HUGE Bang for Your Buck! The Use of Plyometrics for Power, Speed & Fat Loss.
Are you looking for a workout that will get you over a plateau? Are you looking to challenge yourself, both physically and mentally? Are you ready to shed body fat and show those hard-earned muscles you have worked so hard for over the winter months? We have all reached a plateau somewhere along the line in our training programs, where we aren’t getting any stronger or we even feel bored of the same routines day in and day out. Unfortunately, the most common reaction to any decrease in training gains is to increase training volume. This approach is flawed as it will often lead you down the path of overuse injuries, loss of hard-earned muscle mass and/or chronic fatigue. Several factors produce training plateaus but do you want to know how to generate you huge returns on your training investment?
The solution: Plyometrics.
If we examine an athlete’s physical abilities, the differentiating factor that separates the elite from the non-elite is a concept called rate of force development (RFD). RFD is an expression of how fast force can be generated. It is crucial to success in sport performance. Athletic skills such as jumping, sprinting and throwing are all related to an athlete’s ability to generate force, quickly. Going to the gym and lifting heavy weights is only one level of strength and power development. And translating a slow, controlled, 225 pound back squat into a smooth, yet explosive vertical jump on the basketball court can only be accomplished with a carefully prescribed plyometric training program. Furthermore, aside from athletic performance, have you ever seen a long distance runner with well-defined and “gravity-defying” glutes? Take a peek at the sprinters and jumpers during the summer Olympics. Although they are equally lean as compared to the endurance specialist, they have superior muscular development. The difference in the sprinters’ training programs is the use of plyometrics.
Now, what is plyometric training exactly? Plyometric essentially means to increase or augment. Russian and European coaches developed the technique in the late 1960’s, yet North American trainers are still relatively unfamiliar on how and when to apply this methodology. Plyometrics capitalize on the muscle’s stretch-reflex. Central to plyometric’s effectiveness is the fact that this reflex can generate much greater force the any consciously motivated muscle contraction. The stretch-reflex is actually a protective mechanism that provides an extra burst of strength to resist sudden forces. This is the scientific premise of plyometric training. A powerful eccentric muscle contraction is what we are after with this type of prescription. And plyometric training produces exactly the type of overload necessary to increase muscle contraction speed.
Power training, using plyometrics is the final stage of Human Motion’s Developmental Model. Any missing part of this model will compromise an athlete’s development and physical potential. Attempting to become an explosive athlete requires a base level of general conditioning. You must also possess the cardiovascular capacity to recover from set to set and work-out to workout. This is termed work capacity and is noted as Stage 1. Exercise I.Q. is also part of the foundation of plyometric training. This means you must have excellent technique on all of the major lifts, have memorized their cues and can execute great form under some fatigue. Once you reach Stage 2, you must focus on developing a base level of full-range strength and joint stability. If your feet and knees are collapsing inwards on one another while you squat your bodyweight to parallel, you are simply not ready for high-amplitude plyometric training. Stage 3 employs the ability to apply strength quickly, such as moving a loaded barbell with a fast tempo. This type of training will prepare your connective tissue for the loads associated with plyometric training. As the great mathematicians have discovered: the formula used to calculate power is the product of force and velocity, or in layman’s terms: strength times speed. Plyometric training is based on this formula: P = F x V (Power = Force x Velocity).
The issue with plyometrics is not the tool, but its application into your training program. Plyometrics is an advanced training technique, intended for the serious athlete. It should never be taken lightly. In particular, plyometric training is not for overweight athletes or those with joint injuries. But for those with the appropriate level of conditioning, it provides a fantastic stimulus for mass and power development and increases our bodies’ ability to oxidize fat in resting states, which means a leaner physique. Once you have mastered the first three stages of the developmental model, then you are ready to incorporate plyometrics into your training program.
Plyometric training will give you huge BANG for your BUCK! It requires no equipment, except well-cushioned footwear and a sprung surface. And because it is so high-intensity in nature, a full-work-out can be completed in as little as 20 minutes (not included proper warm-up and recovery).
There are some key technique considerations to note and these are as follows:
ü Land toe-to-heel, sitting back into a partial squat
ü Land and take off with your knees tracking over your toes
ü Land softly – do not make a sound
ü Land with both feet hitting the ground at the same time
ü Maintain good trunk carriage – do not allow your trunk to sway sideways or flop back and forth.
ü Use your arms to generate more power
ü Fully extend all of your joints in the air. Extend your knees fully, point your toes and straighten your trunk to maximize power
ü Breathe out as you initiate the movement; this will give you power
ü Do NOT train to failure or go for the “pump” – It defeats the purpose of plyometric training
ü Sloppy, high volume work-outs will not improve your power
ü Avoid concrete surfaces
ü Do not use ankle or hand weights – this will stress your joints
ü Do not jump onto unstable surfaces until you have mastered stable surfaces
ü Seek instruction from a qualified Strength Coach
Here are some programs to try:
Sample Beginner 4-week Program
|
Drill |
Week 1 |
Week 2 |
Week 3 |
Week 4 |
|
Squat Jumps |
3 x 10
|
3 x 12 |
3 x 14 |
3 x 16 |
|
Split Jumps |
3 x 10
|
3 x 12 |
3 x 14 |
3 x 16 |
|
Ankle Hops |
3 x 20
|
3 x 25 |
3 x 30 |
3 x 35 |
|
Lateral Jumps Double Leg |
3 x 12 |
3 x 16 |
3 x 18 |
3 x 20 |
Instructions:
Variables 3 x 10 = 3 sets of 10 jumps or “contacts”
Rest Periods Rest 60 seconds passively between sets
Tempo Each movement must be explosive
*Week 5 – take this week off before moving onto the intermediate program*
Sample Intermediate 4-week Program
|
Drill |
Week 1 |
Week 2 |
Week 3 |
Week 4 |
|
Squat Jumps |
3 x 18
|
3 x 20 |
4 x 12 |
4 x 14 |
|
Lateral Jumps 2 down 1 back |
3 x 6/direction |
3 x 8/direction |
4 x 6/direction |
4 x 8/direction |
|
X-Over Step to Lateral Jump |
3 x 6/direction |
3 x 8/direction |
4 x 6/direction |
4 x 8/direction |
|
SL Ankle Hops |
2 x 10/leg
|
2 x 12/leg |
2 x 14/leg |
2 x 16/leg |
Instructions:
Variables 3 x 10 = 3 sets of 10 jumps or “contacts”
Rest Periods Rest 90 seconds passively between sets
Tempo Each movement must be explosive
*Week 5 – take this week off before moving onto the advanced program*
Sample Advanced 4-week Program
|
Drill |
Week 1 |
Week 2 |
Week 3 |
Week 4 |
|
SL Zig Zag Bounds |
3 x 10 |
3 x 12 |
3 x 14 |
3 x 16
|
|
Split Jumps |
3 x 20 |
4 x 14 |
3 x 20 |
4 x 16
|
|
Out and Up Frog Leaps |
3 x 8 |
4 x 6 |
4 x 10 |
4 x 12
|
|
Lateral Jumps SL |
3 x 10/leg |
3 x 12/leg |
3 x 14/leg |
4 x 10/leg
|
Instructions:
Variables 3 x 10 = 3 sets of 10 jumps or “contacts”
Rest Periods Rest 2 minutes passively between sets
Tempo Each movement must be explosive