Natty Power

Your muscle strength and speed of the movement will determine how powerful you are. Beside strength and speed, there is also another physical value involved in any exhibition of power and that is energy.

• Energy is ability to do work.

Regardless if you move your body or external objects, you always need energy to perform that work. Energy and work directly correlate to each other. Therefore, more energy will enable you to do more work and vice versa, more work will require more energy. For example, lifting weights requires energy, but lifting heavier weights or lifting for repetitions will require more energy. Running requires energy, but running fast or for longer distance will require more energy.

Energy is stored in our bodies in the form of nutrients. Overall quantity of stored energy determines the amount of work that could be done. On the other side, power determines the rate of energy utilization for work. For example, if an object should be carried over some distance, the faster accomplishment of the work means higher power exertion. Athlete who accomplishes the same task in less time is a more powerful one and he is more efficient in energy transfer then others.

From this equation we can conclude that power can be interpreted as a rate of energy transfer and faster transfer of energy relates to higher power output. For example, if 20 bags of cement has to be loaded into a truck, such work can be done by a construction worker or a strongman, but strongman would do it in less time, which means he is more efficient in energy transfer, thus, more powerful then construction worker.