Plyometric Exercise Routines

Plyometric exercise allows a muscle group to reach its maximum force potential in the shortest time frame, says certified trainer Phil Davies, creator of the Sport Fitness Advisor. Plyometric exercise progress amplifies force production and explosive power, making it an effective training module for sport-specific training and injury prevention.

Plyometrics Described

The best way to understand plyometric exercise is to observe the actions of a rubber band. When you stretch a rubber band to its full length, says Donald A. Chu, author of "Jumping Into Plyometrics," it rapidly returns to its original length. Your muscles respond the same way. The squat that precedes a vertical jump is an example. As you rapidly lower your center of gravity, your body stores energy, which causes your legs to rapidly extend during the jump.

Plyometrics for Injury Prevention

Since plyometric exercise focuses on the landing mechanisms of a jump, many coaches use a plyometric training program for their female athletes. Women often have weaker hamstrings than quadriceps. This causes them to land with their legs straight, making them susceptible to anterior cruciate ligament and other injuries. While most coaches and trainers agree about the benefits of plyometrics for injury prevention, the program must be progressive. Begin with exercises that test your landing ability. Coaches use the words "stick the landing" to describe how an athlete completes a jump with her feet and upper body in proper alignment, without excess body movement. Progress to dynamic plyometric exercises after mastering the landing technique. The bounding run requires you to run while drawing your knees toward your chest and landing on the ball of your foot. Continue for one minute.

Injury Prevention Routine

The Santa Monica Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Research Foundation created the 20-minute, thrice-weekly PEP program, which stands for "prevent injury and enhance performance." Begin with a warmup consisting of forward and backward running and lateral shuffles. Then place a traffic cone on the floor about six inches to your left. Jump over the cone and repeat to your right. After you perform 20 repetitions, practice jumping forward and backward over the cone. Progress to hopping forward and back on one leg. The scissor jump begins in the lunge position, with your right leg forward, your left leg back and both legs bent. As you jump up, propel your left foot forward. Land with your knees bent and your weight on the ball of your front foot. Perform 20 repetitions. Finish the program with some stretches and core exercises.

Elastic Equivalent Training

The National Academy of Sports Medicine designed a program called elastic equivalent training, which pairs a traditional strength-training exercise with a plyometric exercise that uses similar muscle groups. The twice-weekly routine uses one to five strength exercises using heavy weights, followed by eight to 10 repetitions of the plyometric exercise. Examples include the leg press, followed by a squat jump, a lunge followed by a scissor jump and the outer thigh machine followed by a lateral cone jump. For the upper body, perform a bench press, and follow it by tossing a medicine ball against a mini-trampoline placed in a vertical position.