Plyometrics is a form of training that links speed and strength together to produce greater speed of movement. Plyometric training is used for the lower body, upper body and core to enhance speed of movement in many specific skills. Plyometric training will help athletes learn greater balance, coordination, quickness, agility, speed and power. Plyometric training takes advantage of the elastic energy that the muscle will store when stretched.

One of the properties of plyometric training is called the stretch-shortening cycle. If a muscle is lengthened it is called the eccentric phase and if it is shortened it is called the concentric phase. Both phases will produce muscular force. When the eccentric and concentric phases are used in combination, it is termed the stretch-shortening cycle. How this applies to plyometric training is the speed at which the eccentric changes to the concentric to result in a faster more explosive contraction. This is only one aspect of a complex system that needs to be coordinated to produce plyometric.

Plyometric training trains the nervous system as well as the musculature system. To increase speed of movement of a group of muscles, there will be several factors involved. These factors include; intramuscular and intermuscular coordination, neural pathway development, myotatic reflex and much more. In general, plyometric training boils down to the muscles (or the sensory organs) receiving a stimulus, then sending this stimulus to the spinal cord for the spinal cord to read the demand placed on the muscle and sending back a response to meet the demands placed on the muscle. If the nervous system can become more efficient in responding to the stimulus, the more explosive and reactive the muscle action will be.

Plyometrics are a large part of Sports Speed, Etc. Sports athletic development programs. We included plyometrics in all of our programs designed to improve athletic development. The philosophy of Sports Speed, Etc. is to introduce plyometrics to athletes at a rate that will improve intramuscular and intermuscular coordination. If a plyometric skill is too advanced and the athlete is unable to perform with proper technique and timing, then the athlete may develop faulty motor patterns. It is common practice for low level plyometrics to be introduced and re-introduced often to continue proper sequencing of muscle firing through the kinetic chain. It is important to remember to use plyometric training at the level of the athlete's ability. Potential for injury will be greater if an athlete is asked to perform a plyometric drill that is to difficult for his/her ability level. Always start at a low level exercise like jump roping and skipping before advancing to more difficult form of plyometrics, such as jumping onto or off tall boxes.

To see more on Lee's Plyometric Progression, check out Baseball Stealing E-book/DVD Package