Plyometrics

[John Giacoletti]

This is a new word to my vocabulary.

The definition I have is "any sort of activity in which the muscles explode out of a flexed position repetitively."

How does this relate to karate/kobudo training? Any exercises or suggestions?

[TSDguy]

Hopping pushups and squats. You won't have any punching and kicking power if you're not doing plyos. You have to warm up really well first; I'm sure Bill will hop in with the biology.

[Dana Sheets]

Also Kevin Guse - has several suggestions on a thread in his new forum:

http://forums.uechi-ryu.com/viewtopic.php?t=15458

Once he gets back in town I'm sure he'll share a number of drills.

The dot drill is one of the best basic ones for me:
http://www.mnsd.k12.wi.us/staff/mnitka/dotdrill/

and there are a couple more at the bottom of this page:
http://waterski.about.com/library/weekl ... eason1.htm

[thumper_wabbit_dammit]

My simplified understanding .... plyometrics uses impact to induce your stretch reflex for building "strength". Makiwara and bunny hops are examples.

[Bill Glasheen]

Almost...

Plometrics isn't about strength development. You must first train a strength base before attempting this. Instead, plyometrics is about power development. Most weight training is to plyometrics as muscle training is to neuromuscular training.

The classic book that everyone should have (by Donald Chu, Ph.D.) is Jumping Into Plyometrics. But you can brouse through Amazon these days and find lots of books on the subject.

We martial artists are mostly about power vs. strength. This is a language we all should be talking.

- Bill

[thumper_wabbit_dammit]

Early weight training is also neurological training, it stimulates lazy muscle fibers to start working. It increases the cross sectional area of contracted muscle fiber (strength) without increasing the overall muscle cross sectional area. It's only later that overall cross sectional area increases with weight training. Strength increases mean power increase: you can lift a weight greater than your original training weight over the same distance in the same amount of time; or you can lift your original training weight over the same distance over a shorter span of time.

So, how does plyometric exercise increase power without increasing strength?

I did use "strength" in my first post, because I really don't know.

[Bill Glasheen]

You're digging down deep here, and appropriately so.

You are correct in that the nervous system is involved in strength development. Fiber recruitment is important for strength training. Generally our bodies are lazy and will use as few muscle fibers as possible to perform a task. So smart weight trainers are constantly changing their routines via methods such as progressive resistance training (increasing the weight when you get used to an exercise) and periodization (changing the reps and weight per set over about a 12-week cycle). This way they exercises as many muscle fibers as possible, and so will thicken as many as possible.

Strength with multiple muscle group, open chain exercises (controlling a free weight) involves a certain amount of coordination or muscle synergy as well. This is most certainly engaging neurological processes.

The key with plyometrics - as was stated earlier - is in triggering the dynamic (as opposed to static) stretch reflex. In a plyometric exercise you treat the concentric/excentric motion as if your body was a spring. There is no pause when the muscles are in the stretched position. Instead, you quickly rebound off the stretched position in a ballistic fashion.

Another key difference between strength and plyometric training is the range involved. In class strength training, one usually tries to do the exercise through as full a range as possible without stressing the joints. In plyometric training, the extent of the concentric/eccentric motion isn't as important as the speed of the directional change.

Developing a strength base involves both structural and functional development. Structurally the athlete wants to thicken the tendons and ligaments as well as the muscles so a degree of injury resistance is developed. Functionally the athlete wants to be capable of delivering force through as wide a range of motion as possible.

Athletic power involves a number of different qualities. Generally we are speaking of explosive movement vs. controlled or constant movement. For maximum explosiveness, it's important to trigger the dynamic stretch reflex via a rapid prestretch of the muscles involved. The subject then voluntarily contracts in synchrony with the reflex-induced contraction. Maximizing athletic power first involves developing the strength and a certain degree of coordination. From that point, it involves maximizing the dynamic stretch reflex, and learning to coordinate voluntary and involuntary contractions of the muscles involved in a movement.

- Bill

[thumper_wabbit_dammit]

Excuse my brain plyometrics, I'm trying to remember stuff I read years ago. I believe isometric exercises are effective only at the specific angles used exercising (greatly simplified I'm sure.) Do plyometrics have the same limitation?

mmmm reading the above, if plyometrics increase "power" only at the angle exercised,, then it would sound like a "strength" increase at the exercised angle.

Joe ... twd to the hoi polloi

[Kevin Guse]

Plyometrics are said by many to be the link between the weight room and the playing arena. Plyos are a key component of maximizing your power.

As stated by Britathletex(which is an athleticism development program)--"When considering plyometric training the number one concern is the readiness of the athlete. The key is to be smart, start gradually and never over do it." Plyometrics can be an excellent training tool when done properly. Many people over due it which in turn generally results in injury.

I believe plyos are one of many training techniques that martial artist can add to enhance their capabilities. If done properly they can improve many aspects of athleticism including; power, core strength, explosiveness and reaction to name a few.

There are dozens of different plyo drills. As Dana mentioned there will be postings and discussions on different training programs/techniques in the Body Conditioning forum. I will cover a wide variety of plyometric drills in the near future. I am working on finding a program to pull clips off of DVD's to post in these discussions. If anyone knows of such a program that works well please let me know.

[John Giacoletti]

Kevin wrote:

I will cover a wide variety of plyometric drills in the near future. I am working on finding a program to pull clips off of DVD's to post in these discussions.

I, for one, would be interested in seeing some clips of these drills in martial arts exercises (as opposed to weight training exercises).

An article in the ACMA manual states:

To increase the power of kicks, a type of power training caled jump training or "plyometrics" is in order. This sort of training typically involves jumping but really is any sort of activity in which the muscles explode out of a flexed position repetitively. Kicking out of stances is one way in which to do this, which is totaly consistent with most martial arts curriculums.

The example of stepping up on a low bench or chair and then kicking is used.

I was wondering if the front and snap side kicks in hojoundo would be considered "plyometric"? It would seem to me that if done from a Sanchin stance with a deliberate resetting after each kick (rather than just sliding from side to side) and then exploding into the kick that it would be "plyometric."

What about the rising front "blocks" in Hajike Uke, Hiraken Tsuki? It seems to me that these could also be explosive forearm strikes to the face or under the neck.

It would appear that these and other karate moves meet the criteria of exploding

out of a flexed position repetitively.

Isn't that at the core of karate? What's an explosion if not the result of speed and impact?

[Bill Glasheen]

Boy, we sure do get a lot of questions.

But seriously, good stuff!

Excuse my brain plyometrics, I'm trying to remember stuff I read years ago. I believe isometric exercises are effective only at the specific angles used exercising (greatly simplified I'm sure.)

For the most part, yes. Isometrics have their place. If you're training after a joint injury and have lost range of motion, isometrics can give you something to do for those muscles while your joint is healing and you slowly work on range of motion.

But yes, a moderate limitation of isometrics (translates as same position) is that it tends to enhance strength at the specific angle that you do the exercise vs. other angles of the motion involved. There are myriad reasons for that.

First, any motion that we think of as simple may actually be complex from the standpoint of your muscles involved. The quadriceps or thigh muscle for example isn't a single muscle, but rather a muscle group. Different parts of the muscle group are involved in different parts of the range of movement. So if you're only doing your isometric at a single angle, you're only going to be working the parts of the muscle group involved in movement at that particular range of the joint movement, or at least proportionally so in a transition part of the joint angle. A simplistic analogy would be like working on a relay race, and only working on the middle part. This means that the guys in the beginning and end of the race may never get any work.

Second, there are muscle (fiber recruitment) and static stretch reflex issues involved at the extremes of range of a movement. If you aren't doing slow weight exercises with constant tension through the entire useful range, you're not giving your body a chance to work on those neurologic issues at the extremes. When you're in the foundation-building phase of your training, you want to make sure you're capable of generating force through all your useful range of motion of movement. This means you don't fling the weight up and rely on momentum in this part of your training.

Plyometric training is quite a bit different. As Kevin alluded to above, it's assumed you've already built you foundation and have the proper strength through your full range of motion. As he quoted above from Britathletex,

When considering plyometric training the number one concern is the readiness of the athlete.

So essentially you're supposed to have addressed your strength range issues. When you jump into plyometrics (bad pun, I know...), now you're working into the realm of movement that simulates what you really do on the playing field or the battlefield. For example when you're training to dunk a basketball - something that requires explosive movement - you're working to find that ideal range and timing of prestretch/contraction needed to maximize your vertical leap. When you're working on Nakamatsu-inspired sequential summation of movement (a.k.a. SSM), you're working on getting that precise timing needed to get the body wave that maximizes the delivery at your fist. When you're trying to throw a baseball or swing a baseball bat and maximize the SSM effect, it again involves precise angles, sequences, and timing of prestretch/contraction through the body.

Or we can just call it "qi" and charge twice as much tuition.

But seriously...

So essentially by the time you're in the realm of plyometric training, you've covered (or have a process of covering) your bases and you're ready to bring the training to the next level.

More in another post.

- Bill

[thumper_wabbit_dammit]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weight_training

There is a simple article on plyometrics there with a link to a Bruce Tegner book! Somehow the SAID principle applies.

How applicable are plymetrics to sport karate? Self defense karate?

[Bill Glasheen]

John

I read your post.

Anyone can create a plyometric exercise. All you need to do is understand the principle. You're trying to make your body like a spring (compression/extension, flexion, or torsion) and elastically rebound off a prestretch movement. The movement involves viscoelastic (rubber band properties of properly-warmed soft tissue) and neuromuscular (dynamic stretch reflex) forces. The movement can be simple or compound. The only limit is your imagination.

The kicking off the chair step up thing is difficult. I wouldn't recommend it to the beginner, because they're likely not going to be doing it in a plyometric fashion. Leave that to the advanced stuff after you get what you're supposed to be doing.

Jim Thompson (a Uechi great who studied with Uechi Kanei for over a decade) does a pretty simple but effective front snap kick exercise that's essentially a plyometric drill. What he does is have people do a single snap kick. Then he has you do a double. Then a triple. Then four. Then five. Then six... He works you all the way up to ten. When you get a group of people in a room, there's a degree of espirit de corp and competitiveness that happens. Everyone wants to keep up with the teacher's timing. So you end up getting sucked into doing this right.

What Jim does is elastically rebound off the starting position (foot touching the floor) each time he kicks. If you want to get fives and sixes and sevens off efficiently, your body naturally finds a kind of resonant frequency of snapping that kick out and back. And you find that groove by relaxing and letting the elastic forces take over.

Here's the key. Most of us are born with a dynamic stretch reflex which is the neuromuscular portion of your elastic rebound. But that dynamic stretch reflex can be developed just like you can get smarter by reading more or doing more math problems. This is the Nike part of your training. You just relax, do it, and feel the rebound. When you feel it, you go with it and try to enhance it.

The front kick repetions mostly involve compressive spring-like forces. I get some torsion action in my hip sockets and flexion action with my pelvis as well, something you have to work on to get right. You can do the same thing though for roundhouse kicks. You can fire them off one, two, three, four, five... In doing so now you involve torsion forces at the midsection, so now you're applying the principle a different way with different muscles and a different degree of freedom of movement.

The exercises that involve benches and chairs are bringing this to an extreme level. I personally wouldn't do that without a floor mat, or maybe a spring-loaded gymnastics floor like Kevin gets to work on in Nebraska. Otherwise you'll be stressing your joints too much, or giving yourself a good case of shin splints. But when you are ready for this, it's good stuff. Essentially with the benches and chairs, you're taking the prestretch to the next level. The dynamic stretch reflex is proportional to the speed of lengthening of the muscle (dL/dt for you folks who took calculus). So by jumping off the chair and onto the floor, you start cranking up the dL/dt to more extreme levels. If you do it right (Don't pause on the floor!!!!), now you're REALLY working on those explosive rebound forces. And you'll be bringing that dynamic stretch reflex to higher and higher levels.

Medicine balls are another classic way to crank up the dL/dt. You're only limited here by your imagination, and your ability to execute.

But again... First you must get the strength/coordination/technique foundation so you don't hurt yourself. Then you must do the exercise right, and with the proper safety measures. (In other words, don't be doing this on concrete floors!!) And then you build up to the more advanced levels, and use your imagination.

This then is where it's great to have a guy like Kevin to show you a couple dozen of these exercises. And it's important to get some guidance so you do it right, don't hurt yourself, and don't waste your time.

- Bill

[Bill Glasheen]

How applicable are plymetrics to sport karate? Self defense karate?

Plyometric training is applicable wherever you need quick, explosive, and highly-efficient movement. And it's applicable wherever the principle of sequential summation of movement (energy wave through the body) is involved.

So I would say VERY applicable!

The only activities I would say it doesn't help very much would be something like rock climbing where most of the time you are dealing with slow, static, and controlled athletic movement. Extreme long distance events like biking or marathoning would also be examples where it doesn't help much.

On the flip side, a sprinter most definitely could benefit. So would baseball (throwing, hitting, and baserunning), football (explosive blocking and tackling, and zig-zag running) basketball (jumping, cutting, dunking, and quick passing) and most other "classic" sport activities.

- Bill

[Bill Glasheen]

On the sport karate side...

Gary Khoury has a great beginners sparring tape/DVD sold elsewhere on this page. In it he shows an exercise that he calls "checking." I also call it "pinging." Basically you have a controlled classroom exercise where you do the following:

1) Elicit a response in your partner with a quick movement.

2) Register that in your brain, along with the timing involved.

3) Do the same trigger movement, and then follow it with a movement that exploits the opening you created.

This kind of exercise is really advanced in that:

1) You can't "juke" someone unless you move quickly. We respond more certainly to quick movements than we do to slow movements. That takes training to do that well (short of being an athletic genius). Plyometric training helps.

2) Assuming you've played a musical instrument and have some sense of timing, the subsequent move involves knowing how to get that second technique exactly in the right spot when the person is fully responding to your first "fake." Other than the timing thing, it helps to know how to flow smoothly and elastically from one movement to the next. Again, plyometric training helps.

3) In order to understand how people respond to you doing things - an advanced concept in our kata - you need to understand basic principles of athletic movement. Other than having someone show you each and every possible way Person A can respond to something Person B does, (no thanks...) the next best thing is to develop intuition based upon understanding fundamental principles of human movement. Plyometrics teach you a lot about human movement. The kata give you good examples, and you can practice them with partners. Then the rest is up to you. And that you can take to the street.

- Bill