You’ve probably heard of Plyometric exercises (plyos) before, and if you haven’t heard of them I’m sure you’ve seen someone doing them. Plyo exercises also referred to as ‘jump training’, are exercises where you exert maximal force in quick moments of time. For example, box jumps, or tuck jumps are just a few basic examples.
Plyos are so important for athletes and individuals who want to increase their power, and train muscles to complete movements with max efficiency. The end goal is that with participation in a regular plyo program (in addition to heavy weightlifting, and speed training) an individual will be able to increase the speed of movement, and reaction times. Plyos are ideal for reactive athletes like soccer, basketball, volleyball, etc. as well as track athletes, cyclists, and even cross-fitters- and will highly improve performance!
Disclaimer: Plyos should not be completed by beginners, and are suitable only for athletes or individuals with a solid base strength, and adequate balance. If you do not qualify to perform these exercises, start with some of our beginner workouts first!
Your Workout
The exercises I’ve provided below are straight from my track days when I trained with Bryan Clay (Olympic Gold and Silver Medalist). So, these are no joke. The exercises are Olympian approved and an important part of higher-level training.
I can still hear him in the back of my head yelling at me every day to keep up my energy and put max effort into each of these exercises. (ugh!) But that is what you should be thinking about when doing this workout- if you’re doing it at all, it must be all-out as hard and as fast as you can throw/jump/push, etc. And remember, it’s your whole body that should be producing as much force as possible from your legs, to your arms!
Your Focus: Good form, with an all-out effort on each rep!
2 sets x 10 reps of each exercise
Rest as much as necessary between reps and sets. Remember, these are meant to be an all-out effort, which means you should be well-rested and prepared for each rep.