Plyometric Training
Prior to a training cycle all coaches need to ID what the goal of the training program is. Hopefully all coaches have the same #1 goal of trying to mitigate injury risk during sport. I bet the next goal would be to get the athletes bigger, faster, and stronger. With strength being the foundation for all movements, an increase in strength will also facilitate to gains in size and speed. In this blog however we will focus on supplementing our strength movements with plyometric training to help the athlete’s become more powerful.
What is plyometric training? Well depending on who you ask will give you some type of different answer with the main point being “to increase power” in some capacity. To break that down further: Power = Work/Time. With time being a constant that we are unable to adjust (make time to move slower or faster) we must focus on Work. Well, what is work? Work is defined as Work= Force/Distance. So, we can better look at power as:
Force x DistanceTime=Power
This is just an easier way to look at the power equation with our end goal to simply increase force.
When also talking about power the Force Velocity Curve is often used to represent power. When looking at the curve we see as velocity increases, weight decreases and vice versa. Weight increases the velocity decreases. We can also see the dash line is the “power curve”. Peak power is around 30% and power training zone is between 30 – 70%. Our whole goal in training is to shift the whole curve to the right, which would indicate we can move more weight at a higher velocity meaning the athlete is more powerful.
Now what does this have to do with plyometrics? Well, plyometric training is a different modality used to help increase power output. When looking at plyometrics what are the mechanism used to help increase power? The stretch shortening cycle is mechanism in which the muscle fiber loads eccentrically storing kinetic energy then quickly transfers to a violent concentric contraction. This SSC is the reason we can jump higher by doing a counter movement vs just doing a static jump or movement. The SSC can be broken down into 3 phases: 1. Eccentric (Loading Phase) 2. Amortization Phase 3. Concentric (Take Off Phase).
Eccentric – the part of the jump with the athlete rapidly decelerates the body into a loaded position.
Amortization Phase – the transition from the load to the jump. That tiny piece of time when the body changes from deceleration to acceleration.
Concentric – when the body is rapidly accelerated upward and leaves the ground.
Each phase plays a crucial role in an athlete’s ability to produce power. If the athlete is not able to load correctly (eccentric phase) they lose the ability to transfer their kinetic energy into a more powerful jump. Along with that comes the increased likely hood of injury. Often times athletes get hurt on the eccentric phase of movements when there is a weak spot in the kinetic chain. When there is a lack of strength or poor mechanics the muscle tissue is not able to properly absorb and dissipate the applied force. This makes ligaments and tendons now absorb forces they are not cable of doing which leaves the athletes susceptible ligament tears and muscle strains.
Amortization phase is often times not talked about as much but plays a major role in the athlete’s ability to produce power. The shorter the amortization phase, the more powerful an athlete will be. The longer they spend in the amortization phase the more energy is lost from the eccentric phase reducing the affects of the SSC. So a efficient landing that reduces the time to take off will increase jump height.
Concentric phase is the violent muscle contraction that allows the athlete to drive through the ground and up. This is when we see the athlete take flight and leave the ground. Proper mechanics are also of emphasis to ensure the athlete does not waste any energy on movements that do not help the athlete transfer and produce more force.
This has been a very brief overview of what plyometrics is, the goal, and some basic understanding of what occurs during a plyometric movement. So now how do we actually improve our power? There is a million different ways to actually increase power, but number one has to be get stronger. Depending on what population you work with I would bet 95% of your athletes need to just get stronger. At the college level strength is always the first thing that needs to get addressed. Obviously form when training is a huge part of the limitations for younger athletes and not compromising form for weight is a must. But at the end of the day strength is king; however, you can supplement your strength training with plyometrics to ensure you are preparing the athlete for sport while also working on strength.
Plyometrics Programming
With there being so many different modalities to program for an increase in power I will not go over all of them. Olympic lifting is the go-to movements for an increase in power. Anyone who does Olympic lifting will emphasis that the are an absolute must. I will counter with this, if you yourself are not able to properly perform the movement or coach the movement to the very last inch do not expect your athletes to perform them either. Olympic lifting is very technical and some even consider an art. I think they are awesome movements if done well, if done poorly they can lead to a slew of injuries and issues in your weight room. Often times variations of cleans pulls can give you similar affects of Olympic lifting with less technique required since there is no catching of the bar.
Another great option is med balls. You can do so many different things with med balls to help increase an athlete ability to create power. Throwing, jumping, and landing with med balls are all different options you can do. They also allow to train in the transverse field of movement with rotational throws. They can be broken down for the very basic part of movements by starting on your knees and then transitioning to the feet as the athletes learn how to complete the movement. If done correctly there are so many different things to do that an athlete can get powerful in all plans of movement and not get bored of the same thing.
The movements I want to really talk about though are field movements to help athletes become more powerful. Why field-based movements? Because everyone has the capability of performing these movements with their athletes. Med ball though cheaper than Olympic bars and plates still cost money and need room to complete. To work on the field all you need is some open space. When writing a plyometric program, the same thought process is used when writing a lifting program. Simple to more complex, and too much too early can be a huge setback for the athletes. Here is a sample of what an 8 step plyometric progression would be for broad jumps, box jumps, and push look like. I used step by because based of what type of athletes you may have. Step 1 may take 5 weeks, maybe step 1 – 4 is easy, and step 5 takes a long time.
Extensive jumps are great to just get athletes back jumping and moving while reducing the total amount of intensity. It is more of a rhythmic movement that helps with blood flow to the working tissues and ensures you do not do too much to fast. You should be coaching those up with the same intent on landing and take off mechanics. Once landing and take off mechanics are locked in the athlete should transfer to intensive jumps (box jumps and broad jumps). That would be steps 3 – 8. With still focusing on being able to land and take off correctly. Then transferring to max effort movements.
