Erupt off the defensive line. Sail skyward to the net. Land a bone-crunching roundhouse. To be a contender in any sport, a chunk of your strength and conditioning must focus on your capacity for explosive power. Plyometric training builds the rapid muscle recruitment that allows such power.You’re already familiar with box jumps, right? Hop onto the top of a box. Return to the ground. Cycle up and down, over and over again. The quick stretch to your muscles as you land on the floor, followed by the immediate contraction propelling you upward, is the defining feature of plyometrics.By adding a plyometric component to other movements, you can reap the benefits of improved power production, which is immediately transferrable to a number of other things you know well and love. So if you’re at all interested in moving more weight on the squat, deadlift, lunge, bench press or pull-up, why not train for more power? Here are five plyometric skills that go beyond the box jump to add a little plyometric flavor to your training.
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Plyo Step-Up
Use this move build the leg strength for better sprinting or squatting. Place one foot on the top of a small box, and then drive your other knee forward, raising your entire body higher. Pump your arms in sync with your legs and allow yourself to float off the box. Land softly and repeat without a rest.
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Plant Plyo
Think of this whole-body skill as a vertical burpee. Rather than dropping to a push-up, start with your hands placed palm-flat on the top of a small wall or large plyo box. Shift your weight into your arms, push through your palms and explode off your feet. Land on top of the wall and stand up. Place your hands back on the wall surface, and lower yourself to the floor. Hop back up as fast as you can. Start with a surface that is about waist high or a few inches lower and work your way up from there.
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Plyo Pull-Up
We don’t know how many pull-ups you’re doing these days but chances are, it’s not enough. In addition to doing more of this back-building, grip-strengthening move, you should constantly be making it harder to force greater development. Add a new level of difficulty to your standard pull-up by releasing the bar and clapping your hands together at the top. Catch the bar and lower yourself smoothly. A more challenging variation is to raise your arms overhead as high as you can before returning downward.
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Plyo Push-Up
Want to build a better chest? Then you would be well-served by targeting the growth-prone, fast-twitch fibers of your chest with some specific, plyometric work. Make your push-ups plyometric by clapping your hands together as you explode off the ground on each rep. Reaching in front of your face or backward to touch your thighs are some ways to increase the difficulty if clapping is too easy.
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Broad Jumps
Repetitive broad jumps complement your deadlifts and squats by building powerful glutes and quads. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, crouch down, and swing your arms backward. Explode forward, leading with your hands, and pushing your feet into the ground as hard as you can. Tuck your knees, and then stretch them ahead of you to touch down on the ground. Land with soft knees and prep yourself for your next rep. If you’re new to broad jumps, take each one as a singular event, pausing deliberately between reps. More advanced athletes can string them together, landing in a coiled position and exploding immediately into the next rep.With any plyometric-focused program, the goal is max power output on every rep. Higher reps are generally discouraged, not only because of the high degree of stress that these moves place on your body and central nervous system but because the energy system that is used taps out within 15-25 seconds. To get the most out of each of these exercises – as a complement to the rest of your training program – aim for three sets of 3-5 reps. On the step-ups, do double the work (3-5 for each leg).
Erupt off the defensive line. Sail skyward to the net. Land a bone-crunching roundhouse. To be a contender in any sport, a chunk of your strength and conditioning must focus on your capacity for explosive power. Plyometric training builds the rapid muscle recruitment that allows such power.
You’re already familiar with box jumps, right? Hop onto the top of a box. Return to the ground. Cycle up and down, over and over again. The quick stretch to your muscles as you land on the floor, followed by the immediate contraction propelling you upward, is the defining feature of plyometrics.
By adding a plyometric component to other movements, you can reap the benefits of improved power production, which is immediately transferrable to a number of other things you know well and love. So if you’re at all interested in moving more weight on the squat, deadlift, lunge, bench press or pull-up, why not train for more power? Here are five plyometric skills that go beyond the box jump to add a little plyometric flavor to your training.
Plyo Step-Up
Use this move build the leg strength for better sprinting or squatting. Place one foot on the top of a small box, and then drive your other knee forward, raising your entire body higher. Pump your arms in sync with your legs and allow yourself to float off the box. Land softly and repeat without a rest.
Plant Plyo
Think of this whole-body skill as a vertical burpee. Rather than dropping to a push-up, start with your hands placed palm-flat on the top of a small wall or large plyo box. Shift your weight into your arms, push through your palms and explode off your feet. Land on top of the wall and stand up. Place your hands back on the wall surface, and lower yourself to the floor. Hop back up as fast as you can. Start with a surface that is about waist high or a few inches lower and work your way up from there.
Plyo Pull-Up
We don’t know how many pull-ups you’re doing these days but chances are, it’s not enough. In addition to doing more of this back-building, grip-strengthening move, you should constantly be making it harder to force greater development. Add a new level of difficulty to your standard pull-up by releasing the bar and clapping your hands together at the top. Catch the bar and lower yourself smoothly. A more challenging variation is to raise your arms overhead as high as you can before returning downward.
Plyo Push-Up
Want to build a better chest? Then you would be well-served by targeting the growth-prone, fast-twitch fibers of your chest with some specific, plyometric work. Make your push-ups plyometric by clapping your hands together as you explode off the ground on each rep. Reaching in front of your face or backward to touch your thighs are some ways to increase the difficulty if clapping is too easy.
Broad Jumps
Repetitive broad jumps complement your deadlifts and squats by building powerful glutes and quads. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, crouch down, and swing your arms backward. Explode forward, leading with your hands, and pushing your feet into the ground as hard as you can. Tuck your knees, and then stretch them ahead of you to touch down on the ground. Land with soft knees and prep yourself for your next rep. If you’re new to broad jumps, take each one as a singular event, pausing deliberately between reps. More advanced athletes can string them together, landing in a coiled position and exploding immediately into the next rep.
With any plyometric-focused program, the goal is max power output on every rep. Higher reps are generally discouraged, not only because of the high degree of stress that these moves place on your body and central nervous system but because the energy system that is used taps out within 15-25 seconds. To get the most out of each of these exercises – as a complement to the rest of your training program – aim for three sets of 3-5 reps. On the step-ups, do double the work (3-5 for each leg).
