Plyometrics is a type of exercise training designed to produce fast, powerful movements and improve the functions of the nervous system. Plyometics are generally used to enhance performance in a specific sport. Plyometric movements (when a muscle is loaded and then contracted in rapid sequence) use the strength, elasticity and innervation of muscles and surrounding tissues to jump higher, run faster, throw farther, or hit harder, depending on the desired training goal. Plyometrics is used to increase the speed or force of muscular contractions, often with the goal of increasing the height of a jump. You’re probably thinking, “Why should I care.” Well, even if you don’t play sports or need to run faster or jump higher, plyometrics can be a good addition to your workout routine.
Plyometrics has also been called “Jump Training”. I think this name turns a lot of people off because most people don’t want to do a workout where they are jumping for an hour. Even though most of my clients are not athletes, we incorporate plyometrics into their workouts. For the average person, plyometrics can increase strength and speed needed in everyday life. For example, your child may dart out into the street without looking and you may need to quickly retrieve him. Or you may need to jump to get something off of a high shelf. You may even want to improve your strength and speed so you can start doing something you used to love. I recently started ice skating again. My son loves it so I thought I would try. He was much faster than me so I started doing some basic ski jump plyometric exercises without the skates which improved my speed on the ice.
You can do a circuit of plyometric exercises alone or you can do the exercises between cardio intervals. The good news is that improvements have been seen in people who only do plyometrics once or twice a week. It’s not something that I do everyday, but I do incorporate it into my own workout.
Here is a sample workout:
- Five minute treadmill warm up.
- Squat jumps (regular squat with a little hop at the top). Land softly with your knees slightly bent. Work up to one minute.
- Two minutes on a bicycle.
- Ski hops. Stand with feet hip width apart. Position your left foot behind your right, hop and switch your left foot out and right foot behind. Imagine you are skiing or skating. Work up to one minute.
- One minute knee ups. Just stand and bring knees to chest.
- Grab a medicine ball with both hands and lift it over your head. Throw the ball to the floor with both hands as hard as you can. Have a partner throw it back. This is great for your upper body.
- One minute jump rope.
- Lean on the wall with both hands. Do a push up off the wall and clap hands before returning them to the wall. Do 10. Work up to doing these on the floor.
- Jog in place one minute.
- Jump up onto a step or box and walk down. Do this for one minute.
That is just a short workout that you can do to see if you like it. It’s great to incorporate new things into your workout so you don’t get bored and you keep challenging your body. Always remember to cool down and stretch after any workout. It’s a good idea to do this type of workout with a trainer first and then incorporate it into your own workout. It’s worth the money to get some new ideas from a qualified trainer while learning the proper form. If you have injuries or have any pain while doing any of the exercises, stop and see your physician.
- Jennifer
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Labels: Exercise, Fitness, Jennifer, Plyometric
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Love to hate plyometrics!!! I started doing them a year or two ago.. can't remember exactly when. Has made a lot of difference in my workouts & they are hard! Definitely not for those with bad joints but if not, try them! I am 51.5 years old & doing them!