However, even though plyometrics is not inherently dangerous, there is an increase in the level of stress on joints and muscle tissue from repeated, highly focused and intense movements shock and tension drills. This has lead to the proposal of some safety guidelines including the following.

While the recommendations on this page are a good place to start, you'll get a lot more benefit when you add the right stretches to your training program.

You'll get clear photographs and 44 video demonstrations of unique stretches for every major muscle group in your body. Plus, you'll also learn the 7 critical rules for safe stretching; the benefits of flexibility; and how to stretch properly.

Make sure you warm-up before attempting any of the plyometric examples below and take extra care to follow the precautions in the section above. Below are three lower body plyometric exercises and three upper body plyometric exercises. Example 1. Squat Jumps Stand with feet apart at shoulder width.

Flex your trunk slightly forward keeping the back straight in a neutral position. Lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Immediately explode vertically upwards driving your arms up extend the ankles to their maximum range before takeoff.

Minimize the transition phase the time between dipping down and immediately jumping up. Land on both feet and then repeat for the number of prescribed repetitions. Example 2. Jump to Box Face the box standing with feet apart at slightly wider than hip width.

Dip down into a semi-squat position before immediately jumping onto the box. Land gently on the box. Step back down, or jump back carefully. Repeat for the number of prescribed repetitions. Example 3. Lateral Jump to Box Face side on to the box with feet apart at slightly wider than hip width.

Example 4. Overhead Throws Stand with knees slightly bent and feet placed about shoulder width apart. Hold a medicine ball behind the head before forcefully throwing it forward into the wall or at a partner. Minimize the transition phase the time between pulling the ball back and starting the throw.

Catch the ball on the rebound from the wall or partner and repeat according to the number of prescribed repetitions. Example 5. Over Back Toss Stand with feet apart at slightly wider than hip width with a partner standing about 10 to 15 yards behind you.

Grasp the medicine ball with both hands and dip down into a semi-squat position. Immediately explode upwards by generating power in your legs and extending the entire body to throw the ball up over the body.

Throw the ball as far as you can behind you. Catch the ball on the rebound from your partner and repeat according to the number of prescribed repetitions.

About the Author : Brad Walker is often referred to as the "Stretch Coach" and has even been called the Stretching Guru. Amazon author page has listed his books on five Best-Seller lists. Google cites over , references to him and his work on the internet.

And satisfied customers from countries have sent 1,'s of verified customer reviews. If you want to know about stretching, flexibility or sports injury management, Brad Walker is the go-to-guy.

Disclaimer : The health and fitness information presented on this website is intended as an educational resource and is not intended as a substitute for proper medical advice.

Please consult your physician or physical therapist before performing any of the exercises described on this website, particularly if you are pregnant, elderly or have any chronic or recurring muscle or joint pain. Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn YouTube.

Plyometric Training Examples for Maximum Power. by Brad Walker First Published May 9, Updated February 14, What is Plyometric Training? In the simplest of terms: Plyometrics are exercises that involve a jumping or explosive movement.

A plyometric contraction involves three consecutive phases. Eccentric Phase — a rapid muscle lengthening movement Amortization Phase — a short resting phase Concentric Phase — an explosive muscle shortening movement.

The Benefits of Plyometric Training Muscular power and muscular strength are not the same thing. Plyometrics train an athlete to apply a set amount of force in the shortest period of time.

Plyometrics converts maximal strength into fast, powerful and explosive movements. Plyometric movements, or drills, are applied as sport-specific power by mimicking the movement patterns of the sport, which enables the athlete to run faster, hit harder, throw farther, react quicker, etc.

Why are Plyometric Exercises Important for Injury Prevention? Why are Plyometric Exercises Important for Injury Rehabilitation?

Precautions and Safety Guidelines There has been little research done into formulating best practices for plyometric training. Individuals should be able to perform 1 squat of 1.

Use only low intensity, low volume and unstructured plyometrics drills for prepubescent children to prevent any potential damage to their epiphyseal plates that have yet to close.

Use only low intensity and low volume plyometrics drills, with caution, for athletes over pounds kg. Athletes must be well-conditioned and have good levels of physical strength, flexibility and proprioception inherent body awareness before commencing plyometric training.

Proprioception is a vital part of balance, coordination and agility, which are also required for safe plyometric workouts. Athletes must be instructed on the proper techniques before commencing any plyometric exercise such as proper landing techniques. Plyometrics workouts should be performed under supervision.

Athletes should be fresh and free of injury before performing any plyometric exercise. Landing surfaces should be shock absorbing for depth jumps such as gymnastics rubber mats, suspended floors or grass. Hard surfaces should never be used. Adequately warm-up before a plyometric workout.

In this manner, each hurdle hop is related to the one before it. Although hurdle hops are a bilateral activity, they are still cyclic in nature and based on reflexive mechanisms that bind each jump together.

Because of this nature, along with the fact that the presence of a hurdle leads to quicker contact times, the hurdle hop is an invaluable counterpart to the depth jump in the world of shock plyometrics. Also, because hurdle hops are an easier exercise to perform in a higher number of repetitions, they are an excellent tool for solidifying, and building on the mechanics learned through single response depth jumps.

These can be done off one, or two legs, and I strongly recommend collapsible hurdles in either scenario! Farther apart hurdles will yield shorter touchdown times, and a premium on maintaining momentum.

Closer hurdles will have a more powerful effect on the knee extensors muscles. In this exercise, two hurdles set the cyclic rhythm of the jump, and the last jump is over a max height hurdle. Where depth jumps and hurdle hops develop the ability of an athlete to store and release energy in the vertical plane, bounding variations overload the sweep-like planting mechanism in the horizontal plane.

There are plenty of ways to perform bounding for the sake of a better vertical jump, not to mention improved acceleration and sprint abilities. Here are a few bullet points on my thoughts regarding the art of bounding for improved jump power. For multi-jumps, there is usually only one type of jump trained each day, and it is measured and recorded.

A different approach is taken during the longer bounds. Since when doing a series of bounding of a moderate distance, muscle coordination is a premium adaptation, rather than raw power and recruitment, it also makes sense to include a variety of types of efforts.

On training days where you are following up some specific jump efforts with plyometrics, I prefer the majority chunk of those auxiliary plyometrics to be more of the muscle-coordination variety, rather than all single effort bursts. Bottom line, use short multi-jumps as a source of long-term measured improvement and use longer bounds in variety to build elasticity, muscle coordination, and some specific jump capacity.

I often use a shock plyometric workout as a stand alone, or in partial volume to finish off an event specific practice on a high CNS training day. This type of workout is one that requires the athlete to be fairly fresh coming in, either off a day of rest, or a potentiation based day of resistance training and coordination based elastic work.

The following are linear versions of my favorite combinations of high-powered shock training:. In this workout, the quality and breadth of the depth jumping will determine how many repetitions of the lower level, coordination based plyometrics are performed, such as the hurdle hops, and bounding combinations.

The shot throws have more of an explosive, high-velocity reset nature to them, but their reps are also variable. The depth jump and triple jump exercises, and their various offspring allow for a myriad of high-powered possibilities in the world of athletic development.

Stay tuned. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics.

Joel Smith is the founder of Just Fly Sports and is based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Joel hosts the Just Fly Performance Podcast, has authored several books on athletic performance, and trains numerous clients in the in-person and online space. Joel was formerly a strength coach for 8 years at UC Berkeley.

A track coach of 15 years, Joel coached for the Diablo Valley Track and Field Club for 7 years, and also has 6 years of experience coaching sprints, jumps, hurdles, pole vault and multi-events on the collegiate level, working at Wilmington College, and the University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse.

He now coaches at the high-school level. Great recommendations. Great blog! I found it was well interpreted, the information was coherent.

Where I was stuck between a rock and a hard place, you pulled me out. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message.

Even though the server responded OK, it is possible the submission was not processed. Click To Tweet I wrote his article with the track and field coach and athlete in mind, but the following workouts can apply to any athlete interested in jumping higher and becoming more explosive.

High Powered Shock Plyometrics If you want to jump high, then you need to train the jump pathway at a more intense level than you ever have before. As I see it, there are two basic types of shock plyometrics that can be used in the training of track and field jumpers, and other aspiring vertical jump athletes: Depth jumping and related activities Triple jump family bounding Depth Jump Family When it comes to jumping higher, coaches and athletes should have a close relationship with the depth jump.

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