Safety considerations of plyometric training
Landing technique and form: Before implementing plyometric training, it is required that trainers teach athletes proper landing techniques in order to maximize training benefits and minimize the risk of injury. When it comes to the proper landing form, the shoulders should be right over the knees, and the knees should be straight over the toes during the landing period through flexion of the ankles, knees, and hips.
An adequate base of strength: According to the NSCA guideline, the recommendations support that athletes’ 1RM squat should be at least 1.5 time of their bodyweight.
Landing surface: To effectively reduce risk of injury, the landing surface must be momentum-absorbing, such as grass field and rubber mat.
Volume control: Lower body plyometric volume is expressed as the number of foot-ground contact (number of times a foot or the feet together contact the surface). Beginners’ plyometric volume should be under 100 ground contacts. In addition, intensity can be varied by multiple factors. The first factor is bodyweight. The greater the athletes’ weight, the more pressure is produced on the muscle, tissues, and joints. Another factor is height of the training. The higher athletes drop, the greater the force on landing. Speed is also a factor in plyometric. The faster, the higher intensity. The other factor is point of ground contact. The ground contact force during one-leg plyometric training places more stress than double-leg.
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