Plyometrics: A Unique Exercise

Plyometrics are fast, require coordination, involve large spikes in force, and cannot be matched with traditional resistance training.

One often understated aspect of plyometric training, when done correctly, is the movement is reflexive in nature. Because it’s reflexive, you rely on feedforward mechanisms, not feedback. You must determine your motor program before the action occurs (feedforward), unlike a barbell where you can actively change its directory based on your external sense (feedback).

Why is this Important?

First, if ground contact times are maintained, training feedforward processes could be largely beneficial for sporting development. Most propulsive and absorptive actions in sport are developed based on feedfoward mechanisms. Thus, they may play a role in kinesthetic awareness and injury reduction.

From a performance side, the reflexive actions bring about much more “sport specific” muscular contractions and coordination patterns which better reflect that sport.

It is critical when talking about plyometric actions we distinguish between “cognitive-ballistic” actions and “reflexive-ballistics.”

In short, “cognitive ballistic” is a movement with either no ground contact time (a single jump without a pre-load from a fall), or a slow ground contact time of more than 0.250 seconds. “Reflexive-ballistic” action has a ground contact time of less than 0.250 seconds and loaded with some sort of fall (kinetic energy). Jumping DOES NOT EQUAL “reflexive-ballistic.”

Truth: I deviated from traditional nomenclature and did not use the Shock Method and Plyometrics. Those definitions have been so butchered that I wanted try something new and more descriptive.

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