I have added bounds to my routine of drills and strides, and I have definitely noticed a difference in my running.
Does anybody like any other plyometric exercises besides the box jumps and other jumps for building explosive power on the push off?
I have added bounds to my routine of drills and strides, and I have definitely noticed a difference in my running.
Does anybody like any other plyometric exercises besides the box jumps and other jumps for building explosive power on the push off?
bumping this because i'm curious too.
plyoprentice wrote:
I have added bounds to my routine of drills and strides, and I have definitely noticed a difference in my running.
Does anybody like any other plyometric exercises besides the box jumps and other jumps for building explosive power on the push off?
What difference have you noticed specifically?
It seems like I can keep my calf muscle in something closer to an isometric contraction, and I imagine that it is a spring, and that is what it feels like. I am landing much differently. The landing and the push off are much more of a single motion now than two distinct events.
I really focus on this feeling of springness when I am doing the bounds, and to some extent I simply try to emulate this feeling during all of my other runs whenever I remember to think about it. So I don't know if anything about my tendons or calves has actually physically changed or improved already; it could just be that I have learned to control this aspect of the stride more through isolating it with bounds.
Before I started the bounds, though, I had been jumping around more on different, more rocky trails. I think this may have improved my ability to actually do the bounding once I started. I have tried bounds here and there over the past few years, and it never felt as good as it does now.
plyoprentice wrote:
I have added bounds to my routine of drills and strides, and I have definitely noticed a difference in my running.
Does anybody like any other plyometric exercises besides the box jumps and other jumps for building explosive power on the push off?
Yes, you can measure your stride length, on the flat, uphill, downhill, different surfaces etc.
Yes bounds and plyometrics will enhance your fitness. Look at Team Cooks training.
what??
Measure your stride length. Then you will know if it's getting longer.
Runners don't do this. They should if they are serious about improving.
Okay. I have not really thought about my stride length, ever. I know swimmers focus on distance per stroke a lot, so it makes sense, obviously. I also did not really think about how plyometrics might increase stride length, but that makes sense too.
But how would you make your stride length longer without decreasing turnover? Specifically what exercises would you do? Maybe the jumping exercises are the ones to do. It seems like there might be something else more specific to running that is really good besides most of the ones that I have seen that involve vertical jumps.
plyoprentice wrote:
Okay. I have not really thought about my stride length, ever. I know swimmers focus on distance per stroke a lot, so it makes sense, obviously. I also did not really think about how plyometrics might increase stride length, but that makes sense too.
But how would you make your stride length longer without decreasing turnover? Specifically what exercises would you do? Maybe the jumping exercises are the ones to do. It seems like there might be something else more specific to running that is really good besides most of the ones that I have seen that involve vertical jumps.
Try Lydiard hill bounding & springing. It's a combo of plyo and aerobic conditioning workout. Plus, it's pretty running specific
Plyo's arent for increasing stride length but rather the efficency of your gound contact, thus reducing the time it takes to complete a leg cycle therefore increasing your running speed.
I suggest you get your hands on this paper:
Fletcher JR, Esau SP and MacIntosh BR (2010). Changes in tendon stiffness and running economy in highly-trained distance runners. Eur J Appl Physiol.
We didn't do plyometrics specifically to try to increase tendon stiffness, we used long duration isometric contractions, but the principles are still the same: increase tendon stiffness and you improve your running economy. This and some of the cited references in the discussion will give you a good idea of the potential mechanisms involved, but the general idea is that there exists an optimal stiffness for improved running economy.
Optimal stiffness should be defined as the stiffness which allows the muscle to contract isometrically upon ground contact, thus minimizing the energetic cost of each contraction. We have also found that the average energy cost of a single plantarflexion is related to whole-body running economy (this one's in press at the moment). However, if the tendon is too compliant, then there is added shortening that is required by the muscle in order to effect joint rotation, hence the suggestion that "optimal stiffness" exist and we think this stiffness changes day-to-day depending on the previous load imposed on it.
I hope this stimulates a little bit of discussion because it is a very interesting topic (at least to me anyways), and one in which no one really has a handle on in terms of research.
well damn. I do. I will, somehow get this hopefully. I will check my local library today and see if I can access it for free there. Thanks!