PLYOMETRIC EXERCISES

Plyometrics places a large amount of stress on the human body's superstructure. These exercises should not be preformed until you meet the min exercise base:


1) You should have no existing muscle, ligament, tendon, hip, shoulder, knee, back, or ankle injury.

2) You should be able to squat 1.5 to 2.0 times you body weight, 1RM.

3) Athletes weighing >250 lbs should be able to bench their body weight.

4) Athletes weighing <250 lbs should bench 1.5 times their body weight.

5) Obese weight >198 lbs or > 20%BMI.

Even after the min base is achieved; you should use care in performing them, so that injury will not occur. Why bother with Plyometrics if it seems so hazardous? Please understand people use Plyometrics everyday life: sprinting to catch the bus; jumping over a hazard; catching a thrown apple; or throwing a newspaper at a porch. Plyometrics development will aid in your navigation of day-to-day activities. What Plyometrics do is train your muscles respond (with max strength) rapidly (explosively) in a short amount of time. This is not one of the number of weight loss posts; Plyometrics is not for weight loss. Plyometrics develop the neuromuscular system (fast-twitch muscle fibers) and not aerobic or strength systems. Think rapid reactions in sports or reflexes. Generally, a Plyometric circuit is done at least once a week for basic fitness needs, never more than x2 a week. Strength workouts and Plyometric training should not be preformed on the same body area on the same day. Respect Plyometrics, unless you want to injury yourself! If you are ready, then try these basic Plyometric exercises to start:



Jumping and Bounding Routine:

- Warm-up

- Set a 20m straight line on a firm level surface

- Perform each drill x6, with easy walk recovery from end point back to starting point. Think “rapidly” getting off the surface on landing.

- Watch for proper form in drill.

- Repeat circuit x2 for 4 weeks, then x3 after that.

- Cool-down/stretch



Drill 1: Jump from left foot to right foot straight down the line.



        R    R    R   R

Start ------------------------- End (center line)(all not to scale)

        L   L   L   L



Drill 2: Jump from right foot to left foot, crossing over the middle line.



         R   R   R   R

Start -------------------------End (center line)

        L   L   L



Drill 3: Hop on the same leg 4x and other leg 4x straight down the line.



Start R-R-R-R-L-L-L- L-End (center line)



Drill 4: Double leg jumps in a straight line for 10m , then double leg jumps from side to side for 10m.



                             LR  LR  LR  LR

Start LR-LR-LR----------------------End (center line)

                             LR   LR   LR



* * *



Sprit Program (Acceleration Speed):

- Warm-up

- Mark out a set distance on a level firm surface – football field, track, or yard.

- Accelerate from the start to “all out speed” you can reach in the distance run.

- Perform the sets.

- Allow three minutes of recovery between sets. (easy walk recovery)

- Chart your progress.

- Cool-down/stretch



Set 1: Sprint 20m then jog back x12, recovery 3 min

Set 2: Sprint 40m then jog back x8, recovery 3 min

Set 3: Sprint 60m then jog back x4, recovery 3 min.

Set 4: Sprint 80m then jog back x2, recovery 3 min.



It is difficult to write a blog post on such a large subject. What to include? What to leave out? How much theory to add? When to stop? The above should be enough to get you started. Comments/Corrections are always welcome. Next post on Plyometrics for the core and upper body, -work allowing.



No Claim to original works, References:

-Land Forces Command Fitness Manual(CFPSA) NATO, Dr. Howie Wenger, B-GL-382-003/PT-001

-NSCA Performance Training Journal, vol 8, issue 4. www.nsca-lift.org/perform.

- The Navy SEAL Physical Fitness Guide, Dr. Patricia Deuster, Uniformed Service University of Health Sciences, 1978.

Exercise and Goals

I had a big argument with someone over the amount of time I spend working out. First, It’s my time to spend and not theirs. Second, It’s my money and not theirs. As long as I get done what needs done; it’s none of their business. It is true that I am more into exercise beyond the health level. Though, I am not an athlete, but I am trying to go for a high lean muscle mass (BMI).
That goal takes time! I do honestly believe that the better you look, the easier life is for you. This has been proven to me time and again. As far as I am concerned, “Image is everything” is of the ranking equivalent to the Law of Gravity. Understand, I was far from a member of the “sport” cast in high school. I, as they say, showed up for gym and got my “C.” It has been a hard road to where I am now.
One thing I do like about exercise is that I can see results, for example: Everyone reading this has been on a job search. You probably sent out hundreds of resumes and applications. The problem is that you may have zero to show for it at the end of the day. It happens. But with exercise; it’s different. If I run a mile or do a hundred press-ups, then I expect and see a results. Dump effort in and results are a guaranteed yield. How many things have that promise! Just follow the SMART formula and you can set goals and see progress:
A) Specific: Be specific what you want to accomplish. I want to fit into X dress for the Christmas party.
B) Measurable: I want to lose X inches, nothing amorphous.
C) Action Oriented: I must exercise 4x a week for 12 weeks to achieve goal X.
D) Realistic: I can’t lose 40 pounds in a month, but 10 pounds weight loss is realistic.
E) Timed: I have 12 weeks to accomplish what I set out to do. I have to hit X benchmark by week six to be progressing.

Cheers

Quick and Effective Exercise

Like most people, I have difficulty finding time to work out. This is especially true of Cardio. Strength exercise such as Push-ups, Crunches, Dips, and Lunges etc. can be done in most apartments. But Cardio presents a problem. If the weather is damn cold or you don’t have a safe neighborhood to go outside and jog in what are you going to do? There is a simple solution using a basic exercise that can be done at low cost in most apartments. Skipping rope. Stop! Look at the data before you disregard it.
It turns out that jumping or skipping rope is a good exercise: 10 minutes of skipping rope at a 120 RPM burns 750 calories. 10 minutes of skipping rope is equal to running 1 mile in 12 minutes; cycling 2 miles in 6 minutes; and jogging 30 minutes. Skipping Rope ranks with jogging, rowing, and stair climbing as a “hard exercise.”
I would start with Olympian Buddy Lee’s book. His book presents a 4-stage development program geared to athletes for anaerobic development off of an aerobic base. His means to anaerobic development for athletes is the “super compression principle,” --the body recovers from anaerobic exercise bursts, jumping rope, in a way that allows future exercise at a higher level of efficiency for longer duration, i.e., developing fast twitch muscle fibers. Below is a table from Buddy’s Book, to aid anyone who may have the same Cardio questions I had:

Bounce Step Table
RPS*RPM*Fitness Level *% MHR *Rope Measurement
2-2.3 *120-140 *Warm up *60-70 *Standard
2.3-2.7 *140-160*Low Aerobic *70-75*Standard
2.7-3 *160-180* High Aerobic* 75-80 *Standard
3-3.3 *180-200 *Anaerobic Low* 85-90 *Chest
3.3-3.7* 200-220* Anaerobic High* 90-95 *Chest
3.7+ *220+ *VO2 Max *95-100 *Rib Cage

Power Jump Table:

RPS* RPM *Fitness Level* % MHR *Rope Measurement
1-1.2 *60-70* Low Aerobic *70-76 *Standard
1.2-1.3 *70-80* High Aerobic *75-80* Standard
1.3-1.7* 80-100* Low Anaerobic *85-90* Chest
1.7-2* 100-120 *Anaerobic High* 90-95 *Chest
2+ *120+* VO2 Max *95-100 *Rib Cage

RPS= Revolutions Per Second
RPM= Revolutions Per Minute
MHR=Max Heart Rate
(very sorry the tables do not import corrrectly from MS Word)
Tables From: Buddy Lee, “Jump Rope Training”, Human Kinetics Publishing, ISBN-13:978-0-7360-4151-5 (post’s author has no claim to works)
Yours Etc
Screwtape