Lil'Fytness Fanatik's FitFix

"plyometrics"

Their Definition: a type of exercise
using explosive movements to
develop muscular power, esp.
bounding, hopping, and jumping

My Definition: An a$$-kicking
workout that can be done anywhere
- no gym required!

I first came across plyo in my high-
school basketball days. Coach
thought that we could use a little added burst in our jumps (especially me being 5'nothing..hehehe), so he tortured..er...introduced us to plyometrics with one basic exercise - jump off a bench, when you hit the ground, jump UP as hard and high as possible. It helped (although I will NEVER have hang time, unless I'm using a trampoline)

Well, I took that lesson and created a workout that feasts on calories and is whipping my quads, glutes, hamstrings and calves into fine form.

Here is how it went yesterday:

Warm up with a slow jog....I went about 5 minutes, to the nearby sliding hill.

This is where it really begins:

1. Bound up the hill, for as far as you can run (don't worry - it gets easier every time)
2. At the top of the hill (by the way, if you don't have a big hill nearby, just head to an open field, which is best for shock absorption, or a park, or even a parking lot), walk briskly for one-two minutes to catch your breath.
3. Do walking lunges across the field, as far as you can go (I counted to fifty, by start at 10, 15, 20 - whatever works for you!)
4. March in place for one or two minutes to catch your breath.
5. Perform lateral jumps (hop side to side from one foot to another while moving forward, coming back to where you started at the top of the hill or opposite end of the field.
6. March for one-two minutes(or a little longer if you need to) to catch your breath.
7. Sprint across the field as fast as you can (pretend there's a 50% off sale on all A.L.M apparel you gotta get to)
8. March (you know the drill)
9. Remember skipping across the school playground? Well skip across the field or lot but bound up as high as you can with each step.
10. see #9

So there you have a good 15-20 minute plyo workout to start with. If you conquer that, add the following exercises and decrease marching time in between your plyo exercises. Do this once or twice a week and you will see less jiggle soon!

Have fun getting out of bed the next day! (don't forget to streeeeeeeeeetch after this workout!)

Additional exercises:

Squat jump - Begin in a squat position, feet shoulder width apart. Burst upwards, jumping as high as you can, and drop down under control, landing fully on your feet to absorb the shock. Sit down into the squat, repeat.

Lunge jump - Start in a lunge, front thigh parallel to ground (don't extend your knee past your toes!). Exlode upwards, and switch feet during the movement to land with your opposite forward and sink into the lunge position again (careful about those knees!). Repeat. {this one kills the glutes and hamstrings}