Plyometric Exercise
Plyometric workouts are aerobic activities that improve your strength, speed, and stamina. They require you to use your muscles as hard as possible for brief periods. Plyometric training and this exercise, commonly referred to as jump training, are typically designed for highly skilled athletes or individuals in optimal physical condition. Nonetheless, those who enjoy increasing their fitness level might also engage in them.
What are plyometric exercises?
The tendons, ligaments, and lower-limb joints—particularly the knees and ankles—can be stressed by plyometric exercises. To perform these exercises safely and successfully, you must possess the requisite strength and level of fitness. Work up to plyometric exercises gradually if you plan to incorporate them into your training regimen. Gradually increase the duration, difficulty, and intensity of the exercises.
If you want to increase the intensity of your workouts, we suggest including plyometric activities in your daily regimen. These challenging exercises have the potential to enhance any session and offer significant advantages.
Plyometric exercises are strenuous and demand that you generate a lot of force quickly. The anaerobic system, which powers your body during intensive exercise that you can’t sustain for longer than a few minutes at a time, is involved in the movements.
Even if you are unfamiliar with the phrase, you are probably already familiar with plyometrics. Plyometric exercises include the box jump, burpee, hands-release or plyometric push-up, and the pop squat.
You may have included plyometric exercises in your training regimen or as a way to be ready for a sport that demands a lot of explosive movement, such as track, basketball, or soccer. Or perhaps you haven’t tried these difficult plyometric workouts yourself, but you’ve seen others do them. Furthermore, you are not obliged to perform this exercise in a gym.
At home, you can experiment with different plyo workouts using only your body weight. Additionally, there are many benefits to including plyometric exercises in your program. Take precautions.
What kind of exercise are plyometric moves?
Because plyometric workouts focus on performing explosive activities at maximum effort (or almost maximum effort), they are incredibly strength-enhancing exercises. Because plyometric exercises require your muscles to work hard to perform flawlessly, they are also effective for increasing your power. Additionally, because plyometric exercises are intense and will quickly leave you out of breath, they can also be considered cardio exercises. For this reason, they are frequently included in HIIT workouts.
Plyometrics is often mistaken for an isometric exercise method. Plyometric exercises resemble isometric exercises because they need rapid motions and both eccentric (lengthening) and concentric (shortening) muscle contractions. In contrast, muscles in an isometric movement remain extremely immobile during the movement.
For the most part, plyometric exercises are whole-body movements that target specific muscle groups. Jumping lunges, pop squats, and tuck leaps are just a few of the plyometric workouts that emphasize your lower half and core. Plyometric exercises that focus on the upper body include plyo push-ups and forceful medicine ball throws.
What are the benefits of plyometric exercises?
Plyometric exercises assist develop the strength and efficiency of a person’s muscles. Among the possible benefits of this training procedure are:
- increased muscular power output
- increased muscle-squeezing force while using less energy
- Increased muscle contraction speed or overall speed
- Increased capacity for quick direction changes, which fitness experts may call agility
- Better overall control while stopping and starting activities
- Increased height for jumping
- decreased chance of joint and muscle injury
- helps in weight loss
A person should follow a customized training plan while working with a trainer. They might concentrate on the particular areas they wish to improve by engaging in various activities. For example, a baseball player could want to focus on drills that could help him sway a bat more forcefully or throw a ball farther. However, a football player may need to focus more on lower-body activities that promote running speed and quick direction changes.
Plyometric exercises have a lot of benefits that may persuade you to include them in your fitness regimen. They can help improve coordination, strength, speed, endurance, and agility. Players can also increase their rate of force generation, which is their body’s ability to produce a lot of power rapidly and strengthen their tendons. For athletes whose activity requires them to execute quick, forceful movements, such as volleyball players or track competitors, this can be helpful.
Because plyometric training increases your body’s capacity to swiftly absorb stress, it can also help reduce your risk of injury in both sports and the gym. When the body moves outside of its controlled range, most injuries occur. In beach volleyball, for instance, you risk pulling a muscle, tendon, or ligament if you leap up to stop the ball and fail to land back on the floor with proper technique. With good plyometric training, you can reduce your chance of injury in sports and fitness settings by improving your ability to actually and securely absorb stress.
Another fantastic benefit of plyometrics is that they are reasonably priced. Because they are high-intensity activities that can provide numerous benefits more quickly than lower-intensity sports, they are a wonderful option if you are pressed for time but still want to engage in some serious training.
Are plyometric exercises safe?
Plyometrics has many benefits, but there is a huge catch: because they are a high-impact training method that requires maximal effort, there is a greater risk of injury with these routines than with more conventional strength or cardio exercises. Thus, understanding the core form of an exercise, such as lunges, is essential before integrating a plyometric component, such as jump lunges. This suggests that you should generally hold off on doing plyometric activities until you have some experience if you’re new to working out. The exercises should be performed in their traditional versions for beginners to get comfortable with first.
In plyometrics, it’s not just about perfecting a move. Another important part of the maneuver is the coming down, or the last part. I always begin plyometric training by working on landing mechanics. I want to demonstrate how to land properly before I teach someone how to jump. This entails landing gently and effectively, absorbing shock, and then returning to the earth.
For instance, appropriate placement for a jump squat would include engaging your core, keeping your knees slightly bent to prevent them from collapsing inward, arriving softly (as opposed to letting your feet touch the ground), and maintaining a strong upper body to avoid swaying back and forth. Make sure you can confidently execute the complete movement in addition to landing mechanics before incorporating a plyometric element to make it more intense.
Another crucial piece of safety advice is to always warm up before beginning any type of plyo workout because doing so in the cold increases your risk of injury. Experts typically like to incorporate these exercises near the middle or conclusion of a workout to ensure his body is ready for them. When starting plyometric workouts, be mindful of what your body needs. If you see a decline in your form, you can either cease performing plyometric activities entirely (e.g., go back to ordinary lunges instead of jump lunges) or lower the intensity of the activity to restore appropriate form (e.g., lower the height of your box jumps).
How can plyometric exercises be worked into your fitness program?
I’m eager to perform a plyometric workout and get its advantages. That’s fantastic! However, there are a few things you should be aware of first. To begin with, taking part is “not something you want to do regularly” Your goals and level of fitness will determine how long you should spend on plyo exercises each week. Plyo novices should, in general, start with one to two days of plyo practice each week and gradually increase the level of difficulty from there.
Make sure you plan enough downtime in between plyo workouts so your body has ample time to recover. If you are too sore from yesterday’s workout to execute today’s plyo session with the right technique, pay attention to your body and adjust your plans accordingly. The injury might result from trying plyo exercises when your body isn’t functioning at its best.
When you are prepared to incorporate plyometric exercises, start with a small number of repetitions. Experts advise a broad beginning point of three to five repetitions. Since you will be worn out, you should reduce the number of reps. To maintain good form and give every plyometric exercise your best effort, if not your best effort, you should also make sure your body has enough time to recuperate between sets and repetitions. Just be mindful of how your body feels and modify your rest intervals accordingly. Your fitness level, your objectives, and the level of difficulty of the specific exercise will all determine how much rest is necessary.
The 3 components of plyometric patterns
Plyometrics affects three phases in every cycle:
- Eccentric Component: The muscles storing potential energy are impacted during this plyometric phase as they prepare to execute a movement. The cocking, loading, yielding, deceleration, or absorption phase are other names for it. When someone drops into a crouch before jumping, that is an example of this stage.
- Amortization component: At this stage, the muscles undergo dynamic stabilization. They go from loading energy and overwhelming gravity to releasing it. Energy loss is more likely to occur the longer this period lasts, but the energy released is more potent the shorter the duration.
- Concentric component: To release the accumulated energy, the muscles must contract during the final phase, known as the concentric element. During a crouching jump, a step occurs when the participant raises himself off the ground and into the air using their leg muscles.
How Plyometrics Works
One of the best ways to relive your youth is to hop, skip, and bounce around the floor. Plyometric exercises replicate those dynamic actions. Plyometrics, or simply “plyo,” was once referred to as “jump training.” There are numerous other applications for this technique. Plyometric exercises, for instance, can help you train for sports like basketball, volleyball, tennis, or any other activity that involves explosive movements.
You will do a sequence of hops and jumps, such as one-leg hops or jump squats. One might climb over cones or leap onto a box or bench. Certain motions will be more rapid than others. When you land a leap, your muscles are pulled instantaneously. That adds even more energy to your next leap. Your muscles are pounded into shape by the combination of stretching and tightening them.
Because of all the leaping, your muscles will need a rest, therefore you wouldn’t undertake plyometrics regularly. If you are not already active, you might need to start with basic fitness exercises and then have a professional instruct you on how to perform the routines to avoid injury. It is a fun alternative to standard power training exercises and increases your muscle power, strength, balance, and agility. Plyometric exercises can be done or you can add a few plyometric movements to your regimen without spending a whole session on them.
Intensity of Plyometrics
This workout will strengthen your muscles, requiring all of your strength. Because the motions are quick and explosive, you should expect to expend a lot more energy than you would during a normal strength training session.
Areas Plyometrics Targets
Core: No. Your core is not the specific focus of this training.
Arms: No. Your arms are not the focus of the majority of plyometric activities. However, you can incorporate upper-limb exercises like plyometric pushups and medicine ball tosses if you enjoy working them out.
Legs: Yes. I hope your legs get in amazing shape with all of your jumping and hopping.
Glutes: Yes. Jump squats and other similar exercises strengthen your glutes.
Back: No. The workout impacts your entire body, although your back muscles are not the main focus.
Plyometrics Workout Type
Flexibility: Yes. Stretching and tightening your muscles to increase flexibility is the foundation of this training.
Aerobic: No. Although it isn’t regarded as an aerobic workout, your heart rate will increase if you repeat your leaps for 30 to 50 seconds at a time without stopping.
Strength: Yes. Increasing your muscle power is the primary objective of this training.
Sport: No.
Low-impact: No. High-impact jumping and hopping are prevalent.
Plyometric Exercises
These plyometric exercises allow you to make your own at-home HIIT plyo workout using only your body weight.
Pop Squat
- Squat by bringing your palms together in front of your chest, flexing both knees, and throwing your hips back. Your feet should be wider than hip-width to begin. Maintain a firm core and apply pressure with your glutes to stand.
- As you stand, place your arms at your sides. Then, leap to bring your two feet together in a hop-in posture.
- Jump your feet apart right away and kneel once more. That’s one repetition. As you continue to complete repetitions, hop once in place between each squat.
- This plyometric variation of the standard lower-body training squat works your quadriceps, glutes, and core.

Split Squat Jump
- As you leap with both feet forward and backward, maintain an engaged core.
- I hope to return both feet to the starting position.
- That’s one rep.
- Similar to the split squat jump, this technique is a little more challenging because you have to change where you put your feet. Additionally, it calls for greater coordination.

Alternating Lunge Jump
- As you leap with both feet forward and backward, maintain an engaged core.
- I hope to return both feet to the starting position.
- One rep, that is.
- Similar to the split squat jump, this technique is a little more challenging because you have to change where you put your feet. Additionally, it calls for greater coordination.

Reverse Lunge to Knee-Up Jump
- Place your feet shoulder-width apart as you stand. Maintaining your arms at your sides near your body, bend your elbows until your forearms are straight out.
- As you move your weight back to the back, bend your knees and drive your butt back into a squat.
- Leap as high as you can. Push the top of your knees toward your forearms while you jump by contracting your core. Don’t bend over; stay upright with your back straight.
- Once you’ve landed, squat again with your knees relaxed and your feet hip-width apart.
- This complex plyometric exercise will work out your entire back and core, especially your lower abs. When you jump or squat, make sure your knees don’t give out.

Jump Squat With Heel Tap
- Keep your feet shoulder-width apart and put your toes slightly outwards. Spread your elbows wide while holding your hands behind your head and keeping your chest open.
- Bend your knees, push your butt back, and shift your hips forward to begin a squat. Maintain a taut core, a flat back, and an elevated chest.
- Leap up and bring your heels together for a brief tap at the top by pushing through them. After landing with your feet in the starting position, drop straight into the next squat.
- This workout improves explosiveness while testing your quadriceps and glutes. The squat is another plyometric version.

Skater Hop
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Bend your right leg forward to perform a right leap.
- Keep your left foot off the ground as you land on your right and swing it behind you. With your right arm swinging behind your back, swing your left hand in front of your body.
- As you jump, swing your left leg back to the left, resting slightly on your left foot and allowing your right foot to swing behind you. With your left arm swinging behind you, swing your right arm in front of your body.
- Proceed, alternating sides.
- This lateral plyometric exercise, which entails rapid side-to-side motion, will work out both your inner and outer thighs.

Burpee
- When squatting, spread your hands shoulder-width apart on the floor.
- Hop with your hands piled beneath your shoulders and your legs straight out in front of you to form a high plank.
- Lower your body to the floor and push yourself back up to the high plank after bringing your hands back down to the floor.
- After leaping your feet toward your hands, launch yourself as high as you can and lift your arms above your head.
- Land lightly on your feet for one repeat. Go straight down into your following rep.
- Burpees are a plyometric exercise that works every muscle in your body, including your legs, shoulders, chest, core, and glutes.

Box Jump
- Stand on the balls of your feet about a foot away from a box or strong step, keeping your feet hip-width apart.
- To go into a squat, bend your knees and extend your arms straight behind you.
- Swing your arms forward and push through both feet to stand up on top of the box.
- Holding the box with both feet firmly placed, bend your knees a little.
- Take a step down after standing up to start another rep.
- This is an advanced technique, so make sure you have mastered the arm swing and landing stance before trying it on a box. As you land, watch out that your knees don’t bend inward.

Crab Walk to Jump
- With your feet hip-width apart and your core tight, take a tall stance.
- Bring your hips back and bend your knees to drop into a quarter squat.
- Keep squatting, move your right foot to the right while keeping your left foot behind you, and take two additional steps to the right with your right foot.
- To increase your speed, jump forward while extending your legs wide and tossing your arms behind you.
- Repeat this motion on the other side. This is one rep.
- Continue changing your course.
- Power is added by the jump, and your hip abductors are strengthened by the lateral walk.

Single-Leg Deadlift to Jump
- As you stand, place your feet together. Place your weight on your left leg, tilt your torso forward, hinge at the hips, and slightly bend your left knee. Stretch your right leg behind you with your knee bent and your toes pointed toward the floor.
- Keeping your back flat and your core engaged, raise your right hand toward the floor. When you halt, your torso should be almost parallel to the floor. To get as high as you can, push with your left heel while keeping your core taut. Swing your left arm in front of you and your right arm behind you while bending your elbow slightly.
- Start your second rep immediately by lowering yourself into a deadlift after landing lightly for the first one.
- Change to the opposite side after finishing each repetition on the first one.
- This is a plyometric version of the single-leg deadlift, a lower-body exercise that works your back muscles, including your glutes and hamstrings, and improves your core.

Lateral Lunge to Single-Leg Hop
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Take a sharp leftward step. To lower yourself into a lateral lunge, bend your left knee, sit back with your buttocks, and flex forward at the hips. Keep your chest up and your core firm.
- Push through your left heel to stand again, but immediately bring your knee to your chest and leap upward toward the sky rather than placing your foot back on the ground.
- This lateral movement is more akin to ordinary motion, when we move in all directions, not just forward and backward, because you’re working on the frontal plane of motion. Additionally, this exercise will work your quads and glutes.

Hands-Release Push-Up
- Place your hands shoulder-width apart, extend your legs behind you, maintain your shoulders squared over your wrists, and contract your glutes and core to start in a high plank posture.
- With your elbows bent, lower your chest to the ground.
- Push through your hands to straighten your arms, then lift both palms a few inches off the floor. Put your palms back on the ground, and repeat.
- While most plyo exercises focus on the lower body, this push-up-style exercise works the upper body. Your chest, shoulders, triceps, and core are all strengthened with push-ups.
Broad Jump to Burpee
- With your arms by your sides and your feet shoulder-width apart, take a standing position.
- Bend your knees into a squat, take a stride forward, and then land in the squat posture.
- Stretch your arm forward while keeping your hands shoulder-width apart on the floor.
- To create a high plank, kick your legs straight out behind you while maintaining your hands stacked beneath your shoulders.
- Reach down to the floor while bending your elbows.
- As you jump your feet toward your hands and thrust your body back up to a high plank, your lower body should be in a squat. Return to the initial location.
- The wide jump strengthens your lower body, especially your calves, and glutes, and helps you develop explosive power.

Burpee Into Tuck Jump
- Keep your feet hip-width apart and tense your glutes and core.
- Plant your hands shoulder-width apart on the floor, bend your knees, and reach forward.
- Maintaining your hands flat on the floor just behind your shoulders, kick your legs straight out behind you to form a high plank stance.
- You can jump vertically and perform a tuck jump by raising your knees to your chest while hopping in the direction of your hands.
- Repeat right away after landing softly on the balls of your feet with your knees slightly bent.
- Make sure you are comfortable with the burpee and the tuck jump separately and have mastered both before attempting this combination. This move combines two already sophisticated moves.
Wall plyometric pushup
- Often referred to as a “plyo pushup,” a wall plyometric pushup is a nearly vertical pushup that resembles a regular pushup but is performed with an explosive action. There are these actions involved:
- Stand a little distance away from a wall and face it.
- Bend forward and press your hands against the wall while keeping your feet flat on the floor. With the fingers pointing upward, elevate the hands to a height between the upper waist and the chest.
- Bend your arms and use them to push strongly away from the wall. The hands should briefly leave the wall before the body returns to its initial posture.

How Frequently Should You Do Plyometrics
Depending on your training objectives, we recommend plyometric exercise one to two times a week in addition to a strength-based training regimen. As with most training regimens, results would start to show up around 4–8 weeks.
How Long Should You Train Plyometrics
Usually, a session starts with a thorough warm-up, followed by a half-hour of focused firing and movement pattern exercises for the appropriate muscles. Plyometric exercises are quick and accurate, lasting one to twenty seconds, with one to two minutes of rest in between, depending on your degree of fitness.
How to put in the most effort while reducing your chance of injury
- Choose a surface with some give. Try utilizing grass or soil outside, a well-padded carpeted wood floor, or a thick, solid mat (not a tiny yoga mat) to reduce the shock as you land. Avoid jumping on tile, asphalt, or cement surfaces.
- Aim just a few inches above the ground at first. The higher you jump, the more forceful your landing will be.
- Bend your legs as you land. Keep your knees apart.
- Instead of landing solely on your heels or balls of your feet, try to land softly.
Cautions
- Use caution while including plyometric workouts into your fitness routine if you’re a newbie or have any chronic illnesses or ailments. It’s best to have a solid training routine and be in good physical condition before beginning plyometric workouts. Due to the possibility of joint stress, these exercises require strong ligaments and tendons.
- You should gradually incorporate plyometric activities into your program. Start with easy, low-intensity exercises and work your way up to harder ones. Increase the workouts’ complexity and intensity gradually after you’re sure your body can take them.
- If you think plyometric training is too hard for you, try another kind of exercise.
- Consult a personal trainer, exercise physiologist, or other exercise specialist for more details on this type of training. A couple of one-on-one or group sessions could be useful to get you started.
- Make sure you see a trainer at least once a month so that they can evaluate your progress, provide you with guidance, and teach you new abilities. Proper shape is necessary to ensure safety.
- Before beginning a new fitness regimen, speak with your physician. This is especially important if you have any medical conditions, use any drugs, or have been hurt.
Summary
Plyometrics is an activity that uses rapid, strong movements to help people increase their speed and force when doing tasks or actions. In addition to helping athletes improve their performance in their sport, these exercises may also benefit other people.
One should consider working with a personal trainer or other specialist while starting. An expert can help tailor a program to the goals and requirements of the client.
FAQs
How often should I perform plyometric exercises each week?
Depending on your training objectives, we recommend plyometric exercise one to two times a week in addition to a strength-based training regimen. As with most training regimens, results would start to show up around 4–8 weeks.
Which kind of plyometric exercise is most appropriate for a beginner?
Jumping rope is an excellent plyometric workout that focuses on brief, quick ground contact time. It also gauges your height for repeated jumps and coordination as you clear the rope. Start with two minutes of jumping rope, then add extra sets or prolong it.
Can you perform plyometric exercises every day?
You won’t do plyometric workouts every day because the frequent jumping would wear your muscles out. To prevent injury, you may need to begin by increasing your level of fundamental fitness before having a professional teach you the routines if you aren’t already exercising.
Can you gain muscle mass with plyometrics?
According to the study reports, plyometric training may be more successful than previously thought at building muscle. Resistance training, the most successful exercise regimen, had comparable results.
References:
- CPT, J. M., & CPT, C. S. (2023, August 4). 12 plyometric exercises to build explosive strength and crank up your workout’s intensity. SELF. https://www.self.com/story/a-10-minute-fat-burning-plyometric-workout-you-can-do-at-home
- Cronkleton, E. (2019, January 23). How to do 8 different plyometric exercises. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/exercise-fitness/plyometric-exercises
- Tirgar, D. (2024, March 30). Plyometrics 101: Benefits, exercises, and how to get started. Physical Therapy Treatment and Exercise. https://physical-therapy.us/plyometric-exercise/
- Developing Power: pp 121. (2019, August 26). Plyometric exercises. https://www.nsca.com/education/articles/kinetic-select/plyometric-exercises/?srsltid=AfmBOooVdsm1c7iFsY6NSgM9200_VdoVpxgHfDw6IiK8jOUa3Q7UCaf5
- Fletcher, J. (2023, June 23). How and why to train plyometrics. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/plyometrics
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