Although it can be enhanced by training, it can’t be trained and improved so to the same extent as RE. VO2max is largely genetically determined. It’s important to understand that there is a strong association between RE and endurance running performance in elite runners, RE is actually a better predictor of running performance than maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max). Runners with a superior RE will use less energy and therefore less oxygen than runners with a poorer RE at equal running speeds. RE is defined as the energy demand for a given velocity of submaximal running 1. As we will see however, it’s still possible for an endurance runner to get more out of these fast fibres (and slow twitch fibres) through plyometrics in a way that will boost running performance.Īnother hugely important benefit of plyometrics for endurance runners comes from the boost they can give to running economy (RE) – sometimes also known as performance economy. Endurance training like slow long-distance running can blunt their power capacity and even alter their contractile qualities, making them more endurance orientated.
Muscles worked in tuck jumps drivers#
Basically, when performing plyometrics this way, you are ‘teaching’ your body to release more ‘athletic horsepower’ through faster firing muscles.įast twitch fibres, as their name suggests, are the primary drivers of speed and power. Why is speed more important? A lightening-quick connection between the stretch and the reflex requires considerable neural energy through the central nervous system (ie your intent to move quickly), and therefore turn on (recruit) fast twitch muscle fibres. This is important to consider when you add plyometrics into your training routines. To put it another way, reaction time is a more important variable than height gained. He also advocated speed of movement as being the key to plyometrics – ie to gain the most from plyometrics, the contact phase with the ground, must be kept to a minimum. Verkhoshansky discovered that speed (and jump power) could be enhanced by plyometric training. Examples of commonly used plyometrics exercises are shown in figure 1. The drawing of the bow is akin to the eccentric stretch and the firing of the bow (and the release of all its stored energy to the arrow) the concentric reflex.
This ‘stretch-shortening cycle’ is rather like the action of a bow and arrow.
Muscles worked in tuck jumps series#
When you land from a jump (and that includes running, which is basically a series of plyometric leaps from one foot to the next), the muscles, ligaments and tendons, that surround the ankle, knee and hip joint will undergo a stretch (eccentric action), immediately followed by shortening (concentric action) and a release of energy. The former is known as a concentric muscular action and the latter an eccentric one. Plyometrics uses the principle of a quick-fire action and reaction between two muscular actions – a shortening and a lengthening one. Yuri Verkhoshansky, the former Soviet track coach/ sports scientist, is known as the ‘father’ of plyometric training – in particular with his work on the drop/depth jump, which involves jumping from a raised platform onto the ground, upon which a rebound jump is immediately made.
Plyometrics have been a major aspect of athletic training across many sports for over 40 years. England athletics coach and author John Shepherd explains However, hopping, bounding and drop jumps in the form of plyometrics could enhance your endurance. Many runners often eschew strength and conditioning in favour of more miles.
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