Plyometrics-What They Are - Red White & Blue Fitness

Plyometrics-what they are By Danny O'Dell

In a nut shell plyometrics are activities commonly seen on most elementary school yards through out the civilized world. These include the running, jumping, skipping, and hopping movement’s children do every day during recess. Athletes use plyometrics for an altogether different purpose and that is to become stronger and more explosive in their sport.

The former Soviet Union and Eastern block countries made tremendous competitive strides when national level master coach Professor Verkhoshansky began incorporating specialized high intensity plyometrics into their athletes programs. He noticed that when an individual wound up or violently prestretched before performing an explosive jump or throw, the power output from that athlete was multiplied several fold depending on the conditioning of the athlete.

This phenomenon, known as the stretch shortening cycle, takes advantage of the natural elasticity of the ligaments, tendons, muscles, and skin to resist the initial stretch. By utilizing a complicated combination of nerve transmissions and muscle responses your body automatically increases the power of the subsequent concentric contraction. The stretch shortening cycle (SSC) plays a prominent role in all of this.

Defined briefly, the SSC is a process muscles go through when moving a limb or an external load such as a dumbbell or barbell. Three phases generally describe the actions of the muscles during this time, eccentric-muscle lengthening, amortization-reversal of movement and the concentric phase with the muscle fibers shortening while moving the bony levers of the body. During the concentric portion the muscles are responding to the stored elastic energy that has been accumulated in the prior two phases.

Plyometrics takes advantage of this stored energy and increases the strength of the subsequent movements. However, just because this energy is present doesn't necessarily mean that the athlete can use it. If this stored energy is not used quickly, it rapidly dissipates as heat. Elite athletes are able to retain this stored potential longer than many of us, some say up as long as two to four seconds.

If the energy is not used before it's turned into heat then the effects of the plyometric exercise is lost. Plyometric training seeks to train the athlete how to take advantage of this physiological reflex to make an athlete stronger, faster, and more powerful.

Stay strong mentally and physically, and remain passionately committed to your hearts chosen path.

Danny M. O'Dell, MA. CSCS*D

Phone: 509.991.6833