Abstract

Using an ex post facto design and a sample of fourteen high performance 400 metres athletes, including several national Spanish champions, this study makes three contributions. Firstly, it describes the lower limb strength of this group and its ability to accelerate over 30 metres; secondly, it reports the covariance ratio between on the one hand the power variable and on the other maximum strength, explosive power and acceleration capabilities, finding significant correlations with values between 0.60 and 0.81; and thirdly, it shows that the peak power of these athletes is between 50  % and 70  % of their half squat maximum repetition. It also discusses the results and argues that strength training is a prerequisite for improving high-level athletic performance while suggesting that the data about peak power found in this study will help coaches and athletes to plan their optimum training loads.