Strength: The Foundation of Athletic Capability

In sport, outcomes hinge on one crucial variable: the athlete’s capability. Capability is the sum of skill and strength.

What is Strength?

Strength is the ability to produce force. Whether it’s pushing a sled, driving through a defender, throwing and effective punch, or launching off the ground, strength determines how much force an athlete can apply to their environment. Without sufficient force production, no amount of skill can be effectively executed.

💪 Strength & Athletic Capability: How It Works

Every sport — and every position within a sport — has a critical strength threshold: the minimum level of force an athlete must be capable of producing to perform effectively. This threshold is determined by factors like:

• ⚖️ Body weight

• 🏆 Classification or competitive level (e.g., high school, collegiate, world-class)

  
  

A world-class athlete has a much higher strength requirement than a novice. Similarly, an athlete in a heavier weight class needs significantly more force capacity than one in a lighter class. The very existence of weight classes in combat sports under scores the primacy of strength in athletic competition.

If an athlete’s strength falls below their classification and weight class-specific threshold, skill alone won’t save them — they simply cannot execute the sport’s physical demands. A tiger needs to be stronger to be a good fighting tiger than panther does to be a good fighting panther.

Let’s look at three athletic match-ups (imagine two boxers, two wrestlers, or an offensive lineman vs. defensive lineman in a football game) using the “Capability = Skill + Strength” model:

📊 Scenario 1: Athletes A & B Are Equal in Capability

Figure 1

In Figure 1-

• Athlete A has higher skill

• Athlete B has higher strength

• Total capability is equal

• Athlete C falls below the critical strength line — he cannot compete

✅ A and B are in parity. Strength and skill are (mostly) interchangeable above the critical line.

📊 Scenario 2: Athlete A Likely Triumphant

Figure 2

In Figure 2-

• A and B are both above the critical strength level

• A has significantly greater skill, giving him the edge

• C is again unqualified due to insufficient strength

✅ Once minimum strength is met, skill becomes the deciding factor.

📊 Scenario 3: Athlete B Likely Triumphant

Figure 3

In Figure 3-

• B has significantly greater strength, enough to offset his skill disadvantage

• A’s strength is above the critical line — he still has a fighting chance

• C still can’t compete

✅ Greater strength can compensate for minor skill gaps, this phenomenon is highly related to the "power reserve."

Athletic Capability in World Class Sport: A Study of Boxing Champions

The concept of Capability in sports becomes strikingly clear when examining the contrasting careers of boxing champions Deontay Wilder and Oleksandr Usyk. Wilder, the former WBC world heavyweight champion, exemplifies how sheer physical power can sometimes eclipse technical prowess. Throughout his career, Wilder faced opponents who often possessed superior technical and tactical skills, yet his extraordinary strength and devastating knockout power enabled him to dominate the ring and hold one of boxing’s most prestigious titles for several years. His ability to overwhelm skillfully adept fighters underscores the critical role that strength plays in athletic success.

Deontay WIlder knocks down Tyson Fury

In contrast, current champion Oleksandr Usyk, a natural cruiserweight who has successfully moved up to heavyweight, has achieved remarkable victories against larger and more powerful opponents like Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. Usyk is celebrated as one of the most skillful fighters in boxing history, and his triumphs against these formidable adversaries highlight the importance of superior technique and strategy. While Usyk may not possess the same level of brute strength as Joshua or Fury, his strength is above the critical threshold, he is strong enough to use his superior skill to get the championship belts.

Oleksandr Usyk battles Anthony Joshua

Extremely strong fighters like Wilder underscore how even though strength and skill are equivalent in the capability equation, strength is more primary because a very strong fighter always have a "puncher's chance." A single shot from very strong fighter can end a fight at any moment even if they have lost nearly every prior round (see Wilder vs. Luis Ortiz 1); a very strong fighter only has to dominate for a single second to prevail, while a significantly more skillful but weaker fighter has to dominate through all the rounds of the fight.

However extremely skillful fighters like Usyk tend to have longer championship reigns since they have more ways to win and can employ many different tactics against various challenger, but we must remember, for this to be the case Thier strength must above the critical level.

Strength Has 3 Designations in Sport:

1. General (Absolute) Strength – total force capacity

2. Directed Strength – the power of movement is greater than the sporting action(s) or the movement pattern is the same (or very similar)

3. Specific Strength – power is equal to (or slightly greater) and the movement pattern is the same (or very similar)

   
   

   General Strength is equivalent to Absolute Strength. Directed and Specific Strength is dependent of developing different Modalities of strength and peaking Rate Of Force Development.

   
   

🏋️‍♂️ Specific strength wins games — but only if it’s built on a solid foundation of general strength. If general strength is too low, there’s not enough strength to transfer into directed training-->specific training-->competition.

General strength is your body's absolute force capacity, measured and developed with barbell squats, bench presses, and deadlifts. General power is your absolute power capacity developed with snatches and clean & jerks. General strength and power is your reserve for specific strength and power.

🚀 What’s Next

In an upcoming article, I’ll break down how to train and periodize each designation of strength across a competitive calendar — so your foundation is built and maintained and you will peak specific strength when it matters most.

This article dealt with the concepts of critical strength and capability in the abstract. In a future article I will detail how to determine your critical strength level for your position and classification in your own sport. In another article I will discuss how to measure your skill level for the same and how skill breaks down into two interrelated modalities: Technique and Tactics.

Until then, remember: Skill without critical strength is empty. Strength enables skill.