First, I strongly recommend folks acquire a library of training books. While it is useful to have sport-specific training guides, it isn't absolutely necessary. I have a mixture of the two, with more books dealing with general training concepts that can be universally applied.
When it comes to bookstore books on the subject, the first author to consider is Donald A. Chu. His 1992 classic Jumping Into Plyometrics (Leisure Press) is one of the early books available outside the academic arena. Unfortunately I was not able to acquire a copy of this book by the time I pulled this all together. By now it must not be widely available without ordering. However you'll do fine without it. Donald has since come out with the following:
Chu, Donald A. 1996. Explosive Power and Strength. Human Kinetics.
That publisher, by the way, has a very nice website.
Human Kinetics
The nice thing about Chu's most recent book is that he teaches you how to integrate plyometrics into your gym training routine - a concept he calls "Complex Training." The book gives examples of classic resistance (weight) training exercises, as well as the plyometric exercises that can work some of the same muscle groups. He then shows you how to put a complete program together, and introduces other important concepts like periodization. Finally, he gives ways that you can assess your performance.
Do not underestimate the value of these integration concepts! It's important to know how to put this new "thing" in with all the other stuff we need or want to do to be in top form.
Eventually you may want a book that just lists lots and lots of plyometric exercises by function and body part. Variety is the spice of life, and any program should be reshuffled several times a year for both physical health and psychological sanity. The following is a great book for such.
Radcliffe, JC, Farentinos, RC. 1999. High-Powered Plyometrics. Human Kinetics.
This book gives you an encyclopedia of 77 exercises that you can choose from, broken down by area of the body. It also starts with a chapter on the science of plyometrics, and then tells you how you can set up a training facility and complete exercise/assessment program.
Another similar book that is a little more general in nature is the following.
Aaberg, E. 2002. Strength, Speed, & Power. Alpha.
The thing I like about this book is that it's a great one for someone who needs to be led by the hand down the path from layperson to sophisticated practicing expert. The first chapter... <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
From there the reader goes to learn about the concepts of strength, endurance, stability, mobility, speed, agility, and power. The rest of the book is filled with exercises to improve those elements (more than 100), and finally help in putting a program together."The Human Body: Anatomical design and Function," presents the three major systems responsible, through their coordinated efforts, for any and all human movement.
For the person who wants to see a martial artist's view on the subject of training, try the following.
Cochran, S. 2001. Complete Conditioning for Martial Arts. Human Kinetics.
This is the A to Z of training for martial arts. Chapter 7 is devoted to plyometrics. Other than getting a martial artist's view of the concept of training, the book has one other interesting feature. It is loaded (intentionally or not) with pictures of beautiful male and female bodies doing exercises in brief gym wear. The pictures of this Asian woman with ... uh ... enhanced mammary glands doing exercises (including plyometrics) in a halter top is particularly entertaining. For those that prefer the male anatomy, there are some pictures for them as well. Not obscene, just beautiful as in the classic Greek athlete sense. And yes, I believe the author did this on purpose. Nevertheless, it's a great resource as well.
For a great website, check out the Colgate University site I posted on another thread.
Colgate Athletics Index Page
Don't just check out the short piece on plyometrics here. The Explosive Lifts part is just as important. Kulund says <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote
So don't think you need a grassy athletic field or a room with a mat floor (although they help). The weight trainer has some exercises that (s)he can integrate into the normal routine.Olympic-style weight lifters have the highest power outputs and best vertical jumps in athletics, feats attributed to the plyometric nature of the double knee-bend technique in the snatch and the clean-and-jerk. Other athletes may train with these moves or perform high pulls, power cleans, and power presses (jerks).
The best road show around for you folks in the New England and Canadian area is Ron Fagen's classes. Ron isn't short on confidence and bluster, but he's done a nice job of showing how plyometrics can be integrated into a general karate training and sparring class. Ron has quite a reputation among all his junior warriors, and they all seem to perform well on the tournament circuit.
Make sure you read up on one of the references I included above FIRST so you can fully appreciate his contribution. Otherwise you'll just be sweating your bloody buns off for two hours and losing some skin off the bottom of your feet...and then depending on Ron for your next class. Ron runs these sessions with his own students once a week. That's about right for a full-fledged soup-to-nuts plyometrics class. My only criticism is Ron does little to no work on the trunk and upper body. But power starts in the lower body, and Ron has plenty to teach. Enjoy...and tell him I said "Hi."
- Bill
