A lot of us may not have heard of Plyometric exercises although we may have performed them sometime in our life. Let us discuss this form of workout today & how it impacts our strength.
Plyometric exercises are a form of power training that helps us build stability & elasticity of muscles by increasing the speed & force of contraction. This is done by performing explosive movements that first lengthen & then shorten the muscle through the contraction of muscles that takes place.
This form of exercise can be performed by beginners with low intensity. However, it is important to note that while doing advanced variations, you should possess some degree of strength which usually comes from doing some sports or regular physical movement/workout due to the nature of plyometric movements.
These exercises involve any form of jumping movement where a part of your body leaves the ground & downward force is applied on your follow through. Such exercises can include, skipping, lunges & push up variation like claps push-ups.
A plyometric contraction involves 3 consecutive phases:
- Eccentric phase- A rapid muscle lengthening movement.
- Amortisation phase- A short resting phase
- Concentric phase- Explosive muscle shortening movement
The goal of this form of exercise is to maximise muscle contraction quickly thereby increasing the output of muscle power. In effect, the strength of fast twitch muscle fibre increases alongside their ability to exert a high amount of force in a short span of time. People who perform sports & athletes get maximum benefit out of plyometric exercises since these exercises increase your body’s ability to perform power movements quickly. The ability to apply more force can be applied to any sport such as football, tennis, rugby & swimming.
Athletes are normally required to exert a maximum amount of force in the shortest possible time. Whether it is a sprint or kicking the football with maximum power, plyometric exercises enable you to perform such tasks at your maximum capability. This form of workout is also useful in limiting injury risk since your muscle becomes flexible to such powerful & explosive movements.
So what are the benefits of plyometric exercises?
- Increase active muscle workout range
- Enhanced length tension characteristics
- Increases muscle pre-activity
- Enhanced motor coordination
These exercises can be performed in a variety of ways differing in intensity. You can start as a beginner & as your build strength & flexibility, you can observe steady & linear progression in performance. Some of plyometric exercises include:
- Jumping Jacks
- High Knees
- Jumping Squats
- Long Jump
- Skating
- Jumping Lunges
- Box Jumps
- Burpees
- Mountain Climbers
- Clap Push-ups
Once you have done & mastered these above mentioned exercises, you can move on to combining & varying the exercises. These exercises are a different way to train, quite distinctive as compared to exercises performed in gyms. Besides, these exercises help you to target different muscle groups.
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