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Are you including plyometrics in your current training? Plyometrics are very important to have in your program. If you've seen my other YouTube video on lifting and running warm-ups, doing plyometrics within your warm-up can set you up for success within that workout, as well as for your longevity. We'll go through those benefits, as well as some exercises to potentially include in your lifting and running program.
Now, plyometrics have been looked at as something that is reserved only for elite athletes. You have likely seen Olympic track runners, or other athletes, who do plyometrics as part of their warm-ups and you might think, “oh I don't need that because I'm not an elite athlete”. This is incorrect. Everybody can benefit from plyometrics in some way. Of course, you want to make sure that you are meeting you where you are at within your fitness and you are not progressing too quickly or not addressing things that need to be adjusted beforehand, but for most people, plyometrics can be really beneficial to add into your program to help with the strength and muscular endurance of muscles and tendons, as well as preventing things like osteoporosis.
Now, again, the thought of osteoporosis can be a surprise to people because we think of osteoporosis: the loss of bone which can happen over time if we don't continue to strength train and/or if we don't have a nutritious diet. You might assume that performing exercises like jumping and bounding is just going to have a higher impact on the joints, right? Well, yes, it will have a higher impact, but if you are meeting yourself where you are at and you are adjusting the progress and load accordingly, you can continue to load the muscles around the joints appropriately. If you follow progressive overload, your muscles, tendons, and joints will have adapted over time.
If you are new to plyometrics, I would recommend starting by using some assistance either with a resistance band or a TRX. The TRX can be a really helpful tool when you're doing things like squat jumps, for example, because you can take some of that load and impact off by using your upper body. The same thing goes for using a resistance band. If you do squat jumps or pogo hops with a resistance band anchored to a pull up bar, the resistance band will want to pull you up from the squat or jump because its natural position is relaxed, not tense. Using a TRX or resistance band is a great way to introduce plyometrics. Again, if you are new to plyos, meet
yourself where you are. You could even start with smaller hops or jumps so you can introduce plyometric slowly and be able to increase the load over time.
As I mentioned earlier plyometrics are not just for elite athletes. Plyometrics are for everybody. Especially if you're doing a higher impact sport or activity like running, pickleball, basketball, or something where you have higher impact on your joints, you are already doing plyometrics in your sport, so it would be best to add that into your training program and prepare yourself.
4 Plyometric exercises for runners:
Before we get into it, it’s important to note that you don’t need to be doing all four of these as part of your warm up. Choose one, maybe two, and then progress to another one or change it up every once in a while to follow progressive overload, and to keep it fresh.
You can do pogo hops for reps or duration. I do a combination of both of them depending on the day so I may count up to 50 reps or I may do them for 20 to 30 seconds.
This is another variation of pogo hops that you can do. It’s the same motion, but you would do the single leg version. I really like this exercise for runners because it mimics running a bit more with having to push off one single leg at a time. But if you are feeling new to plyometrics I would start with the bilateral version (both legs) before you start hopping on one.
These are especially for those of you who are training on uneven terrain or planning to run on a trail. This one's nice because it gets a little bit more into that lateral motion that you likely find yourself in when you're having to navigate down or up a trail. When you perform skaters, think about keeping your toes forward.
Split jumps are basically lunges that require you to jump in and out of to switch to the other side. This one is also excellent for runners because it is mimicking a similar motion.
Variations of these plyometric exercises are within all of my hybrid training programs to some extent. At Kathletics, we always meet you where you are at, but especially if you're a runner we do include at least one of these in your warm-up for your run days as well as in your lifting days.
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