With high impact athletes like volleyball and basketball how do you program IN-SEASON plyometrics?


Question of The Week: “With high impact athletes like volleyball and basketball how do you program IN-SEASON plyometrics?”

The short answer is that we really don’t. At least not in the traditional sense. Due to the high volume of randomized jumping and running these athletes see during the season we won’t add to that in-season stress by having them do things like elastic jumping, hopping and bounding.
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As athletes progress through their competitive season the primary qualities we see diminish are their strength and bodymass. In-season we want prioritize BUILDING STRENGTH to help them maintain their health and performance throughout the season. By focusing on strength in-season we don’t only help athletes maintain their joint, muscle and tendon health but also assist them as preserving their power and running economy as the season wears on.
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That’s not to say that we don’t do any power work in-season, we just make more conservative choices that do not contribute to their overall impact. We certainly will still do heavy implement power drills like kettlebell swings, db snatches or maybe even hang cleans. Additionally, we will use medicine ball drills or even box jumps but will significantly reduce or remove repeat hops, jumps and sprinting.
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Remember that training in-season is about managing the athlete so that they can perform their best every single game. The training choices we make should compliment the physiological and psychological stresses that they endure in games and at practice and sometimes that means removing certain exercises from the trainable menu.