Plyometric Exercises

Best Plyometric Exercises Tools
Click Here


5 Drills to Complement Your Workouts With Plyometric Exercises

Are you a basketball player who wants to boost his vertical jump? If so, then you can select from a wide variety of drills, including plyometric exercises, which are ideal for achieving that goal. The key is to improve your strength-to-weight ratios. Ideally, your goal should be a strength ratio of 3:1. To give your vertical leap more life, here are some of the best drills that can supplement your current plyometrics drills:

1. Fiber Retyping

This is an excellent drill if you want to transform Type 1 muscle fiber into Type 2 muscle fiber. The most effective method when creating a regimen of drills is to pair up weightlifting with high-intensity anaerobics. Performing this conversion of muscle fibers will provide you with more explosive power—a crucial ingredient needed to give your vertical jumping a boost.

2. Pool Jumps

Twice a week, do three sets of 10 squat jumps out of chest-high water. What makes this type of plyometric exercises so effective is that the higher out of you water you get, the lower the resistance becomes. This will help to improve your hopping ability significantly. Technically, this exercise isn`t classified under plyometrics since there`s no genuine stretch reflex.

3. “Reactive” Viking Throw

Usually the use of medicine balls is classified as plyometrics since they are major power boosters. However, the majority of throwing drills aren`t technically included in plyometrics. But it`s still possible to make them as such! The standard Viking Throw exercise involves lowering the medicine ball between your legs and then tossing it as powerfully and quickly as you can—behind your head.

Here`s how to incorporate the exercise into your regimen of plyometric exercises. Toss the ball up into the air, a little higher than the height of your head. Then catch it at a height a little higher than your navel. However, momentarily after the ball contacts your hands, you should perform a turnaround of force.

4. Unloading Jump

This exercise can further help to complement your current regimen of plyometric exercises. The underlying theory is that if you overwork the contractions of your eccentric muscle, then you can implement a more potent concentric contraction. In this particular situation, that`s a jump.

Here`s what to do. First, secure a couple of 10-pound dumbbells. Do a counter-movement jump. Then as you reach the apex of your crouch momentarily before leaping—drop the two dumbbells and then launch upwards. You should perform one set of 5-10 repetitions.

5. Zigzag hops

Stand roughly 1-2 feet away from an agility ladder. Vigorously push off your right and left foot, and then land on the ladder`s opposite side. Repeat this action and land on the other side of the ladder. Continue the process as you advance down the ladder`s length. It`s important to minimize your contact time with the ground, and avoid performing a “double hop” when landing.

These drills can help in creating an effective routine of plyometric exercises and drills that don`t include plyometrics. The Jump Manual is another outstanding source for outstanding vertical jump drills.

Best Plyometric Exercises Applications
Click Here