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The following are examples of plyometric exercises. They are essentially there to help you get a good feel for what plyometric exercises really look and feel like. Once you have grasped this, if you are an experienced athlete, you should feel free to explore variations which you can come up with which you feel especially suited to your body and sport's particular needs. One of the beauties of plyometrics is the ability to come up with an endless list of diverse exercises which achieve similar results but for different muscle groups. This allows an athlete or coach to design a program with specificity.
In the weeks to come we will be adding illustrations and perhaps even video examples. In the meantime, be sure to check out the Champion's Input below.
Vertical Jumps
There are an infinite number of plyometric exercises to increase vertical leap but here are a few good ones:
Two foot ankle hop (low intensity)
Keeping your feet together and remaining in one place hop up and down using only your ankles and calves. Concentrate on getting as high as you can and exploding off the ground as soon as you land.
Rim Jumps (medium intensity)
Stand under a basketball rim. Jump up touching the rim (or net or whatever) with alternate hands. Concentrate on getting as high as you can and exploding off the ground as soon as you land.
Box to Box jumps (high intensity)
Place two boxes that will support your weight about 3 feet apart. Standing on one box step (NOT JUMP) off to the ground and immediately jump back up to the other box. Turn around and repeat. Obviously the difficulty of this exercise is increased as the height of the boxes are increased. Once again concentrate on getting as high as you can and exploding off the ground as soon as you land.
In all the above exercises you are using your body weight and gravity to load the muscle before contraction. The forces you generate are much larger than could be safely accomplished using conventional resistance (read weights) exercises. It is true these forces only exist for a brief amount of time, but they still stress the muscle which is the point. Also these exercises can be combined. For example try jumping off a box before jumping up to the rim.
Increasing Speed
While all of the above exercises will also increase your speed (leg speed), these are many others that just focus more on movement. Here are some examples:
Zig Zags ( medium intensity)
Run an elastic cord about a foot off the ground. While on one foot hop back and forth over the rope. Repeat with other foot.
Side to side ankle hops
Same as regular ankle hops (see above) but instead of remaining in place you jump 2 to 3 feet side to side.
Sprints
Yes sprints are plyometrics since the force of your body coming down loads the hamstring.
Upper Body
Press ups & Hand Clap
Press-ups with a hand clap in between is a particularly vigorous way to condition the arms and chest. The pre-stretch takes place as the hands arrive back on the ground and the chest sinks, and this is followed quickly by the explosive upwards action. Once again, to get the best training effect keep the time in contact with the ground to a minimum.
Medicine Ball
Another means of increasing upper body strength popular with throwers is to lie on the ground face up. A partner then drops a medicine ball down towards the chest of the athlete, who catches the ball (pre-stretch) and immediately throws it back. This is another high-intensity exercise and should only be used after some basic conditioning.
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