Plyometrics is one of the most misunderstood aspects in training. Some sports feel they don't need it - their sport doesn't involve jumping. Other sports use Plyometrics as the foundation of a program; and neglect whole impel to a far greater degree than they should. To implement Plyometrics training properly there are a few key things to understand.
Plyometrics supports a agenda - it isn't the program
Coleman Boats
No athlete or trainee will benefit from jump training if the level of their impel isn't near an acceptable level. Plyometrics brings out full potential of the muscles to display power, but if there isn't enough impel to begin with the full benefit of Plyometrics will not be seen.
In insight this belief it is prominent to invent the impel of the athletes to at least a level in which they can perform lifts in a particular ratio:
Upper Body (Flat Bench) - 1.25 times body weight (180 lbs x 1.25 = 225 lbs)
Lower Body (Squat) - 1.5 times body weight (180 x 1.5 = 270 lbs)
Some people may disagree with these ratios, but I believe that implementation of Plyometric training is potential in earnest at these levels. This does not mean that Plyometrics cannot be performed before this. The point is that without achieving at least these levels with your athletes, the Plyometrics will not be as beneficial, and the intensity will need to remain down.
Plyometrics creates speed expression - not just jumping ability
In a variety of sports a key belief that many trainers and coaches will discuss is the quality to perform a "triple extension" at an optimal level. What this creates is a synergistic extension of the hip, knee and ankle simultaneously. If these parts of the body are able to do so powerfully they help to impel the body straight through a variety of planes of movement.
The triple extension is seen in sprinting, jumping, and straight through Olympics lifting. In insight the crossover that training any one of these areas has on the other, you can begin to see how to enhance your athletic abilities straight through Plyometric training.
If an athlete trains using various Plyometric drills, the body's quality to learn to fire in the triple extension will lead to whole speed enhancement. This is why in the Nfl combine, the vertical jump, long jump, and 40 yard dash are all tested. Each of these is a form of the triple extension - and the quality to perform it optimally creates the potential to have a more impactful player.
Levels of Plyometrics
Not all Plyometric drills are created equally; there are low, medium and high impact exercises. The lower impact Plyometric training drills can be ushered into a agenda at the earliest stages of development. Some may find this hard to believe, but jumping rope for example is a low level, high frequency type of Plyometric training. Yet, no one would say that jump rope training is too industrialized for a 13 year old athlete, not when we have 8 year old young girls who double dutch everyday for years.
Some other forms of low level Plyometrics are:
· Skipping
· Bounding
· Jumps to a low box
· particular leg push-offs
· Ankle Hops
· Vertical Jumps
· Long Jumps
· Explosive pushups
· treatment Ball chest passes
These early level forms of Plyometric training will invent the muscular coordination, and efficiency to enable you to step up to more intermediate levels. When your impel levels have reached the previously discussed thresholds, you can begin to agenda this next level of Plyometrics into your training.
Intermediate level Plyometrics:
· double Long Jumps (Two long jumps in quick succession)
· Lateral Cone Hops
· Depth Jumps
· Backwards treatment Ball Throw
· Lateral treatment Ball Toss
· Pushup with Depth Jump
The final stage of Plyometrics again builds on the abilities gained from these old exercises. Before beginning more industrialized forms however, it is prominent that you spent plenty of time mastering the old drills, as your body will toughen and come to be more efficient. If you hike to industrialized Plyometrics before your body is ready it can lead to overuse injuries and over-taxation of the central nervous system.
Advanced Plyometrics:
· Depth Jump with Sprint
· Depth Jump to box hop
· particular Leg Jumps (Right leg jump land on right leg, etc)
· Depth Jump with transmit sprint
· Depth Jump with lateral sprint
· Power Drop
· Weighted Plyometrics
Weighted Plyometrics, in which the athlete wears a weighted vest, are to be done with minimal weight. It also is economical to begin weighted Plyometric drills using the basic exercises first and progressing to the more difficult variations. Additionally, Plyometrics is a fast twitch practice in which speed of movement is vital - do not use a weight that increases that rate of force to severely. For our 180 lb athlete, 10% of bodyweight (18 lbs) is the upper level that should be used.
Foot contacts
One of the coarse forms of choosing training volume is straight through recording the whole of foot contacts that are being prescribed to athletes per week. In order to agenda effectively, designate to these basic guidelines.
Beginning exercises: 100-250 foot contacts per week
Intermediate exercises: 150-250 foot contacts per week
Advanced exercises: 50-150 foot contacts per week
Obviously a jump rope session is going to have significantly more volume than depth jumps into all out sprints - you cannot recover properly from the more industrialized training options, as they stress the principles to a greater degree. Use prudence when designing a agenda based on the level and quality of your athletes.
Final Note
No form of training is the definitive talk to originate a solution; each and every athlete has separate needs and separate rates of both studying and recovery. To ask every athlete to improve at the same level isn't plausible, as in some cases you will hold the good athletes back and push the less able athletes to hard. In this instance, try and group athletes based off of abilities and not age or position, and allow for a range of successful contacts rather than a definitive set number.
Plyometrics is supremely valuable in any sport, whether it be wrestling, lacrosse, football or golf, the abilities that you will invent and improve can originate betterment in a variety of ways. Use Plyometrics to help you improve your game - and your potential will reach new heights.
Plyometrics for Explosive Athletes