Plyometrics

[Veronica]

I love doing plyometrics. Today's activities were to jump onto a step - first round nine steps, increase a step each round - jump off the step and then immediately jump across two 14 inch hurdles. Not hurdling though, jumping.

My other plyometric set was to side jump the two hurdles then do a squat. Each round was 40 total jumps and twenty squats, very tiring but fun.

Veronica

[Catrin]

I love doing plyometrics. Today's activities were to jump onto a step - first round nine steps, increase a step each round - jump off the step and then immediately jump across two 14 inch hurdles. Not hurdling though, jumping.

My other plyometric set was to side jump the two hurdles then do a squat. Each round was 40 total jumps and twenty squats, very tiring but fun.

Veronica

This sounds like a lot of fun Veronica. I assume you are jumping with both feet at the same time? Hopefully that doesn't sound like a silly question. I've been struggling with doing this - probably because I don't trust my body for jumping just yet. I've the lower body and core strength, just have to get my head around it.

What are some other plyometrics you enjoy? Monday morning we were doing jumping split lunges holding a dynamax ball between short sprints and a couple of other weighted exercises.

[Veronica]

Sometimes it is with one foot, but not when I have a race coming up. Anything one legged fries my legs for a couple of days.

Veronica

[Catrin]

Sometimes it is with one foot, but not when I have a race coming up. Anything one legged fries my legs for a couple of days.

Veronica

I can imagine, frankly for me it is hard enough to do it with both feet...I still think it is a body-trust thing, at least for me. Of course, I've not jumped for most of my 52 years...

[Veronica]

I really didn't like it when we started. It was hard, I felt uncoordinated...

but now I'd spend my whole hour just doing plyos if she'd let me. But nooo... I have to do leg press and extensions and hamstring curls and and backward lunges holding a weight and kick at the end. Actually those were kind of fun because of the balancing.

I know my head definitely has to be in it. I always step up on the step before I jump on it. When it starts getting high - 11 is the beginning of high - I swing my arms a lot before I jump, usually three times. Last week my trapezoids were killing me because I swung my arms so much. One week she made me jump holding a wooden stick on my shoulders so I couldn't use my arms. That freaked me out a bit at first. But I trust her judgement. She wants to push me, but she won't ask me to do something I simply can't do.

Veronica

[Catrin]

He has us do different types of plyometrics on a regular basis, but the jumping onto or over something is the most challenging for me and I hate to do it. I feel awkward, unwieldy and ungainly. However I know it is good for me and I do manage to do it - and he doesn't ask me to jump very high. I just need to get over this - so once I am past my big ride this weekend I am going to start practicing jumping along with my overhead squat press practice.

Backward lunges holding a weight and kick at the end? We did this today - less the kick at the end. I am trying to picture how that works...

[Irulan]

I love all of it.
The first time I jumped up on the big box,I just about peed myself I was so excited.
So, yeah, I love all of them. We start doing lots this time of year for ski conditioning.
Split squat jumps, jump squats, sideways hurdles, lateral bounds
Jump slams with the burley ball
frog jumps(broad jumps) down the indoor soccer field and back- I love these because it shows me how far I've come: sustaining frog jumps for the small field length is no small feat.

[Catrin]

I love all of it.
The first time I jumped up on the big box,I just about peed myself I was so excited.
So, yeah, I love all of them. We start doing lots this time of year for ski conditioning.
Split squat jumps, jump squats, sideways hurdles, lateral bounds
Jump slams with the burley ball
frog jumps(broad jumps) down the indoor soccer field and back- I love these because it shows me how far I've come: sustaining frog jumps for the small field length is no small feat.

Split squat jumps and broad jumps are da bomb, I love those things We've done broad jumps around the 200 meter track and I agree that's no small thing. Your indoor soccer field was likely longer.

Veronica, your description sounds like fun I will have to try that soon - the only thing I've not done is the kick at the end. Once I get past my big ride Saturday I am going to add box jumps to my practice sessions. I am not very good at them - but I think it is because I don't really trust myself. Time to get past the step-ups

[Crankin]

Catrin, I'm like you. My bad depth perception makes jumping up on the step with 2 feet very scary. However, on Thursday, I noticed I was pretty much doing it, just a little bit of a foot lag there. I do use my arms as V described, but just one push, as I am only using one riser! I am so afraid I will fall off the front of the step. I can't describe the feeling, but Catrin, you did it pretty well!
We had to do this thing with one of those long stretchy bands with the handles on the end, hooked onto the ends of a bar on our shoulders; we've done this on the ground, but then she she had us get up on the step. It's hard enough for me to actually get the band onto the bar and then up on my shoulders without it snapping, but trying to do this on the step again made me feel like I was gong to fall. Then, we had to stand on the edge and do side leg raises with this, with the leg hanging off of the edge. I managed the first side, but I could not maneuver to the other side of the step with that band/bar combo, so I stepped down onto the floor and I really couldn't get my balance to get up again, without the band snapping out from my feet or my fear of falling getting to me. I can do the exercise with the bar on my shoulders, one foot extended off of the step with little issue, it's adding in that band. I actually did the second side on the floor.
Doing this stuff stresses me out no end. I know it's good for me, but when I look around, the only other people who can't do this are people who are very unfit. Until recently, I have avoided all things that require my weaknesses, so I keep trying, but I am glad when the instructor skips this.
Of course, all of this is the reason I can't descend fast on my bike, as I end up feeling twitchy and I will be on the wrong side of the road if I don't slow, despite knowing what to do. I can live with that, and my riding buddies just know that while I may be the first to the top of a climb, I'll be the last one down. I keep hoping muscle memory will take over the longer I keep doing these things, but so far, while I can do the plyometric stuff more easily, it has not transferred to my riding.
But, I keep going back for more torture .

[Veronica]

Today was a one legged day. Leg extensions with one leg, hamstring curls with one leg...

I did forward lunges holding a 15 pound weight, but I had to step over an 8 inch hurdle before doing the lunge. The step back over the hurdle is actually the hard part. That was followed up by forward and backward jumps over the hurdle.

The second round of exercises was mainly 2 legged, squats, ham string curls on the floor with the fit ball. But the jumps were one legged side jumps over the hurdle.

Veronica

[Irulan]

Crankin, I'm just curious: do you work out at the kind of place where you can talk to the trainer about your weakness/apprehension and work with them to build strength and confidence in those areas?

[Crankin]

With the one that has us doing this stuff, yes. She knows my weaknesses from when she had us standing on the flat part of the Bosu in circuit training. I had to hold onto her! I was not the only one, though. I did progress to being able to get up on the thing and sort of crouch. I couldn't stand up though. But, it's 5:30 in the AM. I really just want to get in and out. I have improved a lot, and I feel stronger. Balance is never going to be my strong suit, but I am glad I started this, even though it's 20 years too late. It's all tied up in my laterality, visual perception, and spatial ability, all of which I have very little. I am doing all of this balance stuff in a class in a very basic, no frills Gold's Gym. I used to belong to a very fancy full service gym/club, but I quit when I went back to school. I could not afford any long term personal training there, although I did a couple of rounds, none of which addressed balance, just strength.
I just keep focusing on what I *can* do, compared to in the past. And I come from a long line of uncoordinated people!

[bluebug32]

Veronica, just curious how you fit the plyos into your training week? Do you combine them with other strength training or do them on days when you ride? I always have so much I want to do off the bike, but when I do the exercises then I have to wait another day to feel recovered enough to train on the bike.

[bluebug32]

I love doing plyometrics. Today's activities were to jump onto a step - first round nine steps, increase a step each round - jump off the step and then immediately jump across two 14 inch hurdles. Not hurdling though, jumping.

My other plyometric set was to side jump the two hurdles then do a squat. Each round was 40 total jumps and twenty squats, very tiring but fun.

Veronica

Just curious how you fit the plyos into your training week? Do you combine them with other strength training or do them on days when you ride? I always have so much I want to do off the bike, but when I do the exercises then I have to wait another day to feel recovered enough to train on the bike.

[Irulan]

I alternate, typically I bike on non-workout days. There have been time when I've gone out mountain biking later after my workouts, and as long as I fuel correctly and am not doing something "epic" I can manage.