Overview of Plyometrics
Plyometrics was designed as an athletic training routine for Olympic athletes, particularly in track and field, that needed to increase their muscular and explosive power. Since then it has become an increasingly popular workout routine for people of all ages and aptitudes.
For most strength training exercises you do movements that are long and slow intended to increase strength and muscle size. Plyometrics, on the other hand, consists of quick, explosive movements that are intended to make you faster and more powerful. If you think of traditional strength training, you perform an exercise like a squat where you bend your knees to squat (shortening the muscle) and then pushing yourself up so you are in a standing position (lengthening the muscle) and doing all of that relatively slowing. The goal of plyometric exercises is to decrease the amount of time between the shortening and lengthening of the muscle. Plyometrics is based on the philosophy that reducing the time between the movements, you can become faster and more powerful. In our example of a squat, the plyometric squat would be a squat jump where you quickly squat down and then jump up with you feet actually leaving the floor instead of slowly raising back to a standing position. It is important to remember that technique is essential when doing plyometric training.
For the vast majority of people, plyometrics will be a good way to exercise as it provides both high intensity moves and low intensity moves. Both type of moves provide major benefits for those doing them. Better athletic performance is one major benefit. Plyometrics help develop muscle power as well as increase muscular endurance. With both of these increasing it causes the body’s resting metabolic rate to increase, which leads to better weight loss. Another great thing about plyometrics is that there are over a thousand exercise moves. This means that it is possible to find a whole exercise routine that does not require the purchase of any extra equipment. Plus, with this many moves it is possible for you to find a wide variety of workouts, which helps prevent burnout or boredom.
There are many great things about plyometrics, increased muscular strength, endurance, weight loss, and you don’t need to buy any extra equipment to do a plyometric workout. As with many workout routines, plyometrics is not meant for everyone. This being the case, if you have any previous health problems, especially lower body joint problems, or if you have not worked out in a while, you should consult your physician to make sure plyometrics is an acceptable form of exercise for you.
