Plyometrics: What It Is And How to Develop Power With Plyometric Exercises

Do you want to step up your fitness game? Consider using plyometric workouts in your program to amp up the intensity.

What is Plyometrics?

Plyometrics, or plyos for short, are an excellent technique to increase the intensity of your exercises. You may increase your speed, power, and strength by incorporating explosiveness into your workouts. Plyometrics, like HIIT exercise, take a lot of energy. They are, nevertheless, an entertaining alternative to traditional strength training motions.

Plyometrics can contain several movements such as pushups, throwing, sprinting, leaping, and kicking. Plyometrics are frequently used by athletes in their training, although these routines may be done by anybody. People in physical rehabilitation after an accident or injury utilize plyometrics to get back into form and function.

Whatever your fitness background, there are a lot of different plyo exercises you can try at home with just your bodyweight. And there are a lot of benefits you can reap by slotting plyometric work into your routine.

Plyometrics engage your anaerobic system, the energy source that powers your body during intensive activity that you can’t do for more than a couple minutes at a time. It’s no wonder, therefore, that plyometrics are one of the most difficult sorts of exercises you may do in a workout.

 

Plyometrics Have Three Unique Components

Plyometric workouts consist of three unique phases: eccentric, amortization, and concentric, which releases the explosive power. These three components make up a stretch-shortening cycle.

Eccentric Component

During the eccentric component, the muscle is pre-stretched, collecting potential energy in its elastic portions. The eccentric phase is also known as the deceleration phase, absorption phase, loading phase, or yielding phase.

When basketball players bend their knees and drop their arms before a rebound shot, or when a baseball player pulls his arm back before a throw to first base, the eccentric component is visible.

Amortization Component

The amortization component is a period of dynamic stability in which the muscle moves from overcoming gravity’s acceleration and loading energy to releasing it. The potential elastic energy can be wasted if this portion is too lengthy.

Concentric Component

In the concentric phase, the elastic energy is unloaded, which adds to the tension created by a concentric muscle contraction. The athlete uses the saved and redirected energy to jump for the hoop or toss the ball to first base.

Seven Benefits of Plyometric Exercises

Simply told, plyometric activities increase your speed and strength. This is excellent for sport-specific training. For example, plyometric box leaps can increase your sprint speed if you play football, and medicine ball chest throws will help you power your punch if you’re a boxer.

Plyometric workouts, according to Human Kinetics, can assist improve your performance in any sport.

• increased vertical leap height
• increased long jump distance
• increased strength
• improved running speed, agility, and quickness
• injury reduction
• better throwing, hitting, striking velocity
• enhanced neuromuscular efficiency

Top 10  Plyometric Training

Here are the 10 best plyo exercises you can do at home using only your bodyweight to create your own HIIT plyo workout!

• Pop Squat,
• Split Squat,
• Reverse Lunge to Knee-Up,
• Tuck Jump,
• Jump Squat With Heel
• Tap Skater Hop

• Jump from a Burpee Box
• Lateral Lunge to Runner’s Jump
• Burpee Push-Up
• Burpee Into Tuck Jump