Fitness Advice

Properly Programming PLYOS: Far More Than Just Jumping

As popularized by the athletic community, lower body plyometrics are speed and power-based exercises in which the muscles exert maximal force in minimal time by stretching and contracting repeatedly. Although there’s some debate as to what constitutes a “true” plyometric exercise, their value for all things related to athletic performance – like sprinting fast, jumping high, throwing down huge dunks, and hitting moon shot home runs – is one of the most widely accepted truths in all of strength and conditioning.

That being said, plyometric training isn’t just for athletes. In fact, it might be even more important for everyone else. Since lower body plyometrics build power – which is correlated with things such as strength, body composition, and longevity, among others – everyone from washed-up meatheads to grandparents should be performing them in some way, shape, or form. Here’s why:

Athletic performance. As mentioned, lower body plyometrics are a must for athletes to bridge the gap between strength in the weight room and athletic performance on the field or court. Ultimately, they pave the way toward faster sprints, higher jumps, enhanced reactive/elastic strength, and more raw power as a whole.

Strength. Many lifters and gym-goers are quick to dismiss the speed qualities at the far end of the force-velocity curve, despite the fact that the ability to exert force quickly (AKA, power) may make the difference between hitting a PR and getting buckled underneath the bar. While dynamic effort lifting is one way to target speed-strength, lower body plyometrics are in a category of their own for improving pure speed and rate of force development due to their unparalleled movement velocities.

Body composition. Fast concentric actions target the type II “fast-twitch” muscle fibers that have the most potential for muscle growth, which means that plyometrics performed prior to training can increase muscle recruitment while training, and thus facilitate more muscle growth over time. Power-based movements have also been shown to elevate basal metabolic rate post-workout, which can aid fat loss efforts.

Central nervous system activation. Performed in the last phase of the 6-phase dynamic warm-up, lower body plyometrics are perfect for firing up the central nervous system and locking in solid movement mechanics prior to smashing big weights on leg day.

Joint and connective tissue health. When performed and progressed appropriately, lower body plyometrics are phenomenal for strengthening the joints and connective tissue, improving tendon health, teaching proper force absorption, and building resilience.

Aging and longevity. Studies show that humans lose power almost twice as fast as strength as they age – 1.7x, to be exact – which makes developing lower body power essential considering its correlation with just about every longevity-related metric in the book such as quality of life, fall risk, injury prevention/reduction, hormonal health, all-cause mortality, etc.

However, not all plyometrics are created equal, nor should everyone follow the same plyometric prescription. Thus, the key to maximizing the safety and effectiveness of plyometric training for yourself or your clients/athletes lies in understanding the “what,” “why,” and “how” behind the best practices for assessing, applying, and performing lower body plyometrics.