The Benefits of Plyometric Training

Hey there. I hope you are doing great. Some of you may not know this but I was an All-American athlete in college. I was a high jumper. I was actually only 2cm from qualify for the Olympic Trials one year.

When I was training I obviously performed a ton of power training and plyometric training. To get better at jumping you need to jump often and perform explosive exercise. Since I have always been very good at plyometrics it is one of my favorite forms of exercise. I try to incorporate at least 1 upper or lower body plyometric exercise into every workout.

So why would someone want to incorporate plyometric training into there workouts? There are a number of reasons why you would want to do so. Before we go over the benefits though I think it would be appropriate to explain what exactly plyometrics are.

Plyometric exercises are usually explosive exercises that use the elastic property of muscle fiber. This is referred to as the Stretch Shortening Cycle. This means that when you stretch a muscle, potential energy is stored like a rubber band. If you contract the muscle immediately after the stretch you will increase the energy released in the muscle. This is a naturally occurring process in the body that can be trained to create greater force and power then the muscle could attain on its own.

For example, think about how you perform a squat jump. You squat down and stretch the muscle then immediately jump as high as you can. If you were to perform the same exercise but slow it down a funny thing happens. Try squatting now and holding it for 4 seconds. Then try and jump as high as you can. If you have never done it before you can trust me. There are multiple studies that will show the first technique will result in significantly higher results. This is because of the use of the stretch shortening cycle.

So now that you can see what plyometric training is you can start to see why it is necessary to incorporate it into your program. But just in case you still aren’t sure here are a few reasons why.

First, explosive training, such as plyometrics, trains different muscle fibers. Contracting muscle at a fast speed will train Type II muscle fibers. Most people ignore these muscle by only training Type I fibers with slow movements. Second, is a similar reason. Everyone can use improvement in speed and reaction. Think about an elder person. One of the first things we start to lose as we age is muscle and power. This is why the older population has to worry so much about falling. Power training is a great way for this population as well as the rest of use to prevent this. And finally, plyometric training not only trains the muscular system but also the nervous system. The stretch shortening cycle is a process of the nervous system. For better performance you not only need your muscular system working properly but also the nervous system needs to communicate with the muscles for them to contract.

Although, as I stated, just about everyone needs some type of power training like plyometrics in their program, there are some prerequisites. If you have any joint issues that may be made worse through higher impact activity like jumping then you are not ready to start a plyo program yet. There are also strength requirements as well. For lower body plyo’s you should be able to squat about 1 1/2 times your body weight and for upper body you should be able to bench your body weight.

If you would like to start incorporating plyometrics into your program you can check out our free featured workout The Lower Body Plyometric Workout.

Have a great workout!

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
My Workout Creator