Can I Do Plyometrics at Home?
I’m working on jumping higher for volleyball. And a lot of people are talking about plyometrics. Can I do plyometrics at home by myself without buying any special equipment or videos? If so, what do I do for exercises?
I just have to say, i♥volleyball- thanks for your comment…you pretty much just read my mind. I go to a lake every weekend and i could easily do the water thing and i have been trying to touch my ceiling in my room, (i’m almost there!) and it’s nice to know that it wasn’t just a stupid idea and that I’m not alone! Thank you!! and bigA- thanks for reassuring me that my working very hard during the summer will hopefully be appreciated by my coach and I hope I will make the team!…….The other comments are great too, thanks!……..and for those of you wondering, I didn’t mean to post my question twice..I didn’t mean to. lol Thanks for all the great advice! Keep ‘em comin!!
u can do plyometric excersizes without special equiptment although the equiptment may help. Some excersices u oculd do would be wall sits, tuck jumps, and squat jumps. For wall sits put ur back against a wall with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle with ur hands out infront of u parallel to ur legs try to hold this position for at least a minute or as long as u can. tuck jumps and squat jumps are very helpful for increasing vertical jump. for squat jumps get in a squating position so that ur butt is touching or almost touching ur heels. then expload upward reaching ur hands as high as possible, then reset and do this again as fast as possible for 30 seconds. For tuck jumps bend down and jump up keeping ur back straight and bring ur knees to ur chest do this for 30 seconds as well
yes
-jump rope
-wall jumps ( pick a high spot on the wall and jump for it and once your feet touch the ground jump imeaditly again do as many as you can)
-calve raises
- frog jumps
- side to side jumps (jump over something back and forth try to do as many as you can with out stoping)
-quick high knees
- skiping ( skip for about 10-15 yrds when you jump up for your skip go as high as you can)
plyometricts is really easy all you need is a box that can hold your weight that is a foot or two high
here is the perfect plyometric workout.
1. high jumps: jump as high as you can every 30 seconds, do about 20
2. long jumps: jump as far as you can 3 sets of 3
3. rebounds: stand on the top of your box and hop off, jumping back up immediately. do 20
4. high knees: jump on the box and bring your knees up as far as possible. do 20
5. fast feet: jump to the top of the box and off repeatedly as fast as you can. do 2 sets of 10
6. overs: jump over the box. do 20
7. fast feet: put one foot at a time on the box alternating as fast as you can. 3 sets for 30 sec
it’s easiest with 10 boxes in a row but you can make due with one
the bigger the box he harder so if its to easy get a wider or taller box
good luck
I don’t really know much about plyometrics but I do know that doing them improperly can do more harm than good.
You should consult a trainer before attempting. They can advise you on volleyball specific exercises and also how to do them properly. The last thing you want to do is hurt yourself in the off season.
I will say this though, I wish I had more players that were committed to summer training as much as you are. Your desire and drive will carry you far….keep it up!
http://www.weightsnet.com/Docs/plyometrics.html
That site is fantastic for what you’re looking for. It gives you excersises to increase jump AND speed and tells you what plometrics are exactly and why you should care.
Also, I wish I could tell you which one of these is the reason my jump is higher but since I did both at the same time I can’t for sure but I did two things: If you’re near water like a swimming pool preferably if you go down under the water and blow out all your bubbles so you sink and crouch down with your legs bent and then explode up like you’re jumping, the water is resistance and it either builds stronger legs or helps with the exploding up because I did that and my jump has definitely improved. Another is while hanging out in my room I found somewhere I couldn’t reach, where it was just out of reach. For me it was the ceiling, it was about a foot or more over my extended hand. I worked on trying to reach that with ease. I would go down low and bend my legs and then explode up as much as I could to touch the ceiling. With a full explosion of power, it wasn’t hard to hit the ceiling but I wanted to be able to do it with more ease and now after doing that a lot, I can touch the celing like nothing and it’s not a growth spurt because I’m 17 and done growing. So there you go, good luck.
i♥volleyball does have a great answer. The only thing I would add is that the training in the water is a great way to increase your jump. The water will not only act as resistance against your explosive jump, but it will cushion your landing. Your ankles and your knees will thank you. If you use the pliometric equipment out there, your ankles and knees could get a little more abuse. If you want a long volleyball career, pay attention to your ankles and knees now.
If you are almost there at the ceiling, I would recommend hanging a tape or rope something with marks from your ceiling so that you would have more fun knowing that you can reach higher and higher week after week. I was doing all those in high school and college (intruduced by PE teachers), without any knowledge of the term “plyometrics”. I was reaching for the basketball hoop at the very beginning and sometimes when I got “lazy” the net could hurt my fingers… but I did have the idea where I was after each jump.
I believe that it is very important that you have a goal in your mind, and realize how close you are from the goal each time you put in any action.
Have fun.
I found these exercises to be pretty good
___________________
1)Alternating split leg jump – Start in the lunge position with your right leg in front.
Then jump (using your arms as you usually do while jumping) up into the air and land back in the squat position with your left leg in front.
Immediately after landing explode upwards again landing with your right leg in front.
Do 8-15 jumps or until breathing heavily with at least 40 seconds rest.
___________________
2)Knee Tuck Jump – Jump as high as you can, and get your knees towards your chest.
Do 5-10 jumps or until breathing heavily with at least 50 seconds rest.
___________________
3)Single leg bound – Bound/Hop on one leg with the other leg looking like it’s cycling backwards
Do 5-10 jumps or until breathing heavily with at least 45 seconds rest.
______________________________
This isn’t a plyometric exercise but it works really well for speed and jumping height, and you can do while on the computer, eating dinner, or even watching TV;
___________________
This exercise strengthens your lower leg extensors, otherwise known your shin. Point your toes towards your shins, as close as you possibly can and hold it for as long as you possibly can. It works wonders.
Remember plyometric exercises should be performed fresh and at maximum intensity. This type of exercise should always be performed on a soft surface as they can damage your joint when don on concrete, tartan, ect.
_____________________
Note;
Once you get tired from these exercise and you’re struggling you should stop. If you continue these exercises while your puffed-out they will no longer be as effective.