It has been around for decades now. Yet many have not heard about the whats & hows of plyometrics.

Name
one Olympic sport that doesn’t require speed, agility, or strength.
Speed and strength are integral components of fitness found in varying
degrees in virtually all athletic movements.

Simply put: the
combination of speed and strength is power. For many years coaches and
athletes have sought to improve power in order to enhance performance.
Even for full time national servicemen & women, they have been
exposed to several forms of plyometrics.

Everyone who has done
the Individual Proficiency Physical Test would have done the Standing
Broad Jump which in fact is a form of static plyometric. Throughout
this century and no doubt long before, jumping, bounding and hopping
exercises have been used in various ways to enhance athletic
performance. It has also been said to improve strength &
performance without the addition of increase in more muscle bulk on the
athlete’s body.

 
   

 

   

 

In recent years this distinct method of training for power or
explosiveness has been termed plyometrics. Whatever the origins of the
word, the term is used to describe the method of training which seeks
to enhance an individual’s "explosive" reaction through rapid and
powerful muscular contractions and are as defined as exercises that are
characterized by powerful muscular contractions in response to rapid,
dynamic loading or stretching of the involved muscles.

To add
to the mystery, plyometrics originated as a training method in the
secretive eastern block countries where it was referred to as "jump
training".

Examples of plyometric movements are jumping for a
rebound in basketball, a tumbling pass in gymnastics, and a springboard
dive. Plyometrics can be done for the upper body as well as the torso.

The degree of sprinting at maximal speeds can be defined as a
plyometric exercise in rugby, which is a game of speed, power and
explosion. These powerful contractions in the various sports like rugby
or football are not a pure muscular event; they have an extremely high
degree of central nervous system involvement.

The event is a
neuromuscular event! It is a combination of an involuntary reflex (i.e.
a neural event), which is then followed by a fast muscular contraction
(i.e. voluntary muscular event). Sound complicated? Well, it’s really
not. We all have seen it, experienced it and continue to use this type
of "reactive" movement pattern to develop power. We all do it everyday

True Plyometric

Many times people confuse some forms of power training for
plyometrics. Plyometric training is only one form of power training. A true plyometric exercise must
contain a very fast loading phase. That is, for the stretch reflex
(i.e. myotatic reflex) to invoke a powerful contraction, it must occur
extremely fast. Therefore, a jump (i.e. from an athletic position) onto
a 24-inch box is a power exercise, but not a plyometric exercise.

An example
To
make it a plyometric exercise one can jump off a 6-12-inch box, hit the
ground and immediately jump onto the 24-inch box. The landing from
smaller box loads the legs quick enough to create the stretch reflex
needed in plyometric training. This is very demanding - don’t try it
without consulting a professional!

Plyometric training
has received some bad press. Inappropriate use of plyometric training
has been associated with various forms of "over-use" injuries,
especially in the lower extremities (e.g. patellar and Achilles
tendinitis and plantar faciitis, i.e. kneecap & shin injuries).

This
type of training, especially when done at a very high intensity, is a
high-risk endeavor (i.e. high returns but at high risk). Like any other
high-risk maneuver, high intensity plyometrics should not designed or
performed without the supervision of a professional overseeing the
training, and response, to the exercise protocol. As with the
non-athletic population, proper progression is again a key concern.

Everyone
should understand that like any other type of training, plyometric
training is a continuum. We are all involved in plyometric events
everyday. Some of us are exposed to very low levels, while others
participate in higher intensities. Regardless of the level of
participation, the key to safe participation in plyometrics is proper
progression. It is a great type of training to help many people from
all walks of life improve their fitness & strength.

Jason Nah, is an experienced
personal trainer in the business of helping people lose weight &
get fitter for the last 7 years. He has trained many people from all
walks of life from men trying to pass IPPT to highly conditioned
triathletes to your average housewife. For more tips & info on how
to get fitter, healthier & in a more fun effective way, visit his
website www.bodyforpeople.sg