What's the best way to design a plyometrics program for your needs?

1 What are plyometrics?

Plyometrics are exercises that involve rapid stretching and contracting of your muscles, using the elastic energy stored in your tendons. They usually involve jumping, hopping, skipping, or throwing movements, and they challenge your neuromuscular system to generate more force in less time. Plyometrics can improve your athletic performance, functional fitness, and metabolism.

2 What are the benefits of plyometrics?

Plyometrics are a great way to improve your functional fitness, such as power, speed, agility, balance, coordination, and endurance. These exercises can also help you burn more calories as they increase your oxygen consumption and muscle activation. Plyometrics are a great way to boost your metabolism and help you reach your fitness goals.

3 What are the risks of plyometrics?

Plyometrics are high-impact exercises that can be dangerous for your joints, muscles, and tendons, especially if you have pre-existing conditions, poor technique, or inadequate recovery. Common injuries associated with plyometrics include sprains and strains due to overstretching or tearing, fractures due to excessive force or impact, tendonitis due to overuse or irritation, bursitis due to inflammation of your bursae, and patellofemoral pain syndrome due to misalignment or stress. To prevent or reduce these risks, it is important to follow safety guidelines when doing plyometrics.

4 How to prepare for plyometrics?

Before you start doing plyometrics, it's essential to ensure that you have a strong foundation of strength, mobility, and stability. Additionally, you need to warm up properly and select a suitable surface and equipment. To prepare for plyometrics, you should build up your strength by performing basic exercises like squats, lunges, push-ups, and planks with good form and without pain. You should also be able to lift at least 1.5 times your body weight in a squat or deadlift. It's important to improve your mobility by being able to move your joints through their full range of motion without restriction or discomfort. You should also stretch and foam roll regularly to release any tightness or knots in your muscles. To enhance your stability, practice balancing on one leg for at least 30 seconds and controlling your core and pelvic alignment. You should also do some low-intensity plyometrics like skipping, hopping, or bounding to improve your landing mechanics and shock absorption. Before beginning plyometrics, do a dynamic warm-up that activates your muscles, joints, and nervous system. Additionally, do some specific drills that mimic the movements and intensity of the plyometrics you're going to do. Choose a soft, flat, non-slippery surface that can absorb some of the impact for plyometrics. Wear appropriate shoes that provide cushioning, support, and traction. You can also use equipment like boxes, hurdles, cones, or medicine balls to add variety and challenge to your plyometrics.

5 How to design a plyometrics program?

When designing a plyometrics program, you need to factor in frequency, intensity, volume, and rest. Start with one or two sessions per week and allow at least 48 hours of rest between plyometric sessions. Begin with low-intensity plyometrics that involve short ground contact time, low height, and simple movements. For the volume, start with few sets, low reps, and short duration. As you improve your power and endurance, increase the volume but vary it depending on your goals and phase of training. Take enough rest to recover and perform each plyometric exercise with optimal quality and intensity. Generally, take longer rest for higher-intensity and lower-volume plyometrics, and shorter rest for lower-intensity and higher-volume plyometrics.

6 How to execute a plyometrics exercise?

Executing plyometrics exercises with proper technique and form is essential to get the most out of them. You need to maintain a neutral spine and strong core throughout the exercise, keeping your head, shoulders, hips, and knees aligned. Before the explosive phase, you should lower your center of gravity and create tension in your muscles and tendons by engaging your glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves. During the explosive phase, you should extend your knees and hips forcefully and push off the ground using your arms to generate more momentum and power. When landing, you should absorb the impact with your muscles and tendons while landing on the balls of your feet. Additionally, you should keep your feet, knees, and hips aligned to avoid any inward or outward collapse.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?