Plyometric drills not only help you improve your vertical jump, but also help you develop into a stronger, faster, and more explosive athlete. I personally love to incorporate them into my workouts because they make my workouts more intense and challenging (and fun).
Here are some great plyometric drills you can perform on a track or in your backyard:
Bounding
- Start off with a steady jog and gradually speed up to build momentum. Then, push off forcefully with your left leg and bring the leg forward as you drive your right arm forward. Repeat on the other side.
- This looks almost like an exaggerated run. The idea is that you’re leaping forward, but also jumping up to get a vertical motion.
Squat Jumps
The squat jump is steadily starting to be incorporated in most bodyweight movements. But it originally is a plyometric movement that only athletes performed. To perform this movement, stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Push your hips back and bend at the knee to perform a squat. Go as low as you can. Now quickly reverse the movement and jump up. The squat jump is to be performed as quickly as possible.
Hurdle Hops – Forward/Lateral
- Stand with a hurdle in front of you. You can use any object you wish if you do not have a hurdle. A stack of books works great. Bring your knees up and jump vertically and forward over the hurdle.
- Land on both feet and turn around to jump back over the hurdle. You can also perform a forward and backwards jump over a hurdle. Another option is to set up 2-4 hurdles in front of your and jump over all of them in a row.
- Last option is to jump laterally (side to side) over the hurdle.
Box Jumps – Forward/Lateral
- Stand with a sturdy object in front of you. Lower your body slightly as if you were performing a squat. Reverse the position quickly and jump up and onto the object. Jump back down and repeat.
- Make sure that you do not perform a full squat. You can also stand to the side of the object and perform the box jump laterally.
ZigZag Hops
- This is something I used to do all the time in Karate. Place some sort of long object in front of you. My sensei would you usually get a rope and attach to to objects on either sides to create a distance of about 12 inches off the ground.
- We would have to leap laterally and forward or “ZigZag” our way from one end of the rope to the other. You can use a set of books, a bench, or other surfaces. You can also perform this exercise without placing anything between you to jump over.
Split Squat Jumps
- This is another movement that is steadily beginning to become a “regular” in average training programs. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Step forwards with one leg a if you were doing a lunge.
- Lower your body by bending with your knees. Keep your upper body straight and relaxed. Drop down, and reverse the movement exploding and jump upwards. Switch your feet in the air, and land in the lunge position with opposite stance.
- This movement requires a good deal of balance. Start off easy and slowly build up.
Depth Jumps
- For this movement, you will need two sturdy surface. One big and one small. Start off with standing on the smaller surface. Bounce off the smaller surface. As soon as hit the ground, rebound, and jump onto the higher box.
- If you do not have a higher box, you can still do the movement without another surface, but simply jump off as high as you can from the ground.
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