I skipped a day since I’m still under the weather and I did 5 hours or drills and scrimmage with my volleyball friends yesterday. I was eager to hit play today since I’m familiar with the title. I know of only two sports where plyometrics is core to their training program: Basketball and Volleyball. I won’t hold against the P90X producers that fact that they did not mentioned once volleyball throughout this routine. I’ve come to accept that my sport is not as popular as others. However, where else can you show off a ripped torso and your stellar jump if it’s not in the sand during a nice summer day?
Plyometrics is without a doubt a great workout and a must have for this series. The progression is well balanced with a good mix of jumping, lateral moves and stretches. A typical plyometric routine includes depth jumps. Not here. This routine has a combination of fast burning jumps, squats, leg swings and lunges with ample variety to be as intense as you want and produce visible results. You have 6 sequences, each one with 4 exercises. Each exercise is performed for 30 seconds, some for one minute. The movements are not too coreographed so just about anyone can adapt to get into the rhythm with a jazzy music background.
Experts claim an average of 4-8 inches improvement from adding plyometrics to your training program. I’m eager to see the progress and motivated as this will get me closer to my tournament goal for next summer. For people over 35 who want to Bring it! as far as jumping, this routine is low impact enough to fit anyone’s legs. My wife is more of a long-distance runner. She noticed a great degree of inner thigh and butt burn which is what laddies like. Overall a good day, we pushed each other to complete all moves and avoid too much (<10 seconds in some parts) slacking. I skipped volleyball play today.
Again, this workout gets a VERY high mark for cardio and leg intensity. I hear that over 70% of jump comes from your quads. This is a quad killer and so you should see visible jump improvements. Top sports performance demands that you consistently play at 80% of your max throughout your event. This is a tall order when all your jumps must be at least 80% of your max height. Your competitive advantage will not come necessarily from leaping a foot higher, but rather because of the consistency and endurance. This alone will make you a fierce competitor. My jump has increased, but again, my greatest payoff from this routine is my ability to sustain this consistency and look effortless. This is priceless!
Plyometrics score: A for cardio, B+ for jump training.
