Plyometric's giving great results

[Docmattic]

I recently added plyometrics to my leg days in order to increase my vertical leap. It consists of two leg days a week with two exercises involving heavy weight and 4-5 exercises of plyometrics. The first day i start with plyo and move through to weights last. On the second day i start with weights and leave the plyometrics untiil last.

I have been at it for two weeks now (4 sessions total) and have literally added 4 inches to my vert. I have my doubts that I will keep achieving the results at the rate i am, but it does drive me to try my hardest each session.

However, this has me thinking....if i react this well to plyometrics for my legs, are there similar techniques i can use for the upper body?

 

[CJ_Xfit89]

Look at plyo push ups.
Have 2 equal height objects either side for Push up, drop in between gap, and explode back up onto the objects....

ZiR Red is the king for this answer.
He is amazing with sport applied science and movement physiology. Seek him out and let him know i sent u doc...how u been anyway bro? What you taking these days?goals?

 

[Docmattic]

yeh man, ive been good. How abotu u?

I started andromass, but hurt my back bad on the shoulder press and stopped at the end of week one (still got 3 weeks of pills left). I got that all better and started this jump program so i dont have to lift heavy and can still achieve something while i strengthen my lower back. Goals at the moment are to keep the rest of my body in shape while i increase my verticle. So far so good but I think i have to ease back on bread a little and eat a few more veggies so i can keep my abs. I have to find a nice balance.

Ive done those pushups before actually. They are really quite exhausting. I completely forgot about them. I'll try them on Thursday (next chest day). Hopefully Zir Red finds this thread.

 

[ZiR RED]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

There are a number of plyos you can do for the upper body, but just remember, plyometric workouts should not be overly fatiguing. You should end the plyo portion feeling invigorated if anything.

We use a lot of medicine ball throws and tosses for upper body power development. Med ball chest passes, forward over head throws, sprawl ball, etc. You can also perform explosive pull ups or supine rows. I like to start each weight workout with a few sets of plyometrics as part of an activation warmup. So plyometric pushups for bench press, concentric jumps for squats, reverse over head throws for cleans, etc.

Br

 

[Docmattic]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

There are a number of plyos you can do for the upper body, but just remember, plyometric workouts should not be overly fatiguing. You should end the plyo portion feeling invigorated if anything.

We use a lot of medicine ball throws and tosses for upper body power development. Med ball chest passes, forward over head throws, sprawl ball, etc. You can also perform explosive pull ups or supine rows. I like to start each weight workout with a few sets of plyometrics as part of an activation warmup. So plyometric pushups for bench press, concentric jumps for squats, reverse over head throws for cleans, etc.

Br

Thanks for those tips ZiR RED. I did some supine rows to kick off my back workout last week-before i contracted a cold- and ended up bb rowing more than i usually do comfortably. The supine rows are however harder than they sounded.I found it hard to get my chest (sternum) to touch the bar each time. I'll have to try some of the other exersises you suggested when i get back in the gym.

I have been thinking for another exercise that may improve my shot. If i lay on the floor with a medicine ball and took basketball shots towards the roof, would it be logical to think that my range would improve?

 

[CJ_Xfit89]

Just think sport related movements that are Explosive bro...

Look for some kettlebells too man

 

[ZiR RED]

I have been thinking for another exercise that may improve my shot. If i lay on the floor with a medicine ball and took basketball shots towards the roof, would it be logical to think that my range would improve?

That's a tough one. Most of the strength training we do with basketball players is to increase jumping, agility and speed. Trying to improve shot range with weighted objects is a bit of a double edged sword. Yes, you may improve range, but will it be at the expense of accuracy? If it was me...I wouldn't do any weighted shots. The lying med ball pass is ok, as are chest and over head passes to build strength/power... but stay away from attempting to shoot a med ball

Br

 

[Docmattic]

Thanks.

 

[indysoccer16]

thanks for the name supine rows, I couldn't think of it and everyone kept telling me they were called fat man pull ups lol. I knew I wasn't crazy, but those have been one of my favorite add in's over the last year.

Zir, I have been putting my supine rows at the end of my back workout and doing them with a 5 second negative, then explode up to the bar and a three second hold at the top, should I change it to before my workout and just do them regularly?

 

[ZiR RED]

If you are going to do them as plyometric or dynamic exercise, then do them first. So, explode up, hold, then let the eccentric be at a normal tempo (1-2 seconds).

If you are going to do with as a strength/hypertrophy exercise, then do them later on.

 

[garythethird]

I'm a huge fan of Squat jump variations.

 

[ZiR RED]

Here's the formula for resistance on squat jumps (for sets of 4-5) we use:

Resistance = [(Max olympic squat + Body Weight) x .4] – Body Weight)

Br