When I first stepped into the weight room as a young thrower, I believed what most strength coaches did at the time: power came from lifting heavy. Progress meant plates, and plates meant pride. Years later, after nearly two decades of coaching NCAA track and field and competing across Europe against some of the strongest men on the planet, I learned a hard truth: performance depended on how quickly force could be applied, not just how much of it I could produce.
Power came from lifting heavy — until I learned how much speed mattered.
That realization changed everything. And when I discovered Keiser, it was like finding the missing link between the science I’d always preached and the technology that could finally accommodate and measure it. Keiser’s technology made training safer, smoother, and more intelligent, bringing the invisible side of performance — the load-velocity relationship, true specificity, eccentric work, intent — into clear focus. Suddenly, it was measurable, programmable, and scalable for every athlete, from a 270-pound shot putter to a 70-year-old retiree regaining independence.
For coaches who haven’t used Keiser, I want to highlight the benefits that consistently prove why Keiser stands at the forefront of human performance in every setting.
At the heart of all this is Keiser’s PRT. The system delivers smooth, consistent load through the entire range of motion, without relying on gravity or the mass-driven behavior of traditional weight stacks. As a result, resistance responds evenly during both acceleration and deceleration.
That consistency keeps the muscle under meaningful tension throughout every rep. Effort doesn’t disappear in faster portions of the movement, and resistance doesn’t spike unpredictably. The experience is joint friendly and highly adjustable, allowing micro-progressions as fine as a single pound.
Effort doesn’t disappear in faster portions of the movement.
For athletes, that means safer overload and sharper speed. For rehab clients, it allows earlier intervention and more controlled progression. For older adults, it builds confidence through predictable resistance and control. What begins as a design decision ultimately shapes how athletes experience effort, control, and longevity in training.
When I competed in the shot put, my strength numbers were modest compared to the giants I faced. What leveled the playing field was speed. I was faster on the track, faster through the ring, and faster in my movement patterns. I matched the efforts of athletes with bench press maxes more than 200 pounds heavier than mine.
As a coach, I knew how important power and speed were when we wanted to see peak fitness at the end of the year. My in-season training was conjugate based, meaning there were strength days coupled with power and speed days throughout the week. Olympic lifting and plyometric variations were great ways to attack these adaptations, but I always felt limited in variety and true ballistic movement. I really wish I had access to Keiser back then. It would have expanded my options for lower body, upper body, and rotational power work, and that variety would have helped me tremendously as an athlete and in my programming.
Keiser captures that advantage. Power = Force × Velocity, and with PRT, we can finally manipulate both variables independently. No more guessing whether an athlete is improving because of strength or speed; with Keiser’s displays, the data tells the story.
Velocity training becomes the great equalizer. A 60-year-old can train for power safely. A college sprinter can chase peak output with instant feedback. Coaches can target optimal load zones to maximize force production or shift toward high-velocity profiles to enhance rate of force development, bringing intentional structure to how power is trained and progressed.
This is huge. Intent separates movement from training. It is the difference between lifting and performing, and Keiser gives intent a scoreboard.
When an athlete knows their power output in real time, every rep matters. That feedback loop drives engagement, competition, and precision. It also changes the coach’s role from motivator to strategist.
Intent separates movement from training.
In older adults or rehab settings, intent shifts from competition to control. The goal becomes precision, retraining neuromuscular pathways, rebuilding coordination, and reinforcing confidence.
By making effort visible, Keiser helps athletes and clients learn how to apply it with purpose.
Every coach preaches specificity, but not everyone practices it. For years, I wrestled with this in my own programming. My throwers would move big numbers in the weight room — 500-pound squats, 300-pound cleans — but it didn’t always translate to distance in the ring. We weren’t throwing heavy barbells. We were accelerating light implements as fast as humanly possible.
Specificity wasn’t confined to the event. It lived in every rep.
That is where Keiser flipped the script. Keiser’s low-inertia resistance minimizes the effects of mass and momentum, allowing athletes to move at higher limb velocities through the entire range of motion. Resistance remains consistent, even as speed increases, so effort doesn’t disappear late in the movement.
Suddenly, specificity wasn’t confined to the event. It lived in every rep. The Functional Trainer (FT) became a game changer for mimicking sport-specific mechanics. Rotational throws, resisted jumps, and single-leg pushes can all be trained at controlled loads and measured speeds. The resistance adjusts instantly, so athletes can chase velocity one moment and focus on stability the next. This benefits any sport or activity, including improving your golf or pickleball game with the smooth rotational movements the FT provides.
Rather than replacing traditional lifts, Keiser helps refine how they support sport performance. Coaches can program specificity within specificity, aligning training with the rhythm, posture, and tempo of competition. Strength work becomes more transferable, with power expressed in ways that actually carry over to the field of play.
I could layer force and velocity qualities within the same movement pattern.
On paper it sounds complex. In practice it is extremely effective. The athlete gets the benefit of the mass component (stability, proprioception, neural demand) and the responsive resistance provided by Keiser’s system (acceleration, speed, control). Together they create a complete strength curve that challenges the athlete throughout the entire motion.
As a coach, this changed how I approached periodization. I could layer force and velocity qualities within the same movement pattern, rather than isolating them into separate phases. This creates an ideal environment for developing high-force, high-velocity athletes. And it is not just for elite performers. Rehab professionals can fine-tune resistance without joint stress, and older adults can build strength safer while still training explosively.
Keiser’s value doesn’t stop with the FT or Rack. Machines like the Squat Pro, Hip, Leg Curl, and Leg Extension units apply the same performance-driven philosophy to movements that matter most.
The Squat Pro brings a different approach to lower-body training. “Leg day” no longer requires spinal compression or awkward bar positioning. Keiser’s resistance system keeps load consistent through the entire range of motion, allowing athletes to drive forcefully without a sticking point. It is especially effective for athletes training vertical power—basketball players, jumpers, and tactical athletes.
The Standing Hip, Leg Curl, and Leg Extension units are the unsung heroes of movement integrity. They address asymmetries, reinforce stability, and build deceleration strength. As a coach, I used to spend countless hours trying to recreate these patterns with bands and manual resistance. Now they can be loaded, measured, and progressed with far greater precision.
Beyond the lower-body lineup, Keiser applies the same principles to foundational movements like the Deadlift and upper-body training. The Deadlift and Belt Squat units allow athletes to train powerful hip-dominant patterns without spinal load, excessive joint stress, or unnecessary technical barriers. Upper-body machines such as the Chest Press, Lat Pulldown, and Upper Back units provide smooth resistance, measurable output, and consistent mechanics without sticking points. These machines turn fundamental lifts into controlled, data-rich patterns that support pushing, pulling, and postural strength with consistency.
For senior living and rehab clients, these machines offer something even more valuable: confidence. Predictable resistance and quiet operation help create an environment where movement feels controlled and approachable, allowing users to focus on quality rather than apprehension.
Keiser’s A400 technology makes these imbalances easier to identify and address. Because resistance is low-inertia and individually measurable, coaches can assess and train each limb independently. On the FT or Standing Hip Machine, it is simple to isolate sides, record output, and compare data in real time.
In rehab and older adult populations, this is transformative. Strength asymmetries are often the cause of falls, compensations, or chronic pain. Detecting and correcting them early supports both movement quality and long-term health.
One of the most underrated features in Keiser’s A400 ecosystem is its ability to track performance drop-offs, meaning a decline in output over consecutive reps or sets. This insight is extremely valuable.
In the past we programmed based on intuition. Did the bar look slower? Was the athlete exhausted? Now Keiser provides clear data. Coaches can determine when to end a set for an optimal stimulus or when to extend it for endurance.
This data-driven approach reinforces intent throughout the session. When output begins to drop beyond a defined threshold, such as ten percent, it is time to stop. The decision is guided by measurable output rather than guesswork or emotion.
When fatigue becomes quantifiable, training decisions become clearer.
This principle applies across every market. In rehab it prevents overload. In senior wellness it teaches efficiency and self-awareness. When fatigue becomes quantifiable, training decisions become clearer and more consistent.
Load-Velocity Profiling (LVP) is the capstone of Keiser’s ecosystem. It measures how velocity changes as load increases, giving coaches a detailed map of an athlete’s strength–speed continuum. Rather than relying solely on one-rep max testing, LVP provides a more complete view of how an athlete produces force across speeds.
With A400 data, we can prescribe training that truly matches the individual. A sprinter with high velocity but low force capacity may focus on heavier work. A powerlifter with great force but slower speed may train lighter and faster.
LVP provides a more complete view of how an athlete produces force across speeds.
It is precision coaching at its finest: objective, adaptive, and trackable.
The value of LVP extends across populations. The same framework that helps an athlete refine sprint mechanics can also guide training for everyday movements, such as improving a senior’s ability to rise from a chair. In both cases, power and efficiency are measurable, trainable qualities that benefit from individualized load and speed targets.
If there is one thing my career has taught me, it is that strength is only as valuable as its application. I’ve stood in circles with some of the strongest men in the world and realized that numbers on a bar do not guarantee success. Speed, control, balance, and timing consistently shape how strength shows up in performance.
Keiser brings these elements together in training. It reflects an evolution in how performance is developed, where science informs sensation and every rep has purpose. For the athlete it provides a competitive edge. For the clinician it supports precision. For the older adult it helps build independence.
Now I chase power with purpose.
As a coach, I used to chase strength. Now I chase power with purpose. Keiser gives me the tools to pursue that goal with clarity and confidence.
Effective power training depends on how force, velocity, and intent are trained together. When these qualities are measured and applied intentionally, strength becomes more transferable, safer, and more meaningful across all populations.
Steve Manz, MS Exercise Physiology, CSCS, XPS, CPT
Steve is a Human Performance and Education Specialist for Keiser. Prior to joining Keiser, Steve spent 18 years as a collegiate track and field coach, highlighted by numerous NCAA All-Americans (throws and decathlon), a National Champion (discus), and an Olympic Trials Finalist (decathlon). As an athlete, he was a professional shot putter with a best of 66’7”, appearing in 2 Olympic Trials, an Olympic Trial final, and competing internationally in 12 countries. He was a three-time NCAA All-American at Michigan State University and a two-time Michigan High School State Champion (discus '99 and football '97).
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