Plyometric exercises are the key to increasing your power, improving your reaction time, and taking your athleticism to the next level. If you are new athlete or more experienced, you will want to add the benefits of ploymetric training to your routine!
Whether your goal is to excel at olympic lifting or just increasing power and reaction time, using plyometric exercises is a must for any athlete.
Just as with any new skill or exercise, the key to hitting your goals is to work these exercises consistently and keep pushing yourself to avoid plateaus. As you get better and stronger at the movements, get creative and add obstacles to keep yourself challenged.
Here are some plyometric exercises to help you build power quickly:
Box Jumps
Simple box jumps are an awesome addition to any exercise routine. Performed correctly, they build power and increase your speed and agility, not to mention get your heart rate up without ever stepping on a treadmill.To do them, you’ll need a plyo box, soft box, or a sturdy elevated surface. Beginners should start with a lower box, as the higher the plyo box, the more difficult this exercise will be.
Depth jumps
Depth jumps are a phenomenal exercise to build power and increase your vertical leap. Performing depth jumps from lower plyo boxes (around 30”) will lead to the greatest explosive strength and reaction gains, while performing them from higher plyo boxes (around 42”) will lead to the greatest strength development.
How to Do this:
Stand on top of a plyo box with your feet about shoulder width apart. Step off the box, bending your knees to absorb the shock as you land. Immediately jump up as high as you can.This also helps to learn how to rebound quickly for box jumps !
Plyo pushups
To build explosive upper body strength and power, there’s no exercise better than plyo push ups. There are tons of different variations of the plyo push ups such as pushups onto a higher surface, clapping plyo push ups and deficit plyo push ups. The options for plyo push ups are endless. Be creative, have fun, and work on pushing your body higher and higher up in the air.
Long jumps/ broad jumps
Long jumps are a classic power building and conditioning exercise. They will strengthen your legs and increase reaction time. Mix it up by adding in single leg long jumps to really amp up your explosive power !
Jump lunges/ Iron Mikes
Jump lunges build single leg coordination and power and should be a staple in any power athlete’s exercise routine.To make jump lunges even harder, place your back foot on a raised surface such as a mat or bench as you perform the exercise.
No matter what your goal is, make training FUN and challenging! You can try adding them to your workout routine in different ways:
Use them to work on improving individual skills.
Add them to a circuit or HIIT workout. This will help you maximize your workout efficiency by elevating your heart rate and improving your conditioning as you work to increase power.
Add them to a mini-circuit workout finisher at the end of your regular skill practice. This will help use up any remaining energy at the end of a workout without taking too much extra time.
You have the ability to make it more or less challenging and you will only become a better athlete by doing them !