EARLSTON HS PHYSICAL EDUCATION



Higher Physical EducationPhysical Factor (Power) – Plyometric TrainingWhat are the benefits of plyometric training?Lee Boyce: Plyometric training refers to explosive movements, commonly done with bodyweight or very light weights such as plyometric pushups, box jumps, and jump squats. The goal is to train for maximum force production in the smallest period of time, so repetitions are kept low and the intensity and effort is high. To train explosiveness, you have to perform each movement as explosively as you possibly can. That means leaving the ground.Q: How do plyometrics help build muscle?The body’s muscular system is made up of fast and slow twitch muscle fibers. The fast-twitch fibers are our largest, strongest fibers in our body. They are trained through heavy lifting, anaerobic efforts, and explosive movements. This is contrary to their slow-twitch counterparts, which are typically geared towards endurance, and aren’t as high in absolute strength.?Plyometric training focuses on increasing the strength and efficiency of the fast twitch fibers. Q: How do I use plyometrics in my training?There are several ways to use plyometric training in your routine. Here are three:1. Include them in your workout. At the beginning or end of workouts, add a “plyos” section by making a miniature workout that comprises of only plyometrics. Remember to keep the repetitions low so technique can be emphasised.2. Use contrast sets. If you want to trick your muscles into over firing, use contrast sets by doing a normal weighted lifting set in the gym, and immediately following it up with the same movement, plyometric style with no weight, for the same number or reps (for example, barbell back squats for a 10 rep max, followed by unloaded jump squats for 10 jumps). During the jump squats, the muscles of the legs will still work as though they have your 10 rep max on your back!3. Make them their own workout. Why not substitute your own cardio or sprint day with a plyometrics workout? The intense effort will increase metabolic rate and help fat loss. To keep your heart rate up, focus on less than 90 seconds rest between sets of work.?Benefits of Plyometric Training If you want to add more energy to your exercise routine, what you need is plyometric training. Plyometrics consist of powerful and fast movements. These exercises improve the working of your nervous system and thus improve your overall performance in sporting events. They involve relaxing and contracting muscles repeatedly and quickly, making use of muscles that are involved in running faster, jumping higher, and throwing farther. Thus plyometrics are especially useful for track and field athletes. Plyometrics increase the force and speed of your muscle contractions, leading to higher explosive power that is needed in sports activities. Track and field events aren’t the only sports that need plyometrics. Football, rugby, racket sports, martial arts, and basketball also make use of plyometrics, in fact every sport can benefit to some extent from plyometric training.There are many benefits of plyometrics, like:Enhanced PerformanceSince plyometrics can boost your running speed, your performance can improve a lot. Even if you are involved in an activity that does not involve running, plyometrics can still help you, because you can be better at throwing farther or punching harder. Plyometric training can help you achieve almost all athletic goals.Muscle PowerWith plyometrics, the strength of your arm and leg muscles would be enhanced by an increased amount of force developed, thereby guaranteeing a rise in power.Burning CaloriesAs your muscles become bigger, stronger and improve in its endurance capabilities, you will burn calories at a higher rate. Plyometric exercises increase your metabolism so you will burn more calories even when you are at rest. Since muscle maintenance needs more energy than fat maintenance, you will burn more calories with each activity.EnduranceIf you have a competition coming up, plyometrics can help you improve your stamina very specifically for that major event. Plyometric exercises can be used to enhance power endurance, which allows you to perform at a higher intensity for longer. Plyometric training can also teach the endurance athlete to use force more efficiently; this efficiency is realised through the body learning to produce more force for less energy expenditure. Thus this saving in energy cost can be recouped towards the end of any endurance type activity i.e. the energy savings made during the beginning of the competition is now available in abundance for the end game. 466788517589500It is this that makes it possible for endurance athletes to benefit from doing plyometric training. No Extreme EquipmentAs you already know, exercising equipment is expensive. Plyometrics does not require you to buy any such equipment. You can use the things that are lying around your house and complete your exercise routine with them.For All NeedsPlyometrics can be used according to anyone’s needs. You can jump on a trampoline or use a jump rope. You can even get two platforms and jump on them back and forth. The right plyometric training would depend upon your needs and your fitness level.The primary goals of all power and strength training methods are to help an individual jump higher or further, run faster, throw further and/or lift heavier.A brief history of plyometricsPlyometrics comes from the Greek word “pleythyein” (to enhance or increase). The practice of plyometrics as a training method originated in the former Soviet Union in the 1970’s, and was developed by Dr. Yuri Verkhoshansky, known as the “father of plyometrics”. However, the good doctor didn’t refer to it as such, instead calling it the ‘shock method’. During the 1970’s Soviet Bloc countries dominated the Olympics and other athletic competitions, thanks in large part to Dr. Verkhoshansky’s exercises. This grabbed the attention of an American track and field coach named Fred Wilt, who decided to investigate how the Soviets were training. After observing their methods, Wilt returned to the US, and in 1975 he coined the term ‘plyometrics’ and immediately began implementing the training method with his athletes. Since then, sports teams across the U.S. and the world have incorporated plyometrics into their training regimens to help their athletes become faster and more explosive.What is plyometric training?Unlike typical strength training exercises that involve long, slow movements designed to increase muscular strength and mass, plyometric training consists of quick, explosive movements designed to increase strength, speed and power. This can be achieved through performing multiple exercises that focus increasing the efficiency and speed of our muscle contractions. Doing so will ultimately increase our power. Plyometric training focuses on increasing muscular power and explosiveness through exercises designed to make the muscles stretch and contract as quickly as possible. So what are the benefits an athlete can expect to achieve from training in such a way?Benefits of plyometric trainingStrengthens fast-twitch fibers in the musclesAs I mentioned, the goal of plyometrics is to maximize muscle contraction, quickly, which essentially means that a byproduct of plyometric training is that you will develop power. Obviously having a high level of physical power is desirable in athletics but in order to increase your power, you need to increase and strengthen the muscle fibers that are responsible for converting strength into speed. Fittingly, these fibers are referred to as fast-twitch fibers, and plyometric training can strengthen them and increase the ratio of fast-twitch fibers to slow-twitch in your body. The stronger the fast-twitch fiber, the faster the muscle contraction—which leads to an increase in power.Increases the strength of tendons, which means fewer injuriesIn order to assist your muscle fibers in producing power, you need to increase the strength of your tendons. Furthermore, stronger tendons mean fewer injuries. Develops your abilities in other exercises and sportsWith great power, comes great…performance. All the previous benefits of plyometric training listed above has made it an attractive addition to many an athlete’s training program—especially for those whose sports require explosive movements. A perfect example is Olympic Weightlifting. A sport that requires an athlete to move heavy weight quickly in a short period of time, placing enormous strain on tendons and requiring a huge amount of power from their muscles—what could be more suitable for plyometric training? Exercises like depth jumps and vertical jumps are similar to weightlifting movements, in so far as they use the same major muscles and joints, have similar range of motion at the joints and similar timings of muscular work.? Crucially, plyometrics can help to decrease the time it takes for a lifter to reach maximum force and improve their power output.So hopefully by now you’ve been convinced of the great value that plyometrics can have in your performance in all sports, and your physical health. As such, you should start incorporating plyometric exercises into your weekly routine as soon as possible!Plyometric exercisesDepth Jumps: This exercise uses gravity and an athlete’s weight to increase exercise intensity. Assume a standing position on a box, step or hop off, land, and immediately jump vertically, horizontally, or on to another box. Depth jumps can be performed with one or both legs. The height of the box is dependent on the athlete and his or her goals. Furthermore, one should ensure that the surface they are landing on is suitable for absorbing impact so as not to risk any shock injuries. As the athlete becomes stronger, the height of the box can increase.Squat Jumps: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Squat down and jump as high as possible. Upon landing, squat and immediately jump up again.Tuck Jumps: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Explode and jump as high as you can, bringing your knees into your chest. As you descend, straighten your legs and land softly on the balls of your feet. As soon as your feet touch the ground, repeat the sequence.Alternate Leg Bounding: Bounding is similar to a running motion, except your stride is longer and higher—almost as if you are performing a triple jump. Drive off your dominant foot and bring your opposing knee up. Try to stay in the air as long as possible. Land and switch feet as you would normally do when running.Plyometric Push-Up: Assume a normal push-up position. Lower yourself to the floor. With explosive force, push off the floor so that your hands leave the floor. Repeat.There are countless other exercises and specific plyometric exercises that you can implement into your training routine, and given that most of them don’t require any equipment, you can perform them at any time (as long as you have a suitable landing surface).You can implement plyometric training into your regular routine immediately. Arrive at the box a little early, and warm up by jumping rope for several minutes, combined with the normal stretching you would do before any class. You can then perform 3-5 sets of multiple repetitions for any of the exercises listed above, or that you find from your own research. 44723053111500Advantages and Disadvantages of Plyometric Exercises Silhouette of a female athlete. Photo Credit OSTILL/iStock/Getty Images 4510405130556000Plyometrics involve power jumping, repetitive bounding and quick force production. When your muscles contract, or shorten, then immediately stretch and lengthen, they produce maximal power ideal for athletic situations. It is a fast movement that happens over a short period. Plyometrics are ideal for athletes or people looking to improve muscular power, speed and strength. They also help facilitate weight loss and help tone and define your muscles; however, these exercises are not without risk.Power and Speed Plyometrics were originally designed for power athletes like sprinters, football players and gymnasts. Plyometric training decreases the time between your muscles contracting and stretching and so improves your muscular speed and power.472249510922000Strength With power and speed come strength gains. Plyometrics can improve strength in both your upper and lower body. Examples of lower body plyometrics are tuck jumps, squat jumps, box jumps and depth jumps. The goal of these jumps is to get higher, utilising your leg strength to improve the height of your jump. Upper body plyometrics include clapping pushups, medicine ball chest press throw and overhead throws. These help improve strength in your upper body.Weight Loss and Tone469455514859000Plyometric exercises require a lot of energy, because they are highly intense. They utilise the whole body and activate most muscle groups, therefore burning many calories in a single session and aiding in weight loss. The repetitive landing causes your entire leg muscles to contract, helping to improve overall tone and definition. Plyometrics combine strength training and cardiovascular exercise, allowing you to "kill two birds with one stone."Disadvantages494792016383000The only real disadvantage to plyometric training is the high risk of injury. Like all exercise and sports, plyometric training is a continuum, where beginners start with light exercise and low repetitions and then gradually progress. The repetitive jumping and bounding can cause stress on the joints. If you are untrained, risk of strains is elevated, because the muscles surrounding your joints are weaker and may not give you the support you need. ................
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