Better Track Technique Get more from Plyometrics

In this video coach John Shepherd (www.johnshepher...) provides information on a subject that does not get a lot of attention - bounding and other plyometric exercise technique. Many athletes from all sports do plyos, yet many probably aren’t instructed on how best to do these exercises.
John talks about joint angles, arm action and ground contact time and also what exercises to include in a training session and how many reps to do.
Eccentric drop jumps and plyometric drop jumps are also considered. They'll be more on these in a follow-up video.
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#plyometrics #longjump #trackworkouts #track #howtolongjump #howtotriplejump #howtosprint #howtosprintfaster
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[@nattyswede]

Nicely done Coach Shepherd!

[@craigg.957]

Hey John, I truly appreciate your videos. Please continue to provide us with this great content. Thanks!

[@AlexVinchenzo]

Usefull video as always!

[@jumper9377]

Thanks coach from my heart

[@sakarumaster]

Looking forward to that drop jump video. Love your content!

[@Johnshepherdtrackcoach]

Here's the response CC"d here re your community post. Many thanks for your comments and the thought you have yourself put into your training and some of the theory of training. Now, in your case with your SLJ, I would recommend that you have a bigger concentric (and other muscular action) strength base. So, squatting, lunges, deadlifts etc will develop that base. Loaded jump squats and also sled pulls will also be perhaps more dynamic ways to develop this increased concentric capability. It will take time for an athlete of your age to develop this foundation strength. And, yes, despite my (slight) downplaying of concentric weight training, it is still important. I try to make the point that there are (especially for the mature athlete and ones with a high level of concentric ability) better ways to develop 'jump power'... but you do need that base. If you want to add a third session why not make it a power combination (complex/contrast) one where you add in plyos and eccentric drops for example. Then you may also benefit from the potentiating effects of the combined training methods. One thing you need to take care over is training adaptation. I would ask the question - how can the body adapt and 'grow stronger' in response to 6 sessions of weights a week? There's the over-shoot' phenomenon and the volume of training would likely create conditions for training stagnation and also potential refiguring of muscle fibre in ways that you might not want i.e. type 2x fibres to type 2a... Now, you mention your SLJ, how's your top end speed and your reactivity. I'd rather have a young athlete come to me who's fast and reactive rather than concentrically strong... strength is relatively easier to develop compared to the other qualities. I'll even use myself as an example, although I wish I trained differently back in the day (as most of us ex athletes do!) I was not that great as SLJ, at your age I was of a similar ability and only managed 2.85m at my supposed best. Yet, I ran 21.8sec and jumped 7.89m and to this day I'm still reactive at drop jumps, for example. Yes, I probably needed more of a concentric base in my early career which may have pushed me onto faster times and longer distances but it shows how innate qualities of speed and reactivity are perhaps more important. I'd say that a squat in the range of 200kg when you are mature would be a good target. Most of my male jumpers could do that, if they had to. Even I can do 150kg and I don't really weight train that much now. A note of depth of squat, I'd keep it to the range needed for the LJ and TJ and sprints, there is research that indicates that deep squatting can stretch tendons which is many ways you don't want. Shorter Achilles tendons, for example, can produce more power that longer ones. Hope this helps and guides. Will also post on the main page, in case you miss this.

[@sakarumaster]

@@Johnshepherdtrackcoach Thanks for your reply! And I have been always doing plyometrics of some kind in proximity with weights in every session.

[@Johnshepherdtrackcoach]

sakarumaster Look out for this video, probably the week after next, it'll talk about drop height and the science behind drops jumps. Is there anything else that you'd like to know about that I could include on this subject?

[@sakarumaster]

​@@Johnshepherdtrackcoach Hi, I noticed that in your videos, when doing the 60-80cm drop jumps, Johnathan and Paul would land on their toes and not on his midfoot as in a usual landing the triple jump at 0:40. This I see would reinforce breaking mechanics and potentially cause unnecessary wear and tear on their calves maybe causing shin splints if not careful. I experimented myself with these drop jumps and when I landed on my toes, I couldn't really block the landing as most of the force was absorbed into the ankles and knees and I could not feel it much in my hips. When I tried landing on my forefoot, I could really feel it in my hips and blocking became much more difficult, but there was a greater degree of knee and hip flexion. What's your take on this? I'm also curious about where you would place all the types of depth jumps in the training season and when you would do them. I am really curious about the science of drop jumps maybe you might allude to Wolfgang Ritzdorf's papers. :) Also could you maybe sometime touch on how to develop athleticism for adolescent and teenager triple jumpers and how they should approach training? I messaged Jeremy Fischer about specific training and specialization for teenager athlete and I was surprised that he advocated for an approach for general fitness and to play many sports to improve coordination and speed. Many thanks for your efforts to really communicate with your viewers.

[@tripledouggie974]

Thanks for another great video. Not relevant to this video but I had a question on long and triple jump approach are there any drills or anything I can do to work on not reaching for the board? I always catch myself opening my knee before I get to the board which results in a foul

[@Johnshepherdtrackcoach]

Try placing a marker around 2.00m from the board for the long jump and working to that for the penultimate step. For the triple jump try a mark about 2.20m back and see how that works. You can 'find' the board from further back, hence the reaching, however, if you always hit a mark at those designated distances back from the board on the pen step, then you should run onto the board optimally. (For anyone else reading this, these figures are for adult males). And thanks for you comments and channel support as ever!

[@shanegiaccani4649]

Would you recommend those segments of plyos and sprint work every day of the training week?

[@Johnshepherdtrackcoach]

It depends on what type of training you are doing st present and what you are used to. Most of the athletes in my group have been training against this approach for a number of years... I do think that most sprinters//jumpers would be able to maintain a three to four times a week plyometric inclusion - remember that for the sessions that we do that it’s small doses of plyos that form part of the training sessions. We vary the types of plyos used too. So in short I’d say 3-4 times a week in reasonable doses and with variation should be fine... but introduce this change gradually. Hope this helps

[@shanegiaccani4649]

John Shepherd track & field coach - author & editor thank you so much!! Yeah right now I’m currently red-shirting in college so it’s pretty much just an extended offseason for me. I appreciate your response!👍🏽

[@umeshsharma100m]

How can I increase my stride length

[@Johnshepherdtrackcoach]

This one will take time to respond to, so I may make a video on this... for now though consider "force". If you have good technique then the more force you can impart on the track surface - everything being equal - the longer your stride length will be (or in reality your time off the track). This force should derive from appropriate conditioning and technical training. There are a number of videos on the channel on this subject, take a look at the bar drills one and also those relating to plyometric and weight training. Good luck and do look out for a more detailed video answer in time.

[@AlexVinchenzo]

Sara is very cute.