The Low Down on Plyometrics

Plyometrics was developed as a way to gain speed and strength in the former Soviet Union. It was used primarily as training tool for track and field sports initially and later gained acceptance over the world as a form of training for a variety of sports as well as a fitness routine for the amateur athlete and health conscious adult.The goal of plyometrics is to gain strength, shorten reaction time, and even affect your central nervous system. With lots of jumping and limited time spent with two feet on the ground, there is no doubt that plyometrics is a one of a kind workout. Plyometrics is power training that involves “loading” muscles and contracting them in a quick manner. As with most power training, it is designed to increase the speed at which muscles contract, whether in jumping, running, throwing, punching or kicking.

Plyometric training is not just quick muscle reactions; it is a combination of events within the body working together for explosive movements. Plyometrics depends on a cooperative effort between the muscles, tendons, bones, and even nervous system to work. All of this cooperation ensures serious results in a high powered workout. Similar to the way your leg reacts when the doctor checks your reflexes, plyometrics is an attempt to get a powerful reaction from your system with short and fast stimulations.

By “loading” the movements, or increasing the tension within the muscles, a more explosive reflex or reaction can be expected. For instance, if measuring your vertical jump, being able to take a few steps prior to the jump increases the load on your muscles and will likely increase the height you are able to reach.

Pushing the body to achieve maximum response (think: reflex or spring movements) with coordination in a short amount of time, leads to great increases in power. Focusing on “fast-twitch” muscles leads to an improvement in speed and strength in short fast movements. Whether you are a runner, kick boxer, or softball player, plyometrics can improve strength and agility in your sports performance.

In addition to reducing the response time of your muscles and increasing overall strength, a plyometric workout is an extreme calorie burner. For people interested in losing fat while simultaneously gaining muscle, plyometrics is a great solution.

As with other high powered movements, plyo workouts are not without the risk of injury. Being careful to warm up and stretch out the muscles will help prevent injury. Also, because the intensity of plyometrics is so high, it’s a good idea to do it sporadically as a part of a total fitness program.

Be sure to check out the plyometrics workout that is part of the P90X series. P90X is a total body transformation system that includes many high quality and high powered workouts, including plyometrics.