Plyometrics exercise refers to those activities that enable a muscle to reach maximal force in the shortest possible time.
To develop power and quickness, an athlete should use a program that incorporates Plyometrics. This post discusses some of the does and don't with Plyo work.
Plyo work must be introduced to an athlete is a progressive manner. For example, jumping onto a box is widely considered the most basic of all jumping drills and a great place to start plyo work. In contrast, jumping down from a box, a "depth jump", is widely considered one of the most advanced and intense forms of Plyo work.
I have seen coaches start their athletes doing Plyo work with box jump where the athlete returns to the ground by jumping down from the box backward. That is not teaching Plyometrics in a progressive manner and it is seriously irresponsible.
A beginner should have 80 to 100 contacts per week. That means if you have no jumping experience or you are deconditioned, you should not do 200 jump ropes on day one (200 contacts). You should build up to 100-120 contacts per week and end up with 120-140 contacts if you have considerable experience. Generally, even advanced athletes should not exceed 150 foot contacts per week. Prepubescent children should never perform depth jumps or other high-intensity lower-body plyo drills.
You need to have sufficient Strength, Speed and Balance to begin plyo training.
The following are conservative prerequisites of lower body strength, speed, and balance that would clear an athlete for beginning plyo training.
Strength: Perform one repetition of the squat at 1.25x to 1.5x your bodyweight
Speed: Perform five repetitions of the squat with 50% to 60% body weight in 5 seconds or less
Balance: Stand on one leg for 30 seconds without falling
I feel the need to discuss box jumps here because chances are, this is the form of plyo work you will start with and there are some guidelines that will keep your knees healthy. For beginners, box height should range from 4 to 24 inch depending on skill level. Do three to five sets of 5 jumps, up to 25 jumps total (25 foot contacts). There are two things to watch for.
1) Can you land quietly?
2) Do you land in the same position that you took off in?
If you are making a lot of noise when you land on the box or if the landing squat is deeper than the takeoff squat, the box is too high.
The guidelines in this post have been taken from Mike Boyle (whose resume includes 17 years as the Strength and Conditioning coach at Boston University & the S&C coach for a gold medal U.S. Olympic hockey team), Jim Radcliffe (Strength and Conditioning coach at Oregon), the National Strength and Conditioning Association Plyo guidelines and finally, the USA Weightlifting Plyo guidelines. So basically, follow these rules and you'll be a better athlete. Ignore these rules is risk an ACL tear in your local gym.
To develop power and quickness, an athlete should use a program that incorporates Plyometrics. This post discusses some of the does and don't with Plyo work.
Plyo work must be introduced to an athlete is a progressive manner. For example, jumping onto a box is widely considered the most basic of all jumping drills and a great place to start plyo work. In contrast, jumping down from a box, a "depth jump", is widely considered one of the most advanced and intense forms of Plyo work.
I have seen coaches start their athletes doing Plyo work with box jump where the athlete returns to the ground by jumping down from the box backward. That is not teaching Plyometrics in a progressive manner and it is seriously irresponsible.
A beginner should have 80 to 100 contacts per week. That means if you have no jumping experience or you are deconditioned, you should not do 200 jump ropes on day one (200 contacts). You should build up to 100-120 contacts per week and end up with 120-140 contacts if you have considerable experience. Generally, even advanced athletes should not exceed 150 foot contacts per week. Prepubescent children should never perform depth jumps or other high-intensity lower-body plyo drills.
You need to have sufficient Strength, Speed and Balance to begin plyo training.
The following are conservative prerequisites of lower body strength, speed, and balance that would clear an athlete for beginning plyo training.
Strength: Perform one repetition of the squat at 1.25x to 1.5x your bodyweight
Speed: Perform five repetitions of the squat with 50% to 60% body weight in 5 seconds or less
Balance: Stand on one leg for 30 seconds without falling
I feel the need to discuss box jumps here because chances are, this is the form of plyo work you will start with and there are some guidelines that will keep your knees healthy. For beginners, box height should range from 4 to 24 inch depending on skill level. Do three to five sets of 5 jumps, up to 25 jumps total (25 foot contacts). There are two things to watch for.
1) Can you land quietly?
2) Do you land in the same position that you took off in?
If you are making a lot of noise when you land on the box or if the landing squat is deeper than the takeoff squat, the box is too high.
The guidelines in this post have been taken from Mike Boyle (whose resume includes 17 years as the Strength and Conditioning coach at Boston University & the S&C coach for a gold medal U.S. Olympic hockey team), Jim Radcliffe (Strength and Conditioning coach at Oregon), the National Strength and Conditioning Association Plyo guidelines and finally, the USA Weightlifting Plyo guidelines. So basically, follow these rules and you'll be a better athlete. Ignore these rules is risk an ACL tear in your local gym.
This is putting the EGO before the ACL
