four“THE POWER OF SPRING”
I love plyometric training! Not only does it build power and athletic performance, it is fun, invigorating and gets your heart pumping.

Plyometrics are explosive exercises that work fast twitch muscles. Back in the day when I was a competitive gymnast, a large portion of our conditioning included this type of training. We would move about the spring floor in a X pattern doing countless amounts of tuck jumps, springing over mats, and exploding off of them. I am pretty sure we use to call it “torture” back then. However, today I have a whole new appreciation for the conditioning that trained us to be at the top of our game.

Today’s exercise challenge weaves in 4 different plyo exercises. Work each exercise with an intention of expressing your unlimited capacity for power. Warm up prior to this routine and spend about 5 minutes cooling down with stretching.

An Exercise Interval That Target Legs, Glutes, Core And Upper Body

Do each exercise with max performance for 30 seconds, taking a ten second rest in between each exercise. Repeat this sequence 3 times taking up to a 60 second rest in between your full sets.

Plyometric Exercises

1. Wide Squat and Jump: Stand with your feet wider than hip distance with your toes turned out about 40 degrees. Keeping your knees tracked over the center of your feet bend your knees about 90 degrees. Extend your legs straight as you pull the muscles of your thighs up from your knees into your hips. Repeat this 3x before adding the explosion. Then,  continuing this motion, spring off the floor for a total of 3 more flying buddha squats.

2. Clapping Push Ups: Come to a plank position, knees up or down. Lower your torso towards the floor keeping the sides of your throat back so that you can lead with your heart and not your head. With the tops of your shoulders staying plugged into the back plane of your body, bend your elbows to the sides. From here extend your arms powerfully, pushing with your chest and through your arms and clap your hands at the top of your push up. Please make sure to never hyper extend your elbows during any phase of this exercise, especially when you become fatigued.

3. Roll and Tuck Jump: Standing with your feet parallel, bend your knees deeply keeping your arms extended in front of you. Roll onto your back keeping your knees tucked into your chest. Roll back up to a stand either using your hands on the floor or reaching your arms forward. Explode from the earth taking your arms to the sky and your knees into your chest for a tuck jump. Repeat this seamlessly.

4. Upright Mountain Climbers: Start with your left foot in front of the right, feet about hip distance apart from each other, and lift the heel of your right foot so you are on the balls of that foot only. Bend both knees keeping your front knee tracking over the center of that foot. If your front knee comes over the toes, take your back leg further behind you. Quickly press through your legs and switch the right leg to the front and the left leg now in the back. Repeat.

Plyometrics are not for everyone. Risk of injury is possible, as is with all physical exercises. Please consult your physician if you have any concerns that this type of exercise is for you.

Do This Workout With Me Now

This video was filmed by the talented photographer Keri Cooper for Purple Inc. Magazine last spring. You can see her Hawaiian Island Wedding Photography here. (She captured my wedding, and I do highly recommend her 🙂 ).

OK, back to the WORKOUT!

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