Friday, December 9, 2011

Plyometrics and Triathletes

Recently I had a triathlete ask me about plyometrics and then he directed me to a video that he saw on on the exercise he wanted to do. The video consisted of athletes doing jumps up stairs and various types of jumps off boxes than jumping again as soon as they hit the ground (depth jumps).

Plyometrics are great but like any thing else there is a time and place for them and you must progress into them. To start off with the type of plyometrics that this athlete showed me would not be a smart progression.

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Dr. Chu is one of leading authorities on plyometric exercises he defines plyometrics as, "exercises that enables a muscle to reach maximum strength in a short a time as possible." Muscles and tendons have an elastic type nature to them. Body moments involved in activities such as running, use the elastic nature of muscles and tendons to store energy and then release it like much like a rubber band to propel the body forward. This is known as the stretch shortening cycle.

By definition simple exercise such as jumping rope or jumping in place are plyometrics.

What then are the best plyometircs that a triathlete can do? The more one simulates the actual situation they will be competing in the better. Plyometrics that have single leg emphasis can then be seen as the most useful. Beginner examples would be.

1) 1 legged hops
2) skipping
3) high knees
4) high heels

Over time one can progress into single leg push offs ware one leg is on a box and with that leg one explodes directly upwards on the same leg repeatedly. Single leg bounding up stairs is another good option too. Plyometrics emphasizing explosive stepping up onto a boxes or stairs are going to be more cycling specific.

for swimming one can due over head medicine ball throws. An example of an advanced progression for this would be clap push ups.

Advanced plyometrics such as depth jumps, as discussed earlier, may have some usefulness for a triathlete how ever they need to be prepared for such advanced plyometrics. A good rule of thumb is to use is that one must be able to back squat 1 1/2 times there own body weight in addition to having a base of easier plyometric exercises in the lead up to performing higher intensity plyometrics.

Start with 60-100 foot strikes per plyometric session 2 times a week and build this slowly. The most foot strikes with plyometrics a normal age grouper triathlete would want to do in a session would be around 400 2x a week.

Certain studies have displayed plyometrics to be useful for endurance athletes in building better efficiency which can translate into being faster. It is key to progress into plyometrics as improper progression can cause injury as muscles and tendons may not be ready for the demands placed on them. As the saying goes some times you need to go slow to go fast.

Plyometrics and Triathletes

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