Unleash Power With This Oft Misunderstood Training Tool
Harness, then Deploy Your Body’s Natural Elastic Recoil
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Plyometric Training Done Right
If you Google ‘plyometric training’, you’ll probably see lots of images of people doing box jumps. Now, box jumps are a fabulous exercise for so many reasons (so long as you can do them safely). I love box jumps but they’re very rarely inducing the response that we’re looking for in plyometric training. So what are we really talking about? …
Plyometric training is harnessing the elastic potential of your muscle-tendon unit and recoiling to produce much greater force than you would do from a standing start. But … and it’s a big but …
… unless you immediately bound onwards, the potential energy is lost/absorbed. You must continue the movement as quickly as possible.
Now, the girl in pic 1 could actually bound onwards …
and then land from that height …
and then bound again quickly …
but in a sporting sense this wouldn’t be the best way to undertake plyometrics for sporting performance.
A straighter, stiffer leg would produce more force (in a shorter amount of time) to drive into the ground/box.
Also, falling from this height with a straighter leg is significantly increasing the risk of injury. It’s just not how you do it (for sport).
So in my scenario of a lower height (platform or box), the following happens:
i) you impart a greater force into the ground/box generated by the muscles, bones and tendons, from a straighter leg and a stiffer musculo-tendon suspension (i.e. like a racing car suspension as opposed to a road car)
ii) you create stronger bones and stronger tendons
iii) you lower the risk of injury
iv) you can 50x the number of reps, with each single rep being more productive (sports-wise) than each high box jump
This is how you do plyometric training.
If you’d like to learn more, get in touch at
ahuman@leedsstrengthhealth.com
Why Use a Sports Scientist?
Sports Scientists are trained to a significantly greater degree than Personal Trainers in human physiology. There are some good Physiotherapists, Osteopaths and Chiropractors, but far too often, too many are prescribing unproven, ineffective treatments. It baffles.
Modern science and a deep understanding of the body is of paramount importance so that you receive the safest, best advice and effective personalised programming.
ahuman@leedsstrengthhealth.com