WHAT IS IT & HOW DOES IT WORK?
PLYOMETRICS DEFINED:
Plyometric training is defined as quick, powerful movements which result in impact and forces being transferred through body tissue. Examples of this can be jumping, hopping or jumping jacks. It involves a system of exercises with controlled contraction, followed immediately by an explosive contraction.
Plyometrics is built upon scientific principles (stretch-shortening cycle, optimizing muscle length, and stretch reflexes) that can help individuals boost their power.
Plyometrics in sport are a crucial part of training and enable players to perform at a higher level physically. Plyometrics are also extremely valuable in return to play following injury and pre-habilitation (or injury reduction) protocols.
Plyometric training can add a fun and challenging component to training programs. However, like most training protocols, it must be introduced, coached, and progressed systematically to avoid injuries.
THE BENEFITS OF PLYOMETRICS
Plyometric training benefits the following including Injury reduction:
- Improved control for unnatural movements at the knees during landing
- Enhanced dynamic knee stability during the deceleration phase of landing
- Enhanced anaerobic power
- Improvement in overall power and change of direction speed in all planes of motion
- Increased vertical jump height
- Increased long jump distance
- Increased strength
- Improved running speed, agility, and quickness
- Injury reduction
- Improved throwing, hitting, striking velocity
THE 3 STAGES of plyometrics
Plyometric exercises are based on three stages
HOW TO ACHIEVE PLYOMETRIC TRAINING
This can be attained via various ways bounding, hops, depth jumps, and combination jumps demand a solid foundation of stability, motor control, coordinated patterning, eccentric strength, joint integrity, flexibility, single leg loading and technical proficiency to avoid injury.
Here are some examples you may or may not have seen:
- Jumping squats,
- Box jumps,
- Split lunges,
- Plank
- Jumping jacks,
- Hopping.
Watch the videos over the next week so showing some examples of each stage/phase to help you with your training or recovery from injury. Why not give it a try, you have 1 minute to do as many jumping squats as you can and feedback to us how you got on.