Pocono Mtn. Spartan Race 09/06/2012
Today, I want to talk about plyometric training because it is my FAVORITE to do! If you want to have strong legs and work up to a high level of endurance, incorporate plyo into your workout. Plyo consists of body movements such as jumping, hopping, and bouncing and it will improve your level of performance dramatically. You will run faster, jump higher, last longer, etc. I remember running a relatively flat, 5 mile race in Conyers, Georgia with hardly any plyo training and it was actually harder for me than a mountainous half-marathon in the Pocono Mountains, PA a year later. I had better balance, was more agile, and had a much stronger core and lower body in the half-marathon. You burn more calories with plyo and ultimately, get better results. You will find that if I can add jumps or hops to any movement/workout I do, I add it. Why squat when you can jump-squat?? 😉
Here is a circuit that I did the other day. I swear by circuit training, or “high intensity interval training”. Try to take only 30 seconds in between circuits; you must recover, but you don’t want to get tight and lose momentum. You can do this workout anywhere… but I always prefer outdoors! See below for some videos on my moves. This workout took me about 50 minutes.
Warm up: Run 1/2 mile or 1 mile (Depending on your fitness level)
Stretch for 3-5 minutes (Yes, I always stretch after I warm up. You’re muscles should be already a little warm so you can stretch your muscles out really well)
CIRCUIT ONE: DO THIS CIRCUIT THREE TIMES
12 Frog Jumps into a One-Legged Plank ***I cannot tell you how much I love these. Your legs will BURN! In the video below, I am doing the frog jumps only forward. However, you should do them one frog jump forward, one frog jump backward, forward, backward, etc. This works different muscles in your legs.
60 Mountain Climbers (In a plank position on the ground or elevated with your arms on a bench, chair, etc. Shoulders should be aligned with your wrists and keep your butt out of the air)
60 High Knees
16 Shoulder-Tap Push Ups
Midway: Run 1/2 mile or 1 mile again
CIRCUIT TWO: DO THIS THREE TIMES
12 Jump-Tuck Burpees
30 Russian Twist Abs
1 Minute Plank Hold
24 Hop Squats (Start in a low squat, do mini hop squats in place without coming all the way up)
STRETCH
Fort Lauderdale Beach, FL 02/03/2014
Enjoy 🙂
Beach Bunny Fitness 