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Archive for “drills” Tag

Power Exercises for Athletes: A Guide to Plyometrics

Your Quick Guide to Plyometric Power Exercises for Athletes

A Quick Guide To Plyometrics

This day in age, you can find a ton of information on plyometrics and power exercises for athletes in seconds.

Books, articles, and blog posts abound, with most discussing the various types of drills that can fall into the category of plyometrics. Considering that plyometrics as a category encompasses nearly any “explosive” exercise, this leads to a LOT of possibilities.

Unfortunately, there is an information shortage when it comes to discussing how to apply and program plyometric power exercises for athletes progressively, which is really what matters in coaching. Here are just a few questions to consider:

  • Do you prescribe 50 contacts in a day of training? 100 contacts?
  • Is it OK to program plyometrics on consecutive days?
  • What kind of jumps do they do? Are some more appropriate for my goals than others?
  • What about medicine ball drills?

This list can go on and on.

Obviously, there are a lot of questions that arise when discussing using plyometrics in your program—and there should be! After all, choosing the right exercises for reaching your athletes’ goals takes careful consideration.

Today, I hope to share with you some fundamental information about plyometrics so you have a better grip on how to use them. But before we start thinking about the number of contacts to use with a particular athlete, there are a couple of things that we need to consider .

Age of the Athlete

Power exercises for athletes

Younger athletes are going to be on a steep learning curve, so it is important that the desired outcome of the drill is known and in place. The technical skill that the drill requires should not be more than the athlete has. As a result, younger athletes do not need high-impact plyometrics but instead should be focused on grooving the motor patterns that are a part of jumping and throwing.

Type of Plyometric Drill

We program all plyometrics for the beginning of sessions during a period that we call “Dynamic/Explosive.” This can encompass a lot of different drills and power exercises for athletes.

At Force Fitness/AR Bloomington, we have 3 broad categories of plyometric drills:

Repetitive Effort Jumps

These drills are of moderate or low intensity, and the focus is on minimal ground contact time. Once the pattern is learned, athletes of all ages can benefit from repetitive effort jumps. Progressions of these jumps include adding external resistance in the form of bands, kettlebells, or weight vests.

Pogo Jumps:

 

Lateral Hurdle Jumps:

 

Maximum effort Jumps

These drills are high intensity: box jumps, distance jumps (broad jumps), and depth jumps all fall into this category. These drills are more advanced and are not usually prescribed for younger athletes. The focus is on the generating the maximum amount of power in the movement.

Box Jumps:

 

Depth Jumps:

 

Medicine Ball Throws

This category can get very broad and includes rotary throws, chest passes, and overhead throws. Divided further, these can be maximal effort, repetitive effort, or combined effort throws (including another skill). Medicine balls are a versatile way to program power exercises for athletes in a number of planes and recruiting many different muscles.

Number of Contacts

When it comes to the number of contacts for these drills, the type of movement must be considered. In general, the quality of repetitions of each of these explosive movement types will diminish over time, so large volumes are generally not prescribed.

As a rule of thumb, keep the number of contacts at or below the following for a given session:

  • Maximum Effort Plyos:
  • Repetitive Effort Plyos:
  • Medicine Ball Throws:

These numbers reflect programming of the drills as part of a larger program; some more aggressive numbers might be used if programming plyometrics as their own day of programming.

Frequency of Training with Power Exercises for Athletes

Power exercises for athletes

The recovery time between sessions for plyometrics varies greatly based on the exercise. Maximum effort plyos require a longer recovery time. To account for that, an easy way to program plyos is to alternate days on which you do max effort and repetitive effort plyos.

So on a 2-day training schedule, one might program max effort plyos and repetitive effort medicine ball throws on day 1, then schedule repetitive effort plyos and maximum effort medicine ball throws on day 2.

Conclusion

Plyos and medicine ball throws are a great way to increase your athletes’ explosive power. I would even go so far as to say they are essential to successful programs.

Use this guide to plyometric training as a starting point off which to build your programming. Also, learn more about power exercises for athletes by viewing our top 4 plyo exercises free video series. You’ll have no trouble progressing your athletes to new levels of performance.

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Speed and Agility Training Program for Youth Football

Making a Speed and Agility Training Program Work for Everyone

There is often a disconnect between what we know is the ideal training for young athletes and what parents/coaches want for them—especially when it comes to a speed and agility training program.

We know through our education and in-the-trenches experience how to devise an athletic development program and implement it with athletes of various abilities and sports interests.

On the other hand, parents and coaches all too often adopt a “results now” mentality, and they’ve been fed loads of misinformation to boot. What are we to do when the opportunity presents itself to work with an entire youth league of athletes with a board president and coaches who have a philosophy that doesn’t match our ideals?

Make sure you keep your focus on their needs by asking questions—and a lot of them. You will gain the trust of the coaching staff when they know you are there to help them versus taking control over any aspect of their practice sessions.

If you do this with care and patience, the outcome can be very beneficial to your business and most importantly to the young athletes involved.

Youth Football Training Program Case Study

Speed and agility training programAfter several conversations with the president of the youth football league and some of his coaches, I was able to ascertain the areas they were most concerned with. They were, in their words:

1. “Revamping the warm up” to get the kids ready to play

2. Agility in small spaces

3. Injury prevention

Once we narrowed it down to these specifics, I could devise a game plan. They did not want the new programming to be intrusive to their practice time or ability to coach football.

Keep in mind the relationship with the president of this youth football league began nearly 2 years ago. Be patient when engaging coaches.

The outcome was to implement a pre-written youth football training program for every age group in the youth football league that the coaches would learn and implement for every practice.

What we gained from this exchange was exposure to every football player from 1st grade through 8th grade and the buy in of every coach. You just can’t buy that type of exposure for your business.

Upon completion of the last practice session, we set a time for the coaches and I to meet in order to troubleshoot any issues they were having.

The Nuts and Bolts of the Speed and Agility Training Program

Our situation was far from ideal. The coaches had limited time to learn their new programs. I only had one practice session with each team, and there was not enough time to include everything I wanted. Therefore, I knew the programs had to be prioritized.

The speed and agility training program had to deliver what the president and coaches asked for, and it had to be simple enough for both coaches and players to learn.

Templates Put into Action for Each Program

Not included are the descriptions and key points for each age group that were provided for each coach.

Pembroke Titans Football Mighty Mites (1st & 2nd Grade)

–Warm Up–
1. Reactive Game or Fun Activity
    a. Simon Says
    b. Tag Variations
    c. Movement Mirroring (coach or each other)
    d. Rhythm Machine (clapping)
    e. Coach’s Choice
2. Monster Walks
3. Bear Crawls
4. Dragon Walks
5. Log Rolls

–Speed/Agility/Strength = Coordination Training–
1. Scramble to Balance 2x Each leg
2. Rats/Rabbits
3. Red Light – Green Light (add football themed lights)
4. Push Up Hold/High Fives (partners)

–Speed and Agility–
1. Dynamic Repeats (run to stop)
2. Dynamic Repeats with Return (run, stop and return)
3. 4 x 4 x 4 Drill (survive for 7 seconds)
4. Bear Crawl to Hand Taps 6:4
5. Forward Crab Walk to Table Top 6:1

–Cool Down–
It is so important to give parents and coaches what they want while staying true to your beliefs as a coach. Below is a perfect example.

A formal cool down is not necessary from a developmental standpoint and static stretching is not advised for this age group. To acclimate the kids to a structure and expectation for future youth football practices, you can put them through the following passive active stretching activities.

1. Cobra 2 Second Hold x 5
2. Alternating Knee Hugs x 5 Each
3. Around the Worlds 2x Each Leg


Pembroke Titans Football Mites (3rd & 4th Grade)

–Warm up–
1. Activity – Game, Laps, etc…Coaches Choice
2. Spiderman 2 x 10
3. Alternating Supine Extension 20 Second Hold
4. Squat to Stand 2 x 5 (squat, knees out, arms up and stand)
5. Prone Extensions 2 x 8
6. Lunge with Toe Touch 1 x 10 Each
Speed and agility training program 67. Dynamic Warm Up
    a. Skipping Patterns
         i. Straight
         ii. High
         iii. Back
         iv. Side
    b. Knee Hugs 1 x 10
    c. Butt Kicks
    d. Straight Leg March 1 x 10
    e. Heel Walks/Toe Walks 1 x 10 Each
    f. Side Shuffle/Carioca (tight) 10 yds Each x 2

–Speed and Agility–
1. Dynamic Repeats (run to stop)
2. Dynamic Repeats with Return (run, stop and return)
3. 4 x 4 x 4 Drill (survive for 7 seconds)
4. Bear Crawl to Hand Taps 6:4
5. Forward Crab Walk to Table Top 6:1

Speed and agility training program 7–Cool Down–
1. Static Stretching
    a. Hamstrings
    b. Inner Thigh
    c. ITB/Hips
    d. Cobra Stretch
    e. Calf Stretch

Choice as needed


Pembroke Titans Football Pee Wees (5th & 6th Grade)

–Warm up–
1. Activity – Game, Laps, etc…Coaches Choice
2. Spiderman/Inside Elbow to Ground 2 x 10
3. Alternating Supine Extension 2 x 8 Each Side
4. Squat to Stand 2 x 5 (squat, knees out, arms up and stand)
5. Prone Extensions 2 x 10
6. Lateral Lunge with Toe Touch 1 x 10 Each
7. Dynamic Warm Up
    a. Skipping Patterns
         i. Straight
         ii. High
         iii. Back
         iv. Side
    b. Knee Hugs 1 x 10
    c. Butt Kicks
    d. Straight Leg March 1 x 10
    e. Heel Walks/Toe Walks 1 x 10 Each
    f. Side Shuffle/Carioca (tight) 10 yds Each x 2

–Speed and Agility–
1. Pro Agility
    a. 5-Hold-10
    b. 5-10-Hold
    c. 5-10-5
2. 4 x 4 x 4 Drill (survive for 7 seconds)
3. Bear Crawl to Push Up 6:1
4. Forward Crab Walk to Table Top 6:1

–Cool Down–
1. Static Stretching
    a. Hamstrings
    b. Inner Thigh
    c. ITB/Hips
    d. Cobra Stretch
    e. Calf Stretch

Choice as needed


Pembroke Titans Football Midgets (7th & 8th Grade)

–Warm up–
1. Activity – Game, Laps, etc…Coaches Choice
2. Spiderman with Hip Lift 2 x 10
3. Supine Extension with Rotation 2 x 8 Each Side
4. Squat to Stand 2 x 5 (squat, knees out, arms up and stand)
5. Atlas Stretch 2 x 6 Each
6. Prone Extensions 2 x 10
7. Alternating Lateral Lunge Walk 1 x 10
8. Dynamic Warm Up
    a. Skipping Patterns
         i. Straight
         ii. High
         iii. Back
         iv. Side
    b. Knee Lift/Heel Lift 1 x 10
    c. Straight Leg March 1 x 10
    d. Cradles
    e. Heel Walks/Toe Walks 1 x 10 Each

–Speed and Agility–
1. Pro Agility
    a. 5-Hold-10
    b. 5-10-Hold
    c. 5-10-5
2. 4 x 4 x 4 Drill (survive for 7 seconds)
3. Turn and Burn (Hip turn and go)
4. Bear Crawl to Push Up 6:1
5. Forward Crab Walk to Table Top 6:1

–Cool Down–
1. Static Stretching
    a. Hamstrings
    b. Inner Thigh
    c. ITB/Hips
    d. Cobra Stretch
    e. Calf Stretch

Choice as needed

Summary

So there you have some great examples of a youth football speed and agility training program that can be applied to nearly any sport. You also have some tips on how to deal with coaches to best suit their needs and ideals.

Dave Gleason


About the Author: Dave Gleason

Speed and agility training programDave Gleason is the owner and head coach of Athletic Revolution in Pembroke, MA. Dave’s career passions are training young athletes 6-18 years old as well as playing an integral role in the development of Athletic Revolution International. Dave was the 2010 IYCA Member of the Year, columnist and presenter. A proud member of the IYCA, Dave is honored to be named to the IYCA Board of Experts.


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