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Explosive Combinations
by Abyss
No not C-4 and a fuse. The type of combinations I am speaking of is Explosive Training also know as Plyometric Exercises. If you are serious about achieving the best physical shape you’re capable of you need to incorporate this type of exercise into your workout.
We have all seen those guys in the gym that are completely ripped at 220lbs, and most of us are like "wow, that guys jacked! I bet he curls a grip of weight!: Then we see him cruise over to the dumbbells, checking himself out in the mirror the whole way, he walks past the 60’s, passes right on by the 45’s and grabs the 25’s. What an anti-climatical let down. All of this after his warm up sets with the 10’s.
Ok maybe I am being just a little sarcastic but you get my point. What good is size with-out strength? I mean why would you want to be that big and not be able to cash the checks your body is writing? This is where Plyometric training comes in.
The idea of Plyometric training is to develop strength and explosive power at the same time. Though I will only be able to touch on just a few of these in this article I can’t stress enough the importance of incorporating them into your workout cycles. Lets start with arms/chest.
A great one to start with, great because I like it ... and that's good enough ;-) , is:
Incline push up depth jump
How to Perform the Exercise:
· Two mats, three to four inches high, placed shoulder width apart
· A box high enough to elevate your feet above your shoulders when in a push-up position
· Face the floor as if you were going to do a push-up, with your feet on the box and your hands between the mats
· Push off from the ground with your hands and land with one hand on each mat
· Push off the mats with both hands and catch yourself in the starting position
· Keep the catch time to the shortest time possible
How Much:
· 1 to 3 sets
· Allow a full recovery between each set
· 10 to 20 repetitions/set
· Quality of Push Ups is far more important than quantity
Throw these in on your chest days to help keep things fresh. After your first time doing these I guarantee you will know you worked your chest. This is just one of many upper body plyometric exercises you can throw in to your routines.
For legs I like Single leg hopping because it lets you isolate each leg. Here’s how you do them:
Single Leg Hopping
How to Perform the Exercise:
· Stand on one leg
· Push off with the leg you are standing on and jump forward, landing on the same leg
· Use a forceful swing of the opposite leg to increase the length of the jump but aim primarily for height off each jump
· You should land on the ball of the foot, allowing energy to be stored by the elastic components of the leg muscles, and immediately take off again
· Keep the foot touch down time to the shortest time possible
· Try to keep your body vertical and straight
· Perform this drill on both legs
· Beginners will use a straighter leg action where as advanced athletes should try to pull the heel toward the buttocks during the jump
How much
· One to three sets over 90 to 100 ft ( 30 to 40 meters)
· Allow a full recovery between each set
· Quality of bounding is far more important than quantity
I hope this gives you a starting point to incorporating these exercises into your workout, if all else fails you could always go with the C-4 but you would probably only get to do that once ..Uncle Sam kinda frowns on that type of thing now a days.
* Article by Abyss.
* Back to Issue #4 Frontpage
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