Boost Your Game with Plyometric Jumping Drills: Tips from Mundaring & Hills Physiotherapy
If you play team sports like footy, netball, basketball, or soccer, you know agility and explosive power are game-changers. Plyometric jumping drills are a fantastic way to improve your speed, strength, and agility, helping you leap higher, cut quicker, and dominate the court or field. Here are some top tips to get the most out of your plyometric training.
What Are Plyometrics?
Plyometrics, often referred to as “jump training,” involve explosive movements designed to build power by combining strength and speed. These exercises include jumps, hops, and bounds that train your muscles to generate maximum force in short bursts.
For athletes, plyometric training enhances key physical attributes like:
- Jumping ability: Improves vertical and horizontal leaps, essential for sports like basketball and netball.
- Agility: Sharpens the ability to change direction quickly, a critical skill in soccer, rugby, and other dynamic sports.
- Speed: Develops faster ground contact times, making you more explosive on the field or court.
Plyometrics strengthen the connection between your nervous system and muscle fibres, resulting in quicker, more powerful muscle contractions. Plyometrics also make your tendons more elastic and springy, which becomes even more important as we get older because our tendon elasticity decreases with age.
Why Plyometrics? If your goal is to be more agile in your sport, then here is your action plan:
1. Start with the Basics
Before diving into advanced drills, ensure your body is ready. If you haven’t already, it is always best to start with 6-8 weeks of leg strength workouts twice per week to build foundational strength and proper form, particularly in pre-season. This would involve compound movements such as weighted squats, lunges and Bulgarian split squats.
2. Progress Gradually
Plyometrics can be intense, so progress gradually to avoid overloading your joints. Start with one session per week, ideally not on a leg day to not double the load on your legs. As your body adapts, increase frequency to twice per week, increase complexity by adding sport specific catching drills, and resistance with bands or weights.
3. Warm-Up is Non-Negotiable
Properly warm up your muscles and joints to reduce injury risk. Dynamic stretches for 5 minutes, and light jogging or skipping are great ways to prep your body for high-impact movement. Static stretches (holding a stretch for 30 seconds+) are not ideal for a warm up as they temporarily reduce the muscle strength and tendon elasticity.
4. Use the Right Equipment
Make sure your equipment matches your skill level. There are a lot of body weight options as you are starting off, such as alternating lunge jumps, side to side ski jumps, or standing vertical jumps. Once this feels less challenging, progress to jumps on and off boxes with two legs, and then only one leg. Eventually, we can start adding weight.
5. Focus on Quality, Not Quantity
It’s tempting to push for lighter exercises with high reps, but plyometric training is all about explosive power. Perform each jump with maximum effort, aiming for 3-5 sets of 5-8 repetitions. …
Whether you’re a weekend warrior or chasing professional dreams, our team can guide you every step of the way. Call Mundaring & Hills Physiotherapy today on 9295 2381 to book your consultation!
Alternatively, to book online, visit: https://waphysiogroup.bookings.pracsuite.com/guest/register
