Without an understanding of intensity in plyometric training, we risk succumbing to survivorship bias; conveniently ignoring athletes who got injured in a process of mixing highly stressful plyometrics in high volumes, whilst citing those athletes who have not yet been broken as a hallmark of the training program’s success.
By the end of today’s blog, you will learn:
The difference between plyometrics and jumping…and why this is important
How to classify plyometric intensity
Definitions-More than Just Semantics
Firstly, the difference between jumping, hopping, and leaping and what would be referred to as a ‘true’ plyometric is more than just semantic.
Athletes get injured because the stress that is applied to them exceeds their ability to tolerate it.
Improving our understanding of where our chosen jumping and rebounding exercises sit on this continuum is physical stress is crucial to understanding how to adjust the volume accordingly.
Plyometric variations which are ‘low stress’ activities, can be performed in higher volumes, whilst the reverse is true for ‘high stress’ plyometric exercises.
A true plyometric is any activity that involves a stretch-shortening cycle (in overly simplistic terms imagine pulling back on a rubber band before releasing it) and an element of ground contact time (i.e. how long an athlete spends on the floor between repeated efforts).
Classifying Plyometric Intensity
Generally speaking, rebounding exercises (i.e. true plyometrics) tend to more stressful than singular jumps, hops or leaps.
I use the phrase ‘tend to be’ not to sit on the fence, but because the intensity of plyometrics (i.e. the training stress) can be determined by answering 4 questions from Mike Young’s presentation at the 2017 Child to Champion conference:
Did the athlete fall a great distance? (you will fall further by performing a tuck jump vs a jumping onto a box?
How fast was the athlete moving? (you will be moving faster in repeated tuck jumps than gently ticking over with a skipping rope)
How springy was the athlete? (Did they rebound off the floor more like a beach ball or a bouncy ball? Elite high, long, and triple jumpers will not fold like a deck of cards during intense rebounding activities, just don’t expect the same ‘springiness’ off of a 10-year-old who struggles with a consistent squat pattern)
How was the load distributed (single leg, such as hop, bound or leap, double leg such as jump, or asymmetrical such as a staggered stance jump)?
Any exercise designed to improve rate of force production should be done with the attempt to move the body as fast as possible, meaning the rest period between sets should enable you to at least maintain force output.
Highly experienced jumpers will need much more rest than 10-year-old performing hop scotch…but if the jump height, distance or speed of the floor slows you may want to consider giving your athletes more rest or lowering the reps.
With this framework for classifying plyometric intensity in mind, we can begin to map out the plyometric aspect of a long-term athletic development program,. If you would like a free copy of my Plyometric scheme of work that I have looked to implement within a school curriculum, use the contact tab of my website to drop me a message
In part 3 of this plyometric blog series, I will be discussing the finer details of how to put together a plyometric program for the youth athlete
Key Take Homes:
Even non-plyometric jumping activities (e.g. standing long jump for maximum distance, counter movement jump for maximal height etc) can be incredibly stressful on the body if an athlete has not been taught how to land efficiently
The ‘stress’ of a plyometric activity can be estimated using 4 questions (Did the athlete fall a great distance? How fast was the athlete moving? How stiff/springy was the athlete on ground contact? How was the load distributed?)
Check the brakes work before you work the accelerator (learn to land properly before you work on jumping and/or rebounding exercises)
Key Resources
Plyometric Implementations to Decrease the Likelihood of Injury
Jump Higher Punch Harder-Reactive Strength Training for Boxers
NASM Essentials of Sports Performance Training Chapter 8-Plyometric Training Concepts for Performance Enhancement
About the Author
Todd Davidson is a UKSCA accredited strength and conditioning coach and qualified P.E Teacher who has gained experience with scholastic athletes Olympic athletes and everyone in between. Todd's passion for improving the physical literacy of the next generation, and athleticism within adults, comes from his belief that strength and conditioning should not be a service that is solely reserved for the sporting elite. If you would like discuss anything in the content presented, or have any questions relating to your own performance goals, please get in touch.