Speed And Agility Training And Plyometrics
The purpose of this article is to function as an introduction into the relation between speed and agility training and a practice known as Plyometric training. You will learn what plyometrics are, what role they play in your speed and agility training. You will also learn and what are some of the benefits you can expect when corectly introducing plyometric drills into your speed and agility training.
Just tell what plyometrics are already!
Plyometrics are a type of exercise originally used in the Soviet Union and adopted due to its high training effect. The goal of these exercises is to better link speed to strength resulting in an increase in power output.The theory goes like this: if you use the same strength, faster, the power will improve. If you use more strength, faster, the power will be geometrically higher.Just to give you a practical example of plyometric training application, think of basketball. In this sport plyometrics are used to increase the running vertical jump of the athlete.
The foundation of plyometric training is simple:
- harnessing your bodies ability to absorb and store force;- releasing that force quickly (resulting in spetacular power output);
The sports that can derive the most benefit from plyometrics are those that involve either throwing, kicking, jumping and lifting. Ex: football, basketball, soccer, power lifting, dick throwing etc.
Plyomentrics can also Influence Speed and Agility
The effect of plyometrics is twofold: it not only strengthens your joints, tendons and muscles, but it also trains your nervous system to react more efficiently. This crosses over into improvements in speed and agility — gains are improved in individuals who already have good muscular development.
The short term improvements are almost completely atributable to the specific training of the nervous system that plyometrics produce. This is why it is critical to perform plyometric exercises following these guidelines:
never train when in a fatigued state
* perform with maximum concentration and focus for each rep
* keep the rep number low (no more than 20 regardless of the exercise used)* keep the set number low (no more than 3 sets regarding the exercise)
Drill this into your head: Train HARDER, not looonger.
Good nutrition is very important for the long terms gains that come with the practice of plyometric training. This is because these long term gains are based on modifications in your body structure. The structure of your muscles and tendons will be modified.Plyometrics will make your muscles and tendons more springlike.
Here is an explanation of how a plyometric movement works:
* first the body absorbs and stabilizes the force from a negative (eccentric) contraction
* as it does this, it loads up your muscles and tendons with force (think of it like a compressing a spring)
* the spring unloads and the body (for legs) or an object (for arms) is propelled with astounding speed
Here’s an example,when you cock back your arm to throw a rock the natural thing you do is to first cock your arm backwards. The effect of this is that the muscles of your arm and shoulder muscles lock, forcing your tendons to stretch thus storing a lot of force in those tendons and essentially turning them into loaded springs. When you throw, the stored force is released, allowing the rock to be accelerated at a rate which is higher than your normal rate of force development.
What really popularized plyometrics back in the seventies was the fact that it produced results and soviet athletes started to dominate many athletic fields. The beauty of plyometric training is that it allows you to make your muscles and tendons behave more like elastic bands or springs — storing force and then releasing it. And the fact of the matter is that before this, there was no known way to train for these aspects — leading many people to believe that such acts as a running for height jump were completely genetically driven abilities.
As I said before, the more you use this type of training the more you will also develop an inherent springiness in your muscles and tendons. Coupled with an increased nervous system learning on how to corectly perform the movement at higher speeds, you can expect to see massive improvements in your speed and agility.To further support this process you should also learn about:speed,agility and protein
The question is: how do I adapt the principles of plyometric training to my speed and agility training? The answer is, and you aren’t going to like it, by tailoring your plyometric training to the specific speed and agility requirements of the sport that you are practicing. This is a long discussion and goes way beyond the scope of this article. Click here to learn more about: Speed and Agility Training
Article recap:
* what plyometrics are
* how plyometrics work
* the role of plyometrics as part of your speed and agility training
* the benefits you can expect when introducing plyometric drills into yours speed and agility training
I also recommend you check out this article and learn this very usefull exercise for speed and agility training and preventing injuries.
Tags: agility training and speed exercises, plyometric training speed and agility, plyometrics for speed and agility training, speed and agility training