Plyometrics Training Review

SY, AKIO H.

11115440

SPORDEV BRIEF REVIEW: PLYOMETRICS This brief review will be discussing about the studies on how athletes use plyometric training as their training program. Furthermore, it will also take a look at both the positive and negative effects of plyometrics. By the end of this review, the reader should have a clear understanding on what plyometrics is and why it is utilized by athletes. In 1964, a Soviet physiologist by the name of Yuri Verkhoshansky developed and published his first studies on plyometrics. The term “plyometrics” is a compound word with Greek origins. Plyo means “more” in Greek, while metrics means “length”; basically plyometrics is about getting more length out of the muscles. The development and utilization

While some programs help improve general fitness or prepares the body for a specific sport, plyometrics aims to give an athlete an extra physical edge in the sport of their choice through high intensity bursts of movement (Boone, 2010). This is because plyometrics conditions the body to produce fast, powerful, and explosive movements. As a training program, it utilizes a series of stretches, muscle-contracting drills, and rapid exercises that are focused on a specific part of the body that is vital to performance in a specific sport.Plyometrics develops speed and strength, but not in the same way as weight-training or strength-building does. Instead of focusing on having bigger muscles and conditioning for raw physical strength, plyometrics aims at making muscles that work better and more efficiently in order to build strength and speed (Boone, 2010). This, mixed with the dynamic, quick bursts of movement is what separates plyometrics from weight-training and strength-building. Furthermore, with the increased speed and strength, stability in the joints and tendons connected to the targeted muscle structure increases as well (Chimera, N. J., et al, 2004).The plyometric system also trains the brain along with the muscles. Each drill, exercise, and stretch has the targeted muscle load and contracted repeatedly at a rapid pace; these movements are attuned with the brain in order to develop

For example, athletes undergoing plyometric training for 12 weeks consistently increases jump height, anaerobic power, flexibility, and standing jump performance. However, agility and 30 m sprint speed values require more than 12 weeks of plyometric training program in order to see significant gains. Furthermore, age and sport classification will make drastic differences in the measurement of the values stated above. More research is required in order to evaluate these measurements. As plyometrics continues to see use by trainers and coaches in various sports, continuous research updates would need to be carried out in order to identify which sports plyometric training offers significant gains in