1.3 m/s. See this to me is where as coaches we need to be ok with saying something is appropriate or not appropriate for athletes at a given time. If this happens more in S&C then athletes like the above example would not be forced to go through mismanaged training.

So, now that we know what not to do - let’s talk about how to use VBT properly. Looking at the image below taken from Dr. Mann’s presentation as a starting point. One important note is this below image represents average velocity across the range of motion. Which is different from peak velocity.



Why the distinction and why does it matter? Generally speaking from what I have learned over the years is using average velocity for non-ballistic movements: squat, bench, deadlift, etc…Then using peak velocity for jumps, cleans, jerk, snatch, etc… The reason being that the bar will continue to accelerate as you leave the ground in these later movements.

I am NOT the expert on VBT. I leave that to Dr. Bryan Mann and his webinars inside of SCN as well as the folks at Vitruve. If you have not already heard, SCN has partnered with Virtuve to help more coaches better use VBT with their athletes. Not only is their hardware less expensive than competitors, the software can integrate with your TeamBuildr account. Saving you as a coach (or your interns) HOURS of time that was prior spent inputting time into a spreadsheet. Find out more from Vitruve here.

VBT In The Future

Now that coaches have a starting point for speeds they need to understand what loads are they using. Prior to answering that question we need to know if accommodating resistance is being used? If yes, then the bar weight needs to be less (depending on the zone you are trying to train). If no, they the bar weight needs to be more (again, depending on which portion of the F-V curve you are working in). Speaking of accommodating resistance - I strongly recommend using chains before bands. Why? Because chains do not actively pull the bar down to the floor. Sure chains provide more weight at the top and less at the bottom. But they do not have the extra tension that bands do. Chains have the same force (gravity) pulling them down to the floor. So, start with chains for your athletes first. Then progress to bands, and finally end with bands and chains.

In our next installment of this series we will talk more in-depth on the sets, reps, percentages, etc… For now, the important thing to understand about VBT is that you do not need to use it with your novice athletes. Let it be a tool that you use and progress with your athletes as they mature in movement quality and strength. How long will this take? Depends on you and your situation. That is why I am not telling you an exact 1RM or % of BW consideration. Some of you work in situations where an athlete will be bought in the off season - have no training background - but is a stud athletes and the coaches, front office, etc… all expect them to play and contribute. Call it what it is you will have that athlete doing VBT during the late off-season/early pre-season. Your job and livelihood is on the line. Again, we will dive deeper into the details in the later blogs. Until then click here to learn more about Vitruve and why we think they are someone you need to have in your weight room. Like I said, VBT has been huge for me as a coach since 2011. Vitruve has made it even better. Check them out.