Voltra I Mode Guide · Part 4 of 9

Power and explosive intent

Damper resistance rises with how fast you pull: the harder and faster you move, the more it pushes back (Beyond Power).

I'm a Beyond Power affiliate. If you buy a Voltra with my link or code TISSUEGUY, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Everything in this guide comes from my own training and programming with the unit.

Damper mode

Use: power and explosive training, and exploring movement patterns you haven't trained before.
Level: depends on the training; try different levels for different goals.
End the set at fatigue, not failure. Set a velocity standard and stop when your reps fall below it. My defaults: about a 10% velocity drop for power work and about 20% for conditioning, in line with Beyond Power's 10–20% guidance (Beyond Power).

Ending the set at fatigue, not failure. Ending the set at fatigue, not failure. For power, the set ends once rep speed drops about 10% below your best rep. For conditioning, about 20%. Illustrative reps, not measured data. — Ending the set at fatigue, not failure. For power, the set ends once rep speed drops about 10% below your best rep. For conditioning, about 20%. Illustrative reps, not measured data.

Chains

Chains increase resistance through the rep. It feels intuitive to accelerate to beat the rising resistance, which makes Chains great for explosive and dynamic training. It's also a very smooth mode.

Resistance Band: Power Law curve

Band mode lets you match the variable resistance to a specific range of motion, and make the change from start to finish as steep as you want (Beyond Power). For explosive work I prefer the Power Law curve, which ramps hardest toward the end of the rep.

Like Eccentric mode, Band mode can use a pilot rep. Here its job is to find your exercise's range of motion, so the resistance change happens where you're actually training.

Chains vs. Band: which one for explosive work?

Mostly preference. As long as the resistance is adequate and your effort is close to a challenging threshold, either will work. Pick one for a training phase and stay consistent. Switch between phases to change up the stimulus.

Concentric-only

This removes resistance on the return. It can be great for explosive or neurological training, but I don't use it often.