Plyometrics have long been looked at as the Holy Grail of
athletic preparation.
The reasons for this are many; however, the two main
reasons are the allure of being able to jump higher and run
faster.
The homeland of plyometrics is the old Soviet Union where
the athletic training was very systemized and planned. An
athlete would often be required to be able to squat twice
his/her bodyweight before utilizing such a powerful tool as
plyometrics.
Not here in the U.S., however. We want to eat the icing
off the cake first and be able to jump higher and run
faster tomorrow, not next year.
The allure of this "icing" is so great that you will see
athletes as young as 5, 6, and 7 years old being placed in
specific plyometric training programs. Because there is
'no evil external loading', these programs are considered
safer for young athletes.
This is very ironic, however, when you consider that at a
minimum the force associated with jumping and landing is 9x
bodyweight. When coupled with an improper programming
protocol, you have a perfect picture for disaster.
For example, a 60 lb young athlete performs 3 sets of 10
jumps which equal 16,200 lbs of total force being exerted
on his/her body. This high degree of force is exactly why
plyometrics needs to be the icing on the cake, not the cake
itself.
Even knowing that, I am sure there will still be coaches
and parents who insist upon entering their kids into
plyometric sport development programs. In that case, here
are key points to be aware of:
1. Plyometrics should not be done on a daily basis. Two
or three times per week is usually plenty.
2. Plyometrics should be done in low volume sets, usually
3-5 repetitions per set. If your child is doing 10, 20, or
30 jumps per set, he/she could be overtraining or, worse,
inviting injury.
So if plyometric aren't the answer to turning your son or
daughter into the next Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, or
Michelle Wia. Then what kind of training should your
youngster be getting to guide them in their athletic
development. Well for the answer for to that we need to
return the good 'ol USSR format.
They really knew what they were doing, when it came to
athlete development, their concept was to start general and
then move toward specific training as the young athlete
developed. With the goal of exposing the young athlete to
many different types of training this allowed for a great
overall development in many different movement patterns and
activity. Ultimately result in well round athlete, that
once inserted in to a specific training regime, would truly
excel.
Contrarily the trend here in the USA particularly during
the new millennia is for these young athletes to start
specific at a very early age. Too early in fact, which in
many cases will lead to burnout, overuse, and quite
possibly injury; all which are results that I am quite sure
none of us want to see.
The message that I would really like you to take away is
that just because an activity uses only bodyweight doesn't
mean that strong forces aren't involved. Remember,
sometimes we need to eat our vegetables before we get to
the cake and, best of all, the icing on top.
----------------------------------------------------
Troy M. Anderson is the owner of Anderson Training Systems,
LLC, a fitness coaching business based in Tempe, Arizona.
Troy is often referred to as "the MacGyver of coaching" for
his unique ability to build effective fitness programs
using only the most basic equipment.
For more articles and instructional video , visit
http://www.atscoaching.com
Fitness Ain't Pretty-RESULTS ARE!
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