May 31, 20219 min read

Plyometric Training | Everything You Need To Know

a man performing a plyometric double foot jump onto a plyometric box.

Article Contents

Introduction

Benefits of Plyometrics Training

How To Use Plyometric In Your Training

Think Before You Jump

Quick recap

Best Plyometric Equipment

Introduction

If you’re joining us from our other article – Plyometrics | Put The Jump Back Into Your Training – you now possess a respectable understanding of the many ways which ‘jump training’ can improve muscular power and enhance general physical fitness.

Those that have just joined us might firstly want to review the aforementioned article to learn of the benefits plyometric training can confer. However, if you’re in a rush to get jumping, a brief outline of the benefits can be found below.

Benefits of plyometric training

Improved agility and body coordination

Through practicing in plyometric drills, which involve a series of explosive jumps and rapid changes in direction, you will improve both your agility – defined as the ability to move quickly and easily – and coordination – defined as the ability to use multiple body parts smoothly and efficiently in synchronicity. That plyometric training does this accounts for why many sports have adopted it as part of their training programmes.

Developed proprioception

Because greater muscle contraction forces are generated when performing plyometric exercises, and because the exercises typically involve jumping onto or over solid platforms, heightened concentration is required to execute the movement correctly and safely. Basically, you’ve got to use your noggin much more when performing a box jump as opposed to a static squat.

Improves muscular responsivity

Due to the explosive nature of plyometric exercises muscles are required to contract and relax rapidly. This explosivity develops the stretch-shortening cycle which improves the stored elastic energy within the muscle. As well as increasing maximal muscle contraction the responsivity of the contraction is sharpened which translates to more explosive movements: think of the sprinter powering out of the blocks.

The impact can help strength bones and ligaments

Impact exercises have gotten a bad rep over the years and excessive impact is associated with the wearing of joints (cartilage), stress fractures and general injuries. However, emerging research is showing that impact is essential for strengthening bones and staving off the onset of osteoporosis. Studies show that people who regularly exercised early on in life were less likely to suffer with osteoporosis and brittle bone disorders in their advanced years. Plyometric exercises are typically high-impact and as long as they are used in moderation, they will help develop a robust skeletal system.

Adds diversity to a training regime

We’re all guilty of falling into the age-old bad habit of sticking to the same training routine, irrespective of the fact that we know it increases injury susceptibility and impedes physical progress. By emboldening ourselves to break out of this cycle and trying new training methodologies, we will improve our fitness in ways previously unimaginable. Plyometric training offers us that opportunity.

Offers novel exercise modification options

It’s not up for argument, the press-up is an excellent exercise. However, even an awesome exercise such as the press-up can be improved, hard though that is to believe. By bolting on a plyometric push during the eccentric contraction phase of the movement the press-up is imbued with an explosive element that develops powerful muscles.

In this article we will consider how to incorporate plyometrics into our training routine so that we can get our hands on some of those benefits. The training ideas outlined below are by no means exhaustive for, as Donald Chu points out, ‘Plyometric training can take on many forms, including jump training for the lower extremities and medicine ball exercises for the upper extremities.’ In addition to taking on many forms, and Chu really only pointed to the tip of iceberg, there are literally hundreds of different and innovative ways that plyometrics can be applied to your training regime.

in this text box it says: Two of the primary attributes of plyometrics are its razor sharp specificity and bewildering application: whatever your exercise preference or sporting discipline, plyometrics can be used to enhance performance.

What follows is more of a generic outline of how you might go about incorporating plyometrics into your training. Once you begin to explore the principals identified in this article, you will likely develop a taste for plyometrics and look to further adopt this highly beneficial yet underrated training methodology.

How To Use Plyometric In Your Training

To begin with, if you’ve never trained plyometrics before, it is wise to sprinkle it over your sessions lightly. The reason for this is that the demands placed on the muscles and joints when performing plyometric movements are significantly greater than those of your typical static exercises. Thus, an untrained individual might be at greater risk of suffering an injury.

However, do not be put off by that prospect. If you take your time and develop slowly, and ensure to conduct a thorough warm-up prior to training, the potential risks of plyometric training should be no more numerous than those of ‘normal’ training.

Initially, to test the waters, as it were, and prepare your body for more vigorous training, you could apply a plyometric suffix to some standard body weight exercises – such as air squats and press-ups.

Suppose as part of a general training programme you had decided to conclude your session with a calisthenics complex comprised of 3 sets of 10reps of air squats, set-ups and press-ups. Here you could convert either one full set or the final 3 repetitions of each exercise into a plyometric movement. What would this look like?

On conclusion of 2 sets of 10reps of air squats for each repetition of the final set you are going to explode from the base of the squat into either a jump or, for added dynamism, a tuck jump. Same with the step-ups, but instead of stepping onto the box you will execute a double foot jump. For the press-ups you could either explosively push way from the floor propelling your body as high as possible or, if you possess the requisite physicality (and confidence), complete a clap.

More advanced trainers could really go to town with plyometrics applying the methodology to complex movements or shaping entire training sessions around it. By way of example, as part of a strength training routine, say you were working through a squat complex, explosive plyometric jumps could be employed to enhance the intensity of the exercises.

Plyometric movements make for the perfect addition for a circuit training session. Picturing the classic circular circuit, which typically features a sprint station of some sort, you could organise a series of plyometric jumps out of which the trainer explodes into a short sprint. Alternatively, a number of the stations could be plyometric exercises, such as box jumps or medicine ball slams.

Truly, there is no end to the ways which plyometrics could be used to enhance your training sessions. Before you begin applying plyometrics consider the safety precautions below.

Think Before You Jump!

a woman performs a double foot plyometric jump onto a wooden box

Before engaging in plyometric training, you should always ensure to:

Warm-up!

It is important that you are thoroughly warmed up prior to plyo training. For a comprehensive overview of correct warm-up principals follow the link. Included within a general warm-up it is wise to perform a series of low-intensity plyo movements, raising the intensity as you progress through your session.

Use soft landing mats

If your plyo session involves impact exercises – such as jumps or clap-hand press-ups – it is recommendable to place a soft mat at the landing point. By doing so the shock will be significantly reduced which reduces post-training aches and pains and injury risk.

Avoid fixed solid objects

Plyometric platforms on which you are jumping should be cushioned (see the plyo boxes below). Also, at this is a point that the beginner should especially take note of, avoid using fixed, solid surfaces – such as walls – as plyo platforms. I only say this because jumping onto a wall (which I use to routinely do until I lost length of skin off my shin) presents a safety risk that could result in nasty injury.

Know your limitations

When the fitness benefits of plyometric training start pouring in you’ll naturally want to use this method more. This typically means increasing the number of training sessions and advancing on the intensity of movements – which translates to jumping higher. Though you should never, as Bruce Lee once said, place limitations on yourself, it would be unwise to attempt to advance too quickly. Plyometric training involves high-impact, explosive movements. Coupled with complacency or overconfidence the resulting outcome could be serious injury. Avoid this by ensuring to take your time and being content with marginal gains.

Quick recap

This article has attempted to provide you with a brief outline of the fitness benefits that plyometric training can confer. For a more detailed insight into how plyometrics promotes power and improved muscle responsivity see our other article Plyometrics | Put The Jump Back Into Your Training. Alternatively, click on the image below and grab yourself a copy of Donal Chu’s highly informative Jumping into Plyometrics.

In addition to a crash course on the benefits, this article has endeavoured to provide you with a general insight of how to use plyometrics in your training. If we’ve done our job properly you should leave here knowing how you plan to put some jump into your training.

But now you probably need a few exercises that you can begin sharpening your plyometric skills with. Follow the link below and discover the 5 best plyometric exercises.

The 5 Best Plyometric Exercises

Jumping into Plyometrics

First practiced by the dominant Eastern Bloc athletes of the 1970s, today plyometrics has become a mainstream form of training used by serious athletes around the world. The reason is that plyometrics offers athletes at all levels a proven, straightforward way to enhance their athletic abilities and to get an edge on the competition. This second edition of Jumping Into Plyometrics presents 100 illustrated plyometric exercises in seven categories: Jumps-in-place Standing jumps Multiple jumps Box drills Depth jumps Bounding Medicine ball exercises Excellent for both recreational and elite athletes, the exercises can be used to improve quickness, speed, and jumping ability while also helping to develop better coordination, body control, and balance. This edition includes the latest research on plyometric training, a new layout with a much-improved format for drills, and sidebars on star athletes who have benefited from plyometrics.

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