Plyometrics anyone?

Have you heard the word and wondered what it meant? Plyometric exercises are movements that are explosive and designed to increase speed and power. This is something that every runner desires, especially in shorter distance races, when one does not have a long time to increase speed. Plyometrics were developed by Russian scientists during the Cold War. A system of exercises called "Jump Training" used repetitive jumping in order to increase of speed and explosiveness of Russian track and field athletes. Dr. Verkhoshansky developed this type of jumping and published his studies on this new form of training in 1964.

Runners and any athlete who wants to mix up their routines to avoid staleness would do well do add plyometric exercises. There are benefits to the muscles, tendons, and the nervous system and when these are improved through the plyometric exercises, one can run faster, jump higher, and hit harder. A word of advice, if you haven't worked out in a while it is a good idea to work on strength and flexibility with cardio, weight training, and stretching before embarking on the plyometric exercises. Once you feel like you have gained strength and can run twenty to thirty minutes or so without stopping or getting winded, then you are probably ready to do some "jump training."

Baby steps to better fitness! Take the five minute challenge!

Did this happen to you this morning? You are planning a beach trip this weekend so you tried on your bathing suit and went "oh no." If you are not feeling too happy about the way you look then maybe it is time to try a "5K to couch" training program or find a boot camp in your town. But if you think you don't have time then try this five minute plan.

Start with five minutes a day of walking, jumping rope, throwing a frisbee, or attempting to juggle. Set your inner child free with whatever activity gets your heart rate up. Do another five minutes the next day and whenever you find you have a few extra minutes throughout the day continue with a cardio activity. Everyone can usually find a few minutes of free time and after a week of doing this you will realize you feel better and your skirt or pants may even be looser.

The worse thing we can do though is beat ourselves up over our looks or our size. Beauty comes in all packages. Being able to chase after the grandkids or keep up with the teens can be very gratifying when we feel fitter. Rome wasn't built in a day so why not start out with baby steps on the path to better fitness.