PLYOMETRIC BENEFITS
- josephplatt1979
- Oct 25, 2021
- 9 min read
Updated: Jul 12, 2022
WHAT IS PLYOMETRICS
Plyometrics is a type of exercise that trains muscles to produce power, strength and speed. Plyometric exercises involve a stretch of the muscles, immediately followed by a contraction of the same muscles which is why it’s sometimes referred to as jump training. Plyometrics benefits by improving your physical performance as the exercises will help improve explosiveness which is our ability to generate maximum force in a minimum time. You can do plyometrics to help train for sports like football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, or any other activity that uses explosive movements. Athletes often use plyometrics as part of their training, but anyone can do these workouts. People who are in physical rehab after an accident or injury use plyometrics to get back into good shape and physical function.
PLYOMETRIC BENEFITS
Plyometric exercises increase the speed with which the muscle contracts, targeting the fast-twitch muscle fibres. Fast twitch muscle fibres are larger, denser and more powerful than the slow twitch muscle fibres. You need to use them, or they can be converted to slow twitch or hybrid muscle fibres which produced less force and burn less energy. Doing plyometric exercises loads your nervous system and encourages the growth of high-output fast twitch muscle fibres. Here are just some of the plyometric benefits:
Increase athletic performance: Plyometric exercises can increase muscular power and explosiveness. This is important in many sports from gymnastics to dancing, running, cycling or basketball.
Improve power: Power is a combination of strength plus speed. Plyometric exercises help to increase the speed with which fast-twitch muscle fibres contract, recruiting more muscle fibres than stand-alone strength exercises.
Better agility: The ability to change direction quickly depends on fast recruitment of muscle fibres. This is important for many team sports. Plyometric exercises can improve performance and reduce risk of injury during exercise.
Improve speed: Plyometric exercises recruit the fast-twitch muscle fibres in your muscles, improving the speed of muscle response.
Improve balance: Jumping exercises challenge your balance and help to strengthen the stabilising muscles, ligaments and tendons around the joints.
Increase stamina: Plyometric exercises challenge your muscles, heart and lungs and can help increase your stamina for other activities.
Better neuromuscular control: The nervous system carries communication from your brain to the muscles, and plyometric exercises can help to increase the speed and strength of these signals.
Boost your metabolism: After exercise, your body continues to burn energy above your resting metabolic rate. This increase in EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) means more calories are burned even after you complete the workout.
Increase cardiovascular fitness: Plyometric exercises will get your heart pumping! The intensity of these exercises means they help to improve your heart health and stamina.
PLYOMETRIC EXERCISES
Plyometric exercises are an amazing way to increase your strength with heart-pumping moves — not to mention, they burn tons of calories. Plyometric exercises are the perfect training method to add into your routine if you’re looking to take your workout up to the next level. It’s a fun alternative to an everyday strength training workout that boosts your muscle power, strength, balance, and agility. You can either do a workout based on plyometrics, or add some plyo moves to your usual routine without giving it an entire session. There are many different exercises to do to get a great plyometric workout and below is a list of some of those fantastic exercises that will burn fat and help build muscle:
Front Box Jump -This is one of the most-used plyometric exercises because it is very effective at increasing one’s vertical jump. It strengthens your quadriceps and glute muscles, which are essential for jumping.
Place a plyo box 6 inches in front of you
Get into a squat position with your feet about shoulder-width apart.
Squat and explode up using your entire body, including your arms.
Land softy on the box on the balls of your feet.
Step down, reset yourself and repeat.
You can either increase box height or add weight via weighted vest, barbell or dumbbells to increase the difficulty.
Reverse lunge knee-ups - This is an exercise that will take some practice but it is fun to do and the benefits are great. The Reverse Lunge Knee Up works your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, calves, all the little stabilizer muscles of the ankle, your abs, and your balance and coordination. The jump also adds a plyometric component to the exercise that will work on your cardiovascular endurance and those fast twitch muscle fibres.
Start in a standing lunge with your left foot forward.
Place your right hand on the floor next to your front foot and extend your left arm straight back.
Explosively jump up to bring your right knee up as high as you can, lifting your left arm and dropping your right arm back and down.
Upon landing, move back into the starting lunge position.
Continue for whatever amount of time you have set
Then do the opposite side.
Burpees - Doing several burpees in a row can be tiring, but this versatile exercise may be worth the payoff, especially if you’re looking for a way to build strength and endurance, while burning calories, and boosting your cardio fitness. Burpees work your whole body in just one exercise and once you become confident with standard burpees, add in a push-up, a dead ball slam or a box jump for more intensity, but remember to keep proper form the whole time.
Plant both feet on the mat shoulder-width apart. This is your starting position.
Bend at both the hips and knees to place your hands on the mat on either side of your feet, ensuring that your spine remains in a neutral position.
Jump both of your feet backwards so that your legs are completely extended behind you, resting on the balls of your feet. Your body should be in one straight line from your head to your heels.
Jump both of your feet forwards in between your hands, once again ensuring that your feet remain shoulder-width apart.
Propel your body upwards into the air. Extend your legs below you and your arms above your head. Land in the starting position, ensuring that you maintain ‘soft’ knees to prevent injury.
Plyo pushups - are an exercise that work your chest, triceps, abs, and shoulders. With this type of pushup, a jumping element is added to the exercise to make it more challenging and explosive. Plyo pushups can help burn fat and build muscle. Many athletes perform them to help improve their athletic performance by building strength, endurance, and speed.
Start in a high plank, or at the top of pushup position. Your torso should be in a straight line, core engaged (tightened), and palms directly under your shoulders.
Start to lower your body as if you’re going to do a pushup until your chest is almost touching the floor.
As you push up, do so with enough force for your hands to leave the ground. For added difficulty, you can clap your hands together, but this is optional.
Land lightly on the ground, moving into your next rep immediately.
Do fewer reps if you’re new to the move, more if you’re advanced.
Scissor jumps – These are a bodyweight exercise that challenges your lower body muscles more than a standard vertical jump. Scissor Jumps increase adductor and glute muscle strength with the legs in a stretched position.
Get into a standard lunge position, keeping your back straight and your knees and toes forward.
Squat down and explode up, switching leg positions in mid-air.
Land softly and immediately transition to your next jump.
Perform the same movement, switching your leg position each time.
Mountain Climbers - A bodyweight exercise that serve as a great full-body workout. This plyometric plank movement does it all: increases core strength, defines the shoulders, chest and upper back, works the quads and glutes -- all while raising the heart rate.
Start from a high plank position with your hands stacked directly under your shoulders.
Drive one knee forward toward your chest while engaging your abs.
Return to your plank position, then drive the knee of your opposite foot in.
Repeat the movement, alternating legs and speeding up your movements.
Jumping jacks - These are primarily utilized to help people run faster and jump higher. What makes jumping jacks so efficient is that they provide a total-body workout that you can perform virtually anywhere, works your heart, lungs, and muscles at the same time.
start by standing with your feet together, placing your arms at your side.
The next step is to jump your feet out to the side, just beyond shoulder width.
At the same time you perform the jump, swing your arms out to the side and up above your head.
Follow this by jumping back into the starting position. You have now completed your first jumping jack.
You can repeat this movement to perform your first set
FACTORS FOR WHEN PERFORMING PLYOMETRICS
There are a number of factors to get the best plyometric benefits and they include:
Warm up and cool down - As with any type of resistance training, you should always start your workout with some warm up exercises to get the blood flowing to your muscles. Dynamic stretching can help to increase the range of motion of your muscles and joints in preparation for jumping exercises. Once you’ve completed the workout, take time to cool down and do static stretches to improve flexibility and range of motion for the muscles you’ve used whilst they are still warm.
Form is the top priority - Being able to perform the jumps in front of a qualified professional or in front of a mirror will make sure that you are utilizing the correct muscles and not setting yourself up for injury. Landing is one of the most important things to watch. Upon landing, one of the tendencies is for the knee to collapse inward. There are a number of reasons that this occurs but repeated motion like this is actually setting you up for injury.
Frequency - training frequency is one of the top things to consider when adding plyometrics into your workout. There is a rest period that is needed between plyometric exercises; usually 48-72 hours is ample time to allow the muscles to recover from training. You can do plyometric training 2-3 times per week. If you do lower level intensity plyometrics, meaning the box heights are not as high and jumps are not as intense, then it will take you less time to recover.
Don’t overdo it – Build up slowly, and as mentioned, underestimate what you think you can achieve initially. Expect to experience some muscle soreness but this should be a rare occurrence once you include plyos regularly into your workouts.
Type of movement - When you are adding different plyometrics you want to make sure that you are including jumps for height, side-to-side jumps, forward and backward jumps, quick jumps, explosion jumps. Making sure that you have a plan for the week before you get started in order to make sure that you work all the directions necessary is very important when beginning to add plyometrics into your workout.
Speed of movement – Always focus on the ‘quickness’ of your reactions – don’t lever yourself out of jumps. Land light and move quickly. If you’re in good shape and looking to ramp up your workout.
Rest is important - whenever you are doing plyometrics, be disciplined and take the full prescribed rest between sets, even if when they feel “easy.” And if a set leaves you fatigued, add on 30 seconds more to whatever recommended break is listed in your plyometric training plan. Just because you’re not gasping for air doesn’t mean you’re not working hard. You won't do plyometrics every day, because your muscles will need a break from all that jumping. If you aren’t active now, you may need to start working on your basic fitness first and later have a pro show you how to do the moves, so you don't get injured. When you are resting and recovering from a workout, you will want to give your muscle the protein it needs for recovery and repair. Protein supplements are a perfect solution to get that much needed protein after a workout.
Watch for fatigue – If you notice that your reactions and ground contacts are slowing then take longer recoveries or stop the session. You are looking for quality of movement that maximises neuromuscular connection. Performing slower movements regularly will result in a less than optimised transference of power into your running.
See a doctor - It's a good idea to check in with your doctor first, especially if you aren't active now or have health problems. They can let you know what's safe for you to do. If you have heart disease, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol, the doctor may recommend a lower-intensity type of exercise that’s more aerobic. If you have diabetes, you may need to make some changes to your diabetes treatment plan, based on how many calories you are burning. Plyometrics isn’t for you if you have any diabetes-related nerve damage, as this will make you more likely to get injured. Do you have arthritis or other bone or joint problems? Plyometrics isn’t a good choice for you. Look for a workout that can help strengthen your muscles without stressing your joints.
Pregnancy - Plyometrics isn’t for you if you’re pregnant. Your belly’s growing size will throw off your balance. You could fall or get injured. The weight of your growing baby stresses your knees and ankles, and jumping adds even more stress. Ligaments that help stabilize your joints grow a little more lax during pregnancy, making injuries more likely.
If you have any physical limitations, choose other strength-building exercises that will be safer for you.
BOTTOM LINE
Plyometrics benefits anyone wanting to increase power, speed and is well worth incorporating into your strength training schedule if you’re looking to build strength and boost endurance. Plyometrics are fun and easy to do and will also increase your longevity within your fitness plan or whatever sports you do.
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