Before getting too far into planning a plyometric program, the prudent approach is to look carefully at issues that affect safe participation.

He points to five factors that trainers must know about their athletes or that those planning their own programs should keep in mind and treat seriously.

Proper Age For Plyometric Training

Chronological age is an important consideration because the maturity of both the nervous and skeletal systems affects people’s tolerance of plyometric training. For example, children who have not yet reached puberty should not participate in plyometrics. The continual growth of the skeletal system makes the extreme forces of some plyometric exercises inappropriate.

Radcliffe and coauthor Bob Farentinos contend that 12-to-14-year-old participants can use plyometric training to prepare for future strength training. However, they should use moderate jump training. They warn that adolescents do not appear to have any significant response to explosive strength training until after the onset of puberty. Therefore, training programs should be prescribed cautiously.

Conversely, as age increases, nervous system capability, muscle and joint pliability, and energy production decrease, which make plyometric training less suitable for older athletes.

Physical Capabilities, Health Limitations For Plyometrics

As in all areas of exercise, good overall fitness is beneficial when training for explosive power. Athletes should have:

  • good control of body weight and body composition,
  • enough cardiorespiratory fitness to exercise continuously for at least several minutes,
  • the strength to handle their own body weight in movements in all planes and directions, and
  • the mobility to handle movement positions in several ranges of motion.

Several physical areas should be assessed not only when planning training but also to determine limitations. These include flexibility, posture, balance, torso tilt, and joint alignment.

“Limitations on explosive training may arise from back or spine problems,” Radcliffe warns. “Excessive trauma to these or any other areas that cause improper landing capabilities need to be addressed and planning adjusted.”

Individual Differences For Athletes

Because athletes respond differently to training regimens, coaches need to be sensitive to their individual differences. Athletes must also have some self-awareness. Differences between male and female athletes show up both in training and performance. Genetic makeup dictates – to a large extent – a person’s ability to improve.

Athletes and coaches need to be aware of limitations that can arise in training and development. These limitations may affect the rate of an athlete’s progress. They should not influence the basic design of the training regimen.

Experience With Plyometric Training

The training age a participant brings to plyometric training can actually be more important than chronological age. Some athletes who have had several years of experience as competitors, for instance, have never trained for competition. Some maturing athletes have been extremely skilled in their athletic endeavors and have enormous talent, yet they bring only an infantile level of training as a base.

Radcliffe cautions that these athletes can be at high risk if they use poor technique and undertake exercise quantities for which their body structures are not yet ready.

Strength Training Base

A strength base is advantageous in plyometric training, and a general strength training program should complement, not impede, the development of explosive power. However, establishing a strength base before plyometric training does not have to be a huge endeavor.

Radcliffe and Farentinos recommend the often-prescribed Russian suggestion of being able to perform a maximal squat of one and a half to two times one’s body weight before attempting depth jumps and similar shock training.

This article was excerpted from High-Powered Plyometrics (Second Edition), by James C. Radcliffe and Robert C. Farentinos. You can learn more about this book and purchase it from Human Kinetics at the following link: https://us.humankinetics.com/products/high-powered-plyometrics-2nd-edition.

Jim Radcliffe is one of the most overlooked elements in the success of Oregon’s student-athletes. Now in his third decade as the school’s head strength and conditioning coach, he not only plays a significant role in the Ducks football program as the designer of the year-round conditioning calendar, but he also has been quick to aid in the athletic development of athletes in all sports in his work with Olympians and World Championship medalists.Bob Farentinos is a fitness professional and lifelong athlete.

Radcliffe has competed in weightlifting, cross-country skiing, and rowing and has won national titles and masters championships in all three sports. Farentinos earned his PhD in biology from the University of Colorado and spent many years as a professor and researcher at various universities, including Colorado, Michigan, Ohio State, and Johns Hopkins. He has published extensively in scientific journals and has written wildlife stories for children as well as numerous lay articles on exercise, health, and fitness.