Owner's Manual: Bounce Your Way Faster


December 5, 2006

To improve running speed, plyometric training is now being recommended with increasing frequency. Plyometric training can be a very effective method for improving running speed, once you have an adequate strength base, but the way it is often applied, it leads to injuries. One reason is that the term plyometrics is misunderstood and has been applied and defined in many different ways.


True plyometrics duplicate the landing and take off of sprinters in 0.1 to 0.2 seconds; these very explosive exercises, often using boxes to jump off and onto, are not applicable to slower running. Distance runners maintain foot contact with the ground longer than a sprinter. The exact amount of time depends on how fast you run. For distance running, simple jump exercises, which take longer to execute, are more productive. It is now trendy, however, to call all jump exercises >plyometrics. Most runners practice what can be called preliminary or lead-up type plyometrics, consisting of various types of jump exercises that are executed in more than 0.2 seconds.

Plyometrics are used to develop muscle resiliency, i.e., the ability of the muscle to undergo quick stretching (eccentric or lengthening contraction) and then a shortening contraction. When the muscle is loaded, or tensed, through a strong eccentric-muscular contraction such as occurs on touchdown, the energy developed is retained and used in the ensuing muscle-shortening contraction to create a more explosive contraction.

At foot strike, with a mid-foot or toe-heel strike, the ankle, knee and hip joints undergo slight flexion to absorb some of the landing forces. The main function of the muscles and tendons involved, however, is to withstand the landing forces in the eccentric contraction and not allow you to "sink" down. The energy accumulated at foot strike is retained during the support phase and is given back in the push off. You get a maximum return of energy (up to 70 percent) only if you have good running technique. Heel strikers will not be able to use much accumulated energy as it will be mostly dissipated by push off, but they can improve economy since increased leg muscle elasticity cuts down on support time.


The key to successful use of simple plyometric (jump) exercises is to keep the contact phase as short as possible, but sufficiently long to create the impulsive contraction of the muscles. Try to assume the posture on landing with respect to joint angles so that they correspond to the same position in which the muscles are working during the run. In other words, duplicate your running landing position when you do the jumps. Err on the side of a quicker jump or less flexion of the joints in order to continually improve your speed. Additional weights can be used, but are generally not needed by long distance runners.

Single Leg Jumps: Stand on one leg in a well-balanced position with supporting leg slightly bent. When you are ready, swing your arms backwards, down, around and then up. As your arms come up, drive the swing-leg knee upward. As the arms and knee are driven upward, straighten the support leg and extend the ankle joint to leap up as high as possible. Prepare for the landing mentally and physically, and as soon as you make ground contact, cushion and withstand the forces to execute another quick jump forward. OPTION: Execute the same single-leg jump in place, but direct the forces slightly forward on each jump. You should land approximately 12-18 inches forward.

Split Squat Jumps: Assume a standing position with your feet under your hips. When you are ready, go into a slight crouch and leap up as high as possible. Once you are airborne, split your legs with one going forward and one going backward. Immediately after landing, jump back up and scissor the legs again. Repeat in an alternating manner. The key to successful execution is to leap up explosively with ankle extension and straightening of the legs.

An important note: you must have an adequate strength base prior to using plyometrics. Without that you may be exposing yourself to injury. With prior strength preparation, jump exercises will give you the most speed improvement possible.

For both exercises, start with 4–5 reps. When you feel comfortable with the exercise, gradually build up to 20–30 reps in one set, if you do easy jumps. For maximum and near-maximum jumps, gradually add 1–2 reps up to 10 jumps. When either becomes "easy," add another set. Rather than continually doing more reps, you should instead add different exercises.