plyometrics

Newbie

Hi everyone

I've been reading quite a bit about plyometrics and the benefits they can have to athletes looking to add a bit of power to their running. So I thought I'd try get a few opinions, seeing as how I've never done them.

Basically I'm curious to know if anybody includes plyometrics in their weekly training? And if so how much difference did they make to their performance? Did they find them a good substitue for going to the gym?
Also, don't they make you more prone to injury as it's easy to overdo it with plyoemtrics?

And seeing as I'm firing off all these questions: can anybody recommend good plyometrics for runners.

Thanks a lot. And sorry for all the questions.

Rob

Member

Hi rob. I LOVE PLYOMETRICS and use it in my weekly training. the last day of the weekly cycle to allow the most healing time.

first thing is you must be somewhat conditioned, do you already do weight training sessions? What is your normal run like, lots of downhills or flat. Any stair work?

Can they cause injury, YES!!!! they should be done properly. if at all possible do them with someone to watch your form, KNEE BEND ANGle primarily, NEVER pass the 90 mark if you can help it, Never let your knees pass in front of your toes when going into a squat position.

http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/plymo.htm

http://www.xcskiworld.com/

Some of these are skate/ski specific sites, but exercises that useable for running.

Some simple ones are, high jumps, add a small bounce inbetween jumps though. High knees, butt kicks, straight leg high kicks
distance jump, careful on the knee bend angle here when you land as in most people got WAY past the 90 degree angle there.

stepdrops, drop backwards off a high step, short wall with both feet and immediately jump back up. as i tell my skating buddies imagine the ground as molten lava, you need to get off it quick.

the main thig to keep in mind is to keep the stress of the skeletal system and keep it on the muscles instead.

Newbie

Hi HyperAshel

Thanks for the reply and the links to those sites.
I have been doing weights for a while but have this theory that the best way to improve my running is just by running. Plyometrics seemed like a good way of doing that especially seeing as how my last gym session led to a strained adductor muscle.
In terms of my normal runs, I do my recovery runs on flat surfaces and all my others on hilly terrain or offroad trails. But no stair work.

I'll try the exercises in your post and take your suggestions to start off slowly and properly, keeping as much strain off the skeletal system as possible. I'll probably only do one exercise for the first week and then add another with every week until i can do four or five in a session.

Hopefully that'll be the sensible way of doing things.

Thansk again for all your advice and input - much appreciated.

Newbie

I just found out about plyometrics myself fairly recently ... here is a really good site, that talks about plyometrics and many other things of interest to runners:
http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/plymo.htm

I work out (Bow-flex) with a friend of mine who is trying to loose weight 3 days a week, and run 3 days a week. Interesting, the "bulking up" from the bow-flex has slowed down my running a bit (I'm about 5-10 pounds heavier than usual).

One thing I have done though which has had an enormous impact on my hill climbing ablility is this ... I grap 2 free weights (about 25 pounds each), and take the stairs slowely, two steps at a time. I just go up and down the stairs like this ~20 times.

After doing this once or twice a week for about a month I found I could just fly up hills. The improvement was very noticeable.

So I would encourage you to incorporate some sort of weight training, but mainly on the lower body (unless you just want to impress the girls Smile

).

I've also started throwing in some sprint training too (once again see that site).

Sprinting uses an entirely different energy pathway from long distance running ... but it is nice to be able to kick it up at the end of a race.
I do 100m, 200m, and 400m interval training 1 day a week if I can squeeze it in.

Currently though, I've abandoned marathon aspirations and am shooting for the 1/2. My long runs right now are 8.5 miles. It's tough trying to be fast and a long distance runner. Most experts will tell you to be great you need to focus on your sport ... but I prefer to be sort of well rounded I guess.

plyometrics

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