Speed and Agility Training is fast becoming a focus for more and more athletes as they find that strength training is just not enough anymore — not that it ever was, but as times get more competitive you are going to need all the edge you can get.

The purpose of this article is to function as an introduction into the relation between speed and agility training and a practice known as Plyometric training. You will learn what plyometrics are, what role they play in your speed and agility training.  You will also learn and what are some of the benefits you can expect when corectly introducing plyometric drills into your speed and agility training.

So what are plyometrics anyway?
Plyometrics are simply a type of exercises whose purpose it is to link strength with speed of movement in order to create a lot of power. The objective is to be able to use more of your strength — faster — thus producing more power. An example of application of plyometrics in a sport that requires a lot of speed and agility is doing a vertical  jump for height in basketball.

Plyometric execises are simple in purpose, they are meant to:
- increase your bodies ability to absorb and store force;
- teach you how to release that force — creating a movement which has a lot of power behind it.

Traditional sports endeavors who have benefited a lot from these types of exercises are those that involve throwing, kicking, jumping and lifting.

Purpose of plyometrics as part of a speed and agility training program
Plyometric drills are meant to train your muscles and tendons to absorb high amounts of force and teach your nervous system how to control and stabilize that force. Speed and agility can be developed very quickly with such practices – the best gains come if you have already strengthened your muscles and tendons.

The short term gains in speed and agility that result from incorporating plyometric exercises come from the education of your nervous system. This is why it is critical to perform plyometric exercises following these guidelines:

• only perform when rested
• perform with maximum concentration and focus for each rep
• keep the rep number low (no more than 20 regardless of the exercise used)
• keep the set number low (no more than 3 sets regarding the exercise)

Gains in the long term will rely on body composition — this is why a focus on nutrition and avoidance of injury are critical with regards to plyometrics. Plyometric training will change the structure of your muscles and tendons. You should be aware that practiced over a longer period of time, the result of plyometric training will make your muscles and tendons and make them have more spring.

Plyometric movement works like this:

• first the body absorbs and stabilizes the force from a negative (eccentric) contraction
• as it does this, it  loads up your muscles and tendons with force (think of it like a compressing a spring)
• your body releases this energy in the opposite direction
• the spring unloads and the body (for legs) or an object (for arms) is propelled with astounding speed

Here’s an example,when you cock back your arm to throw a rock the natural thing you do is to first cock your arm backwards.  The effect of this is that the muscles of your arm and shoulder muscles lock, forcing your tendons to stretch thus storing a lot of force in those tendons and essentially turning them into loaded springs. When you throw, the stored force is released, allowing the rock to be accelerated at a rate which is higher than your normal rate of force development.

The reason plyometric training was so big when it came out in the 70 ‘s is that it allowed athletes to specifically train their muscles and tendons to be more spring-like. You naturally use plyometric movements but before plyometric training came out there was no clear cut way to train for this. That is why it was thought for so long that jumping for height for example was an innate ability.

As I said before, the more you use this type of training the more you will also develop an inherent springiness in your muscles and tendons.  Coupled with an increased nervous system learning on how to corectly perform the movement at higher speeds, you can expect to see massive improvements in your speed and agility. The question is: how do I adapt the principles of plyometric training to my speed and agility training? The answer is, and you aren’t going to like it, by tailoring your plyometric training to the specific speed and agility requirements of the sport that you are practicing. This is a long discussion and goes way beyond the scope of this article.

In this article you have learned:

• what plyometrics are
• how plyometrics work
• the role of plyometrics as part of your speed and agility training
• the benefits you can expect when introducing plyometric drills into yours speed and agility training

I also recommend you check out this article on exercise for speed and agility training and preventing injuries.

All the best,
Damian

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