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Plyometrics Muscle Growth
Body weight plyometrics for muscle growth
Plyometrics are not a new technique and have been used effectively by strength training coaches and athletes for years. When using extremely fast, explosive repetitions you will be recruiting the maximum amount of muscle fibers, but there are other benefits as well.
For example the development of the neuromuscular pathways towards the muscle will be something that will result in rapid muscle growth as well. There is a big difference between doing a plyometric movement and doing a normal movement.
Although basic plyometric movements are simple bodyweight exercises like push-ups, squats, lunges, and pull-ups the difference when doing it plyometrically is the way you do the exercise. This might only involve the mind-set or attitude but it will make a difference.
When doing plyometrics you want to get an explosive contraction, you want to explode up off the floor as high as you can and land like a cat, make no sound. And you want to do it continuously, so the rhythm is never broken, you never take a breather, you never take a break, you never land like a ton of bricks.
Most plyometric exercise use your own bodyweight for resistance but requires you to explosively move your body through a variety of motions. The most common plyometric exercises involve jumping motions. Explosive jumps are very basic and require no equipment, just your body.
You start with palms flat on the floor, then explosively drive up with your hips and legs, jumping as high as you can, reaching up with your arms as you jump, then, upon landing, return to the palms on the floor position, then repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Three to four sets of 12 to 15 repetitions will work well to stimulate your muscles to grow. There is some simple equipment that can aid the plyometric workout a lot.
For example jumping up onto the box is a an exercise that can easily be done by standing on the box and then hopping off, upon landing recoil and jump straight into the air as high as possible; jumping up and trying to make as loud a sound as possible on the box when landing (forcing the feet into the top of the box).
Jumping off a tall box and landing as quietly as possible (like a cat); and setting up a series of boxes getting progressively higher and jumping onto and off of the boxes, immediately jumping up onto the next box as you land from the box before.
This is only one of the creative alternatives that one can use when doing or planning a plyometric workout. Medicine balls are another alternative that one can use and there are many different variations. Plyometrics are a great way to shock the muscles into new growth.
The reason that it will increase or help you break through your plateau they recruit a large number of muscle fibers due to their explosive nature. You are moving your entire body weight explosively through a range of motion.
The equipment and space requirement is not excessive so these can be done on vacation, at home, or anywhere and anytime you need to get a workout in.
In my book "The Muscle Experiment" I talk about how I was able to put on a solid 39lbs of solid muscle in less than 6 months with bodyweight training, and exactly how YOU can do it as well. In case you haven't downloaded The Muscle Experiment, I suggest you download it immediately and start implementing the little known techniques. This alone should put you on the road to massive size and strength.
To your success,
Mike Thiga
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