Abstract: Objective: The purpose of this paper was to determine the feasibility of determining the Optimal Power Load (OPL) of different strength training methods of college athletes by average velocity.Methods: Forty-six male college athletes were recruited for the test of 1 repetition maximum (1 RM) of half squat and bench press and the test of maximum power output of bench press throw and half squat, using loads of10%, 30%, 50%, 70% and 90%1 RM. Results:During the bench press throw training, the OPL of throwing group, sprinting group and basketball group was 70%1 RM, while the OPL of gymnastics group was 50%1 RM. During the squattraining, the OPL of throwing group was 90%1 RM, while that of sprinting group, basketball group and gymnastics group was 70%1 RM. The OPL, 1 RM, average force, maximum force, average power and maximum power were all different in the strength training of bench press throw and squat OPL among different groups (P<0.05), while the average velocity and maximum velocity were not significantly different.The average velocity of bench press throw OPL is 1.03±0.24 m/s, and that of half squat OPL is 0.86±0.19 m/s. Conclusions: In the development of athletes' maximum output power strength training, different athletes have different OPL. It is feasible and stable to use the average velocity index to determine the OPL of athletes. Generally, the average velocity of developing the maximum output power of half squat is about 0.86 m/s, and the average velocity of developing the maximum output power of bench press throw is about 1.03 m/s.

Key words: strength training, explosive power, power output, half squat, bench press throw