Box Jumps and Plyometrics - Plyometric exercises refer to those activities that enable a muscle to reach maximal force in the shortest possible amount of time (rapidly apply force to provide and overload to the agonist muscles). The purpose of plyometric exercise is to increase the power of subsequent movements by using both the natural elastic components of muscle and tendon and the stretch reflex. Box jumps and plyometrics are great for developing explosive power, absolute strength, injury prevention (can even be a form of ACL rehab), increasing work capacity, learning how to jump, and learning how to land. [The stretch shortening cycle (SSC) combines mechanical and neurophysiological mechanism and is the basis of plyometric exercise. A rapid eccentric muscle action stimulates the stretch reflex and storage of elastic energy, which increase the force produced during the subsequent concentric action.]
Why we like them so much - Plyometrics are a simple (but not easy) way to improve the production of muscle force and power (mechanical and neurophysiological although research has yet to figure out which one is most responsible for the improvements).
Key Points:
We first start with bodyweight
Relatively simple way to train explosive power!
Great for injury prevention (jumping / landing / deceleration skills)
