Health and Fitness #1: Burning off the ‘Winter Coat’ with Plyometrics

Hi guys, I feel privileged to have been asked to add some exciting articles to the Health and Fitness section. With fitness trends changing constantly as new studies are researched, I will try keep you all up to date on the most effective, safe and exciting new workouts and tips around.

Let’s kick off my first posting with some good advice on getting rid of those troublesome couple of kilograms you have managed to pick up over the winter season. It’s the 1st of September today which means spring has officially begun. Whilst bikinis, Clifton and 6-packs might be still a little further in the distance, now is the best time to start getting the body fit and toned again for a great summer ahead.

If you’ve been doing the same routine throughout winter, you’re probably ready for some new workout ideas to get your body ready for spring and summer. You already know all about varying your cardio workouts and trying different intensities and activities, right? This is interval training and variety in a workout is key! Here’s another way to challenge yourself and increase your endurance, burn more calories and lose body fat.

Plyometric training has long been use by professional athletes who need to work on their explosive strength. With athletes, plyometric training involves intense exercises specifically designed for their particular sports, such as jumping off a platform and rebounding off the floor onto a higher platform. Most of us don’t need exercises of that level of difficulty, but it’s possible to incorporate basic plyometric-type moves into your own workout to add more intensity and challenge the heart rate.

Before you get started, keep in mind that there are a few things to consider before adding plyometrics to your workout:

• It is very advanced and intense! If you’re a beginner, take it slow and think about building up a solid fitness base of 2-3 months before you push yourself and your joints too hard.
• Requires strength and endurance, so make sure you have some weight training under your belt.
• Should be added slowly and in very short intervals, beginning with 10-30 seconds and slowly working your way up to 1 minute.
• Should be followed by a day of rest. Let your muscles recover before challenging them again. Trust me, you’ll know why.
• Should only be done about once or twice a week in the beginning. It’s easy to injure yourself with this type of training, so be cautious.

Enough with the warning labels though. Here are some easier exercises to get you started with:

Step Jumps

If you use a step, begin with the platform at its lowest level. Stand in front of the step, brace your abs, bend your knees and jump onto the step with both feet. Soften your legs at the moment of impact and sink down into a squat. Step down and repeat for 10 seconds to 1 minute. On a staircase, simply hop up the stairs, landing with both feet on each step. Each time you leap, brace your abs, bend your knees and use your arms to help you keep your balance. If you can’t land with both feet simultaneously, stagger your landing and work your way up to both feet.

Plyometric (jump) Lunges

Stand in a split stance, right leg in front and left leg in back. Bend knees into a lunge (keeping front knee behind toe) and, in an explosive movement, jump up, switch legs in the air and land in a lunge with the left foot forward. Go as slow as you need to keep your balance. Go faster, jump higher and/or lunge lower for more of a challenge. Make sure both feet are landing at the same time and brace your abdominals to help absorb impact and stabilize. Balance plays a key factor here and once you have mastered it, this can be a very challenging exercise!

Side-to-Side Lateral Jump

Begin by placing a small object (such as a small dumbbell and progressing up to a larger object such as a step) on the floor. Stand on one side of the object and bend your knees into a slight squat. In an explosive movement, jump over the object, landing with knees bent into a squat. Don’t rush the jump and compromise your form. Rather take it slower until you feel comfortable increasing your speed. Continue jumping from side to side for 10 seconds to one minute. Make sure you land with both feet at the same time.

Plyometric Jumps

Stand with feet together. Bend your knees into a squat and then jump up as high as you can, keeping your arms extended in front of you. Land with knees bent (to protect your joints) and immediately go into a squat and repeat the squat/jump for 10 seconds to 1 minute. Do not brace your legs as you land. Rather try and absorb the impact into the leg muscles and core stomach muscles. Remember to keep knees behind the toes as you land in the squat.

Have fun adding these moves to your routine. It will increase the amount of calories you burn in the workout session which is what we want! Remember to not overdo it with the plyometric jumps in the beginning. Rather assess where your limits are and then progress from there.

Keep checking the Health and Fitness pages for my next article.
Richard

Richard Alger is based at Body Excel, a private personal training gym in the heart of sporty Newlands. He specialises in weight loss, functional strength and endurance, core stability and balance, plyometrics and pre and post pregnancy fitness. For more information or to book a session, email Richard on ptrainrich@gmail.com or phone 079 8544645.

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