Are force vectors something that coaches should incorporate into their thinking when devising a programme for their athletes? Yes, but while I definitely believe that coaches should consider force vectors and force vector specificity when prescribing training for their athletes, I also want to emphasize that I don’t believe there is anything special or magical…
Understanding the physical capacities of athletes is an important role for many people working in sports performance. In some sports, displaying these physical capacities is a key part of the player recruitment process. Let’s take the NFL combine as an example. While athletes perform on-field workouts that resemble some of the dynamic aspects of the…
Finding ways to improve vertical jump (VJ) performance is a popular talking point among coaches and athletes. This ultimately comes down to the correlation between variants of a VJ and athletic performance during competition, namely, sprint and change of direction tasks [1,2]. Traditional strength training, weightlifting, plyometrics and ballistic training are effective methods of improving…
The principle of specificity would lead us to think that horizontal jumping exercises transfer to horizontally oriented tasks such as acceleration, while vertical jumping exercises transfer to vertically oriented tasks such as CMJs and max velocity sprinting. Is this the case? It is largely the case, but what we consider to be an appropriately specific…
High performance sports training and testing environments usually are equipped with barbells, dumbbells and selectorized strength machines. In the last 10 years or so, the force platform (two, if you’re lucky enough to have a “big” budget) has become a mainstay in the training room for, at minimum, countermovement vertical jump (CMJ) testing and monitoring.…
Accentuated eccentric loading (AEL) is a newly popular strength & conditioning technique based on the idea that muscles can withstand more force when they are lengthening (the eccentric phase) than when they are isometric or shortening (concentric phase). Between the brilliant design of the human muscle and S&C coaches doing what S&C coaches tend to…
Low amplitude plyometric training, or extensive plyometrics, are variations of jumps that require low force output, and therefore elicit a low amplitude jump height. These variations are typically associated with extensive or high volume prescriptions, and will usually demonstrate reasonably quick contact times due to the easy yielding they present the athlete. Low amplitude plyometrics…
Having spent over 15 years working in professional rugby union, countermovement jump (CMJ) and the reactive strength index (RSI) have always been significant KPIs. For backs, the relationship between these jump measures and measures of speed performance placed them high on the list of development priorities. RSI and CMJ are similarly important across the broader…
The previous article of this series put forward ideas about working back from sport and positional demands to identify the relevance of different plyometric and jump training interventions for athletes. Practitioners can more clearly determine these demands by examining several factors including stance, contact / contraction times, direction, approach and surface. All of these affect…
The Plyometric Continuum is an easy-to-follow, graded system of progression for all athletes to build competency steadily by exposing them to more and more complex jump and land variations, on their way to true plyometrics. The common concept of a true plyometric is one with a low contact time, and true plyometrics are therefore highly…
This Live focuses on plyometrics and jump training and features three experts in this area, Dana Agar-Newman, Boo Schexnayder, and Joel Smith. We discuss – Understanding jump training intensity Programming jump training with different sports Structuring strength training in and around jump training Jump testing options Jump training based on movement strategy RSI – understanding…
Plyometric and jump training is a very popular topic in high performance sport, with many differing views on training and assessing different types of jumps. To tackle this topic, I will present a series of three articles, each addressing a critical consideration for sports performance practitioners: 1) working back from the sport, 2) assessing and…
Apart from current doping scandals and the controversial handling of such detrimental actions, there’s no hotter topic these days in the athletic development world than load monitoring. While load monitoring should be all-encompassing, certain advancements in technology have made some variables far easier to monitor, while others either fall by the wayside or are put…
This Live focuses on plyometrics and jump training and features three experts in this area, Eamonn Flanagan, Boo Schexnayder, and Joel Smith. We start by analysing the famous Verner Günthör videos which show the shot putter performing a variety of jump training exercises. We then move onto chatting about performing jump training with team sport athletes, heavier athletes and the…