It goes without saying that regular exercise is a cornerstone to healthy living. You can have a good diet, but without regular exercise it is unlikely that you will be in the shape that you want to be in. Likewise, you can get eight hours of sleep each and every night, and even take vitamins, but without a regular exercise program you will not be in optimal health. The bottom line is that you simply need exercise to be in optimal shape. And probably because exercise is so important, there are innumerable theories on how to get the best exercise. There are those who do nothing but hit the great outdoors for their workout. Conversely, there are those who spend hours in the gym but never seem to get a breath of fresh air. Then there are those who are curious about all types of exercise and who are willing to give anything a try to get in great shape. It is the people in this last category who are likely to be interested in plyometrics training programs. Plyometrics is certainly not a new concept, but it is one which limited people have caught on to. However, those who are practicing this style of training are definitely reaping positive gains. Take a moment to peruse this article and discover for your self whether plyometrics is right for your workout routine.

The first question this article will address is: What is plyometrics? Put as simply as possible, plyometrics is a type of exercise in which you engage your muscles to their maximum contraction in as short a period of time as possible. To do this, you lengthen your muscle as much as possible, followed immediately by shortening it. This sounds complicated, but it is really quite simple. A simple example will illustrate: When you dip down as low as possible and then immediately jump as high as you can, this is plyometrics – the dip lengthens your leg muscles and the jump shortens them. By performing the dip before the jump, you push your leg muscles to maximum contraction in as short a period of time as possible.

One thing to keep in mind when performing this fitness method is that you want to go immediately from the lengthening exercise to the shortening exercise. Using our high-jump example, this would mean that you do not pause once you reach the low point in your squat, but immediately proceed into the jump. The reason for this is simple – when you pause, you lose energy and you are thus unable to reach maximum contraction. If you pause only briefly, however, your body operates like a spring and you use the built up energy from the lengthening motion to make the most of your shortening motion.

A plyometrics training program can improve athleticism, strength and endurance. You can use it to improve a specific action such as the height of your jump or you can use it to improve general health.