Whatever the sport, every athlete relies on five components to continuously develop in order to improve and excel: technique, endurance, strength, power and flexibility.
One way to improve your strength and power is through plyometric training, also known as jump training or plyos. Plyos are exercises based on exerting muscles at a maximum force in as short a time as possible, with the goal of increasing speed, power and reaction time. This type of training teaches the body to move from a muscle extension to a muscle contraction in a rapid or explosive way.
Plyometric training is primarily used by athletes to improve performance but the term not exactly the exercises is now a buzz word used in the fitness community, at bootcamps and in general training programs for amateur athletes. In the process of making plyos mainstream, the original definition of the word has become fuzzy and now refers to almost any exercise that includes jumping.
The word plyometrics was coined by Fred Witt, a U.S. Olympic long distance runner and coach. In the early 1980s, Witt watched Russians long jumpers execute their warm up and he believed these routines were the key to their success.
If you were to watch someone perform a perfect plyometric jump, you would think it was the same as any other type of jump. This makes it easy to see how the word became synonymous with jumping.
To reap the most benefits from the exercise and to gain true explosive power and speed, plyos must be performed correctly. The difference between a plyometric exercise and jumping is based on the speed of the transition time between landing and take off, plus the overall height of the jump. Both are equally important.
The transition time should be milliseconds. The jump should be just as high, if not higher, than the athletes vertical jump test.
The most effective plyometric exercise is the depth jump. In the depth jump, the athlete jumps down from a height of 12 to 18 inches. Immediately upon landing, the muscles experience a forced eccentric contraction and lengthening to absorb the impact. (There is a minor moment of isometric contraction, when nothing moves and which is usually not discussed since its so minor.) Then, within as short a time as possible, the athlete exerts an explosive concentric contraction of the muscles into a vertical jump.
Olympic athletes can complete this transition within 0.2 seconds. For most of us, it would take many attempts to even complete one proper plyo jump and our transition time between landing and taking off would be extremely laboured.
But most of us are not professional or Olympic athletes and completing a perfect plyometric jump is not that important to us. However, jumping even jumps that arent true plyometric exercises are still extremely useful in building strength and power.
Think of the power of a stretched rubber band: the further you stretch it, the more power potential it creates until the breaking point. Muscles work in a similar way: the faster a muscle is stretched or lengthened, the greater its concentric force after the stretch. The result is a more powerful movement, which many athletes search for whatever sport they pursue.
In addition to the increased power, the rapid eccentric and concentric contraction of the tendons also strengthens the joint over time, possibly preventing injuries. This can be especially beneficial in sports that require explosive power such as basketball, volleyball, football and sprinting.
Starting a plyometric training program or even a simple jumping program should not be taken lightly or without supervision because the program itself can lead to injury. All plyo programs require a solid base built from sound technique and strength training before even being considered.
If you would like to learn more about plyometric exercises please read Jumping into Plyometrics by Donald A. Chu, my reference for this article. You can also contact a personal trainer.
Kristina Bangma is a coach, personal trainer and writer with a love of riding and racing. Email questions to [email protected].
