Plyometric Checklist

MANY ATHLETES USE PLYOMETRIC EXERCISES BUT ARE THEY BEING COACHED CORRECTLY AND DO THE ACTIVITIES RELATE TO THE NEEDS OF THEIR EVENT?

- John Shepherd

AS COACHES we can often just let our athletes get on with plyometrics, thinking they will do them properly. But turn your back and you’ll often find them chatting and not doing the exercises in a way that will really benefit performance. Here’s a check-list to utilise when “coaching” plyos.

1. Make sure the athlete knows what the exercise is. So many times I’ve said single leg and they do double leg jumps. (Perhaps they don’t listen!). Degree of knee bend is another crucial point – of which more below.

2. Focus on the degree of knee bend. Invariably this should be minimal and there should not be undue preparation for the ground contact. We want the athlete to react to the contact and not delay and then react to power up and forwards, for example (this way the plyometric stretch/ reflex is optimised).