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Ask The Experts: Plyometrics

Ask the Experts: Plyometrics

Plyometrics are an important part of a training program for many athletes, including runners. Simply put, plyometrics can be described as some kind of jumping or creation of impact. There are upper and lower body plyometrics. For the lower body think jump rope, box jumps, bounding, skater hops, etc. For the upper body, the chest passes with a medball, clapping push-ups, and other movements with explosiveness. For running training, focus on the lower body. In this video we dive deep on types of plyometrics, rational, and how to add them in specifically and safely. 

Working on plyometrics helps teach your tissues how to absorb force and translate force. This is what allows people to jump high, jump far, and run fast. Plyometrics build tendon stiffness, which may sound like a bad thing, but it’s not. We want joints to have good range of motion, muscles to have good extensibility and contractile potential, and tendons to be stiff. This allows for the force that muscles produce to be maximized into performance. 

There are many lower body plyometrics and we want to prescribe them as specifically as we can. The patient’s goals and type of activity are important. As far as classification goes, think of it as three main categories: jumping for height, jumping for distance, and rebounding. Rebounding, the bouncing motion of jumping rope, is something runners want to get very good at. Hopping in place is the simplest and that can be scaled up by adding height or distance. In the video we go over what is the difference between rebounding and other types of plyometric training. All types of plyometrics can be performed double leg, single leg, or hopping leg to leg (running!).

Starting with an appropriate amount of volume is very important. In the video we discuss an easy framework to control, measure, and increase your volume over time. Underdosing during the first few sessions is much better than overdoing it and creating an injury or new problem. Working on plyometrics is about the long game. Start small, stay consistent, become a human spring, and watch your performance take off!

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