Plyometric Workout

Plyometrics is a huge buzzword today and is important exercise for athletes. If your body has the needed strength and stability, plyometrics will improve your sports power by leaps and bounds.



It doesn't help you to continually get stronger if power development is not there also. Power, or speed strength (how fast your muscles can produce force) is one of the best physical predictors of success in sports. Plyometric exercises help you to increase power.

Here is a good general plyometric workout to improve your sports power and speed.

1. In Place Vertical Jumps, full speed, Double Leg, 3 sets/10, 2 minutes rest between sets

2. Depth Jumps, 2 sets/10, 2 minutes rest between sets

3. Bounding and Lateral Bounding, full speed, 2 sets of each/10, 2 minutes rest between sets

4. Lateral Cone Jumps, full speed, 2 sets/10 each side, 1 minute rest between sets

5. Standing Broad Jumps, full speed, 2 sets/10, 2 minutes rest between sets

6. Dumbbell Calf Raises, full speed, 3 sets/25, 2 minutes rest between sets

Do a plyometric workout no more than 2 days a week because of the full speed intensity of this type of workout.

Avoid knee injuries by perfecting jumping and landing techniques before progressing to full speed plyometric workouts.

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Stopping Speed Improves With Proper Training

Poor stopping speed will make you slow when you need to change directions quickly during a game.



Great stopping speed requires overall body strength, postural control, core strength, dynamic balance and speed strength.

Basketball players, in particular, have many stops, cuts and starts during a game.

The best players (defensive and offensive) are able to decelerate quickly and then accelerate with power in a different direction.

Deceleration is required to stop, slow down, or cut. Deceleration becomes more complicated when you must dribble or kick a ball. That’s why drills should be done with the ball (basketball and soccer in this case). Your body must be aligned properly to decelerate and accelerate with quickness and power. Failure to align your body properly will subject you to injury.

I will use this example: The Side Shuffle

This is an athletic movement common to many sports. If you are moving to your left, your left leg must be in a position wide enough to stop momentum (just wider than the hips).

This is commonly known as the athletic position. Your left foot should also be pointed straight ahead and your ankle should be pointed upward (with weight on balls of feet). Pointing your ankle upward will help avoid sprained/rolled ankles and make the push off powerful.

Your knee should be aligned inside the plant foot to avoid ankle rolls and to take pressure off your hip. One common mechanical breakdown is when the knees protrude far in front of the feet when decelerating.

The hips need to remain level throughout the movement to avoid yo-yoing and inefficient movement.

Control your shoulders (no swaying, etc.) with a strong core. This way, you can decelerate and accelerate with power and efficiency. In the same way, your head should be still (no bobbing and weaving) to allow you to focus on the intended target (ball, goal, net, etc.).

A good strength foundation (including core strength) is needed to maximize power and speed. Now, hurry up and stop!

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Weighted Squat Jumps Improves Speed Acceleration

Weighted squat jumps will definitely improve your speed acceleration and explosive power output. In short, this exercise will make you a better player.



As a kid, I remember playing "street ball" (football) with my friends. The "playing field" was very narrow! The key to being a good player in "street ball" is to be able to accelerate quickly when you catch the ball. If you can make it to the sideline without your opponent's two-hand touch, you have a good chance for a long gainer or even a touchdown.

In sports competition, it is not always the fastest player who makes the play. Players rarely reach maximum speed during a play or sequence of plays because it takes 4-5 seconds to reach maximum speed. Many times, the player who accelerates faster is the one who usually makes the play.

You can train to improve your acceleration speed. One great exercise to do is weighted squat jumps (bodyweight squat jumps should be mastered first).

While sport-specific plyometric training improves power, non-specific power training should not be ignored. Researchers from Canada found that athletes who performed better with weighted squat jumps were the best accelerators at 10 meters.

Therefore, concentric force development (jumping power) is critical to improve sprint acceleration. The first step from a stand-still (or near stand-still) position requires concentric muscle power.

It is important to learn proper jumping and landing techniques before doing weighted squat jumps. Read this post about jumping and landing techniques.

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Ladder Drills Improve Agility And Quickness

Improve your agility and quickness with ladder drills. Practice ladder drills 1-2 times a week and concentrate on doing the exercises correctly. You can add more speed to the exercises as you progress.



In many ways, quickness and agility are more important than straight-ahead speed. A player rarely reaches maximum speed during game competition. Having great change-of-direction speed (agility with quickness) allows you to beat your opponent "to the spot" or recover from mistakes in positioning.

How many times have you seen a player with "not great speed" repeatedly make plays to help the team win. This is not an accident. You can improve your change-of-direction speed with proper training. Read my post that discusses change-of-direction speed in detail.

You can also improve quickness by improving your reaction time. You do this by training to make the right choices as quickly as possible. You can practice reacting to sight or sound cues.

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Run Faster 40 Yard Dash With Explosive Start

If you want a faster 40 yard dash time then you need an explosive start! Millions of dollars or a sports scholarship can be lost by a player who runs a 4.6 second forty yard dash instead of a 4.4 second dash....This event is part of the "interview" process that invited players go through at the NFL Combine.



Take a look at this video to see the correct stance, start and knee punch to get an explosive start!

Just last summer, a middle school client decreased his 40 yard dash time by 2 tenths of a second! That's a huge improvement. Imagine yourself improving your 40 yard dash time from 4.5 seconds to 4.3 seconds! The NCAA Division I coaches would take notice of you in a hurry!

You need to train properly to increase your speed and explosive power!

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Speed Acceleration Training With Towing Sleds

Speed acceleration training with towing sleds is not the place to start when training for acceleration.....it is an advanced training method that can cause more harm than good if your body is not ready for it.



Speed acceleration is important because you rarely reach maximum running speed during a game. So, the player who can accelerate the quickest will make the plays that win games.

Greek researchers found that athletes training with towing methods (sleds, tires, etc.) improved their running velocity over the first 20 meters (i.e. acceleration) but that overall maximum speed did not improve.

The researchers found that unresisted sprint training techniques improved maximum speed velocity more. So, resisted and unresisted training has a place in the overall speed training program.

Finally, the researchers found that towing sleds that were too heavy forced the athletes to use bad running mechanics.

So, for developing acceleration speed in the first 20 meters, towing methods teach you to drive force into the ground, use arm drive and overcome gravity and ground forces.

If you use a tow sled that is too heavy, it will affect your running mechanics. Start with a sled about 10% of your bodyweight. As you progress, you can use heavier sleds as long as your running mechanics are correct.

What's the take home lesson? Experienced athletes with enough strength and power should use speed acceleration training with towing sleds.

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Sport Specific Training--When To Do It

The "sport-specific training" buzzwords have taken the athletic training world by storm.....there is good reason for this. When done right, sport-specific training will definitely improve your game on the field, in the water or on the court. When done wrong, sport-specific training will lead you to many injuries!



Parents should not get too eager to put their kids in a sport-specific training program. Foundational core training and general muscle strength/stability/endurance should come first.

Trust me, I have seen many injuries related to high intensity sport-specific training because the player's body wasn't ready for the demands of this type of training. Don't skip steps A and B to get to step C!

You should do a major part of your sport-specific training during the offseason when you have more time to devote to improving your athletic skills, strength, power and speed. Offseason training also gives you time to recover from the full speed, intense exercises. YOU MUST TRAIN FAST TO GET FASTER AND MORE EXPLOSIVE.....IT IS HIGH RISK, HIGH REWARD!

The exercises mimic the actions made in your sport and strength is developed in the same range of motion used in your sport.

Running exercises also duplicate what you need to compete. For instance, football players would need starting speed, acceleration speed, speed endurance and power. Both training volume and intensity is high during this phase.

Plyometric exercises are also a big part of sport specific training. This is a critical phase for an elite athlete. See this post for common plyometric exercises.

Train hard and smart!

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Standing Long Jump Improves Speed And Power

Improving your standing long jump will also improve your speed and power. A more explosive, powerful athlete will be a faster athlete. Improve both your standing vertical jump and standing long jump and you will be faster and more explosive.



I have written how improving your standing vertical jump height will improve your straight-ahead speed. Using plyometric exercises like squat jumps and weighted squat jumps will help you improve your standing verticle jump and therefore your speed and power.

The NFL Combine 40-yard dash results for the last 10 years shows that those with the best standing vertical jump and the best standing broad jumps have the fastest 40 yard dash times. And, if you improve your

running mechanics, you will be even faster! But, explosive power is very important. DURING MY PLAYING DAYS, SOME OF THE FASTEST PLAYERS ON MY TEAM HAD TERRIBLE RUNNING MECHANICS!

Other than squat jumps and weighted squat jumps, use exercises like depth jumps, distance skips, height skips, leg bounds and ankle hops to improve your vertical and long jumps.

I recommend doing plyometric work 2 times a week and speed work 2 times a week. Strength work can be done 3 times a week. You should do your plyometric work on the same day that you do lower body strength training. Lower body plyometrics would be done before your leg strength work because plyometrics are done with maximum effort.

Train hard and smart!

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Speed Training For Football Players

Speed training for football players is a little different because you have to play the game with pads on and you need bulkier muscles to compete...I know this for a fact because I played football at the major college level! It is a fast, violent game and you'd better be ready to run fast with a purpose!



The best football players (especially the skill position players) have great amounts of strength, speed, agility and quickness.

Straight-ahead speed is not enough. This is the main reason that many world-class track athletes don't make a successful transition to the sport of football.

Playing speed in football is critical. Playing speed is a combination of the following: starting speed, acceleration speed, top-end speed, change-of-direction speed, stopping speed and closing speed. The football player must train for all of these types of speed. Quickness, which is reaction time without hesitation, facilitates great speed.

Some specific demands for being a successful football player on the field are: power (speed strength), starting ability, acceleration, stopping, cutting, stride rate, stride length, sprinting form and speed endurance.

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Improve Reaction Time In Sports

Reaction time is the ability to respond quickly with proper posture and control to a stimulus such as sound or sight.

In many instances, quickness is more important than straight ahead speed. In many sports, maximum speed is rarely reached or needed, but explosive reaction is often necessary. Athletes can improve reaction times by training to make the right choices (choice reaction).

Researchers in France performed a study that proves reaction time is a skill that can be improved and/or learned. The study looked at world class sprinters' reaction times. The main findings were these:

1. Reaction times were quicker as the races shortened (from 400m to 60m).

2. Sprinters in shorter races (60m to 100m) anticipated the starter's gun while runners in longer distance races where happy to respond to the sound of the gun shot.

Experience playing collegiate athletics proved to me that reaction time is critical. Athletes should devote more time to reaction drills in practice. Athletes continue to get faster and faster and the margin of error continues to decrease. If you react quicker than your opponent, it could mean the difference in making the play or getting beat.

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Precondition Muscles To Prevent Injuries

Precondition your muscles (training to train) to prevent or minimize injuries. Muscle areas such as the hamstrings need preconditioning because the hamstrings are prone to injury.

Preconditioning can be done all year to supplement your main training program.

Injury risks like torn anterior cruciate knee ligaments, achilles tendon strains/tears and hamstring pulls can be lessened with proper training.

Eccentric contraction training (force reduction) of muscles can significantly reduce your injury risks.

These exercises help build eccentric contraction strength:

1. Running downhill.

2. Depth jumps (emphasize the landing and hold only).

3. Eccentric muscle contraction weight training (i.e., the lowering phase of a lift). For example, you would lift the weight on a hamstring curl for one count and lower the weight for 3-4 counts.

4. Improving your muscular balance. For example, your quadricep muscles should not be significantly stronger than your hamstring muscles. Your frontside should not be significantly stronger than your backside. And, your left side should not be significantly stronger than your right side.

One-legged and one-armed exercises help you to maintain muscular balance.

5. Range of motion should not be restricted. Do exercises with a full range of motion unless you are in rehabilitation. Rehab exercises are done to restore your full range of motion.

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Sports Injury Prevention

Prevent sports injuries with proper training techniques! Injury prevention is always the best way! If you are an injured athlete, you can't compete! Its that simple! The purpose of your sports fitness training is to give your body the best chance at avoiding injuries while competing at a high level. Here are some tips:



Don't over-train. Over-training is a leading cause of sports injuries. Signs of over-training include slow foot movement, extreme exhaustion and sloppy execution of exercises.

Perform the exercises correctly. If you repeatedly do your exercises the wrong way, you will end up with injuries. Also, the exercises will train the wrong muscles the wrong way. For example, if an exercise hurts, that is a sign that you are injured or you are doing the exercise wrong. You might need the help of a professional trainer.

Don't do exercises before you are ready for them. For example, you shouldn't be doing high speed plyometric exercises before you have adequate core and body strength.

Don't base your exercise program on something you read in a magazine! Also, don't base your exercise program on another athlete's program. Every athlete is different and will have a unique training program. A professional trainer can design a program just for you!

Get a fitness and nutrition assessment done by a professional trainer! This is a very important step to take. Among other things, postural deficiencies, body fat percentage, muscle imbalances and flexibility problems are identified. Also, you need to know if you are eating like an athlete should!

What are you waiting for? Schedule your fitness and nutrition assessment today! It won't cost you anything but your time (about 45 minutes)! Call (512-289-8879) or email me at the bottom of this post! Don't put it off!

Train hard, smart and injury free!

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Lateral Cone Hops Improve Hip Strength and Power

Lateral cone hops will strengthen and power up your hips and gluteus medius. This will make you a more dynamic athletic in the field or on the court.



Use lateral cone hops to improve your power in the frontal plane of motion (side to side motions).

The frontal plane is an imaginary bisector that divides the body into equal front and back halves. The motions primarily involve abduction and adduction (side-to-side motions).

Abduction takes your limb away from the midline of your body and adduction takes your limb closer to the midline of your body. Examples include exercises performed on hip abductor and hip adductor machines. Other frontal plane motions would be lateral lunges, dumbbell lateral shoulder raises and lateral spinal flexion.

Quickness and agility movements made by athletes require adequate frontal plane stability, strength, power, flexibility and balance.

Lateral cone hops are done as fast as possible. Also, your feet should remain on the ground as little as possible as you do the hops. Focus on hopping (not jumping) from side to side (on the balls of your feet) with very little vertical height. You are working to improve lateral power with this exercise and not vertical power. Do 8-10 repetitions per set.

As you progress, you can begin to do single leg lateral cone hops. Train hard and safe!

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Get Muscle Growth With Training And Eating

Get consistent muscle growth with consistent weight training and eating. You have to not only train your muscles but you must also feed your muscles to get growth. You won't get consistent muscle growth without eating enough calories---every day!!



I was talking to a young athlete the other day and one thing became clear---he was not following his meal plan consistently, day-in and day-out. If you are accustomed to not eating much, 3600 daily calories can seem like a ton of food to EAT EVERY DAY!

If you want your muscles to grow, FEED YOUR MUSCLES CONSISTENTLY! Just lifting weights is not enough to grow your muscles and become a lean, muscular athlete! And, on the days you do lift weights, its best to eat before and after your workout. Read my post on Pre- and Post-Workout Nutrition.

You need a sports nutriton plan geared towards muscle growth. It is not uncommon for some athletes to need 5000 daily calories to fuel muscle growth and recovery!

And, you know my take on supplements: try to get the nutrition you need from food. Save your money! Don't depend on supplements to significantly build your body up!

And, to stop your muscles from breaking down (catabolizing) while you sleep 7-8 hours, a night-time snack or protein drink before you go to sleep is needed. When your body is fasting, your muscles will take the hit.

Be sure and download your Free Dumbbell and Medicine Ball Metabolic Fat Burner Workouts and start shaping your body faster!

Other things being equal, a muscular, powerful athlete will outperform a fat, slower or skinny, weaker athlete. Sports Fitness Hut's Fat Blaster Athletic Power Training System will give you your "lean and mean" athletic machine!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
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