Plyometrics - so that's what they call it!

Apparently I have been including plyometric exercise in my workouts for some time now. That's a good thing to know, because without an impressive sounding name to drop, anyone watching me might think I'm just being silly.

By the way, you've seen plyometric exercises. Kids do it all the time. Adults usually do not, probably because there are real risks involved, so you might add "foolish" to silly if you came across me doing plyometrics.

I don't mind being seen as silly or foolish, especially as I can now defend myself with such a wonderfully sounding word. Really, isn't that a great word? Ply-oh-metrics. It sounds good, doesn't it?

Speed based power

What plyometrics aims to produce is "speed based power". I took those three words right out of the very sophisticated and scientific sounding Wikipedia article about this kind of exercise.

When I started doing plyometric exercises, I wasn't thinking about "speed based power", but obviously that's important for many athletes. I wasn't thinking about any risks I might be opening myself up to either, because I hadn't read the warning in that Wikipedia article:

Plyometric exercises involve an increased risk of injury due to the large forces generated during training and performance, and should only be performed by well-conditioned individuals who are under supervision. Good levels of physical strength, flexibility, and proprioception should be achieved before commencement of plyometric training.

Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plyometrics

Whoah! That sure sounds dangerous! Do you remember that I said you've seen children doing this? My goodness, I hope somebody is supervising them! It sure sounds like someone could get seriously hurt, doesn't it?

Well, really, you could. I have my tongue in my cheek a little bit, but the warnings are real. You could hurt yourself doing plyometric exercise. It's definitely not something everyone can do, though if you saw children doing it, you probably wouldn't rush in to interfere.

Jumping

Yes, jumping is a plyometric exercise. Jumping up in the air, jumping down off a box, jumping sideways, skipping.. all plyometric. The kinds of things most kids do when they are young enough not to care about looking silly. Jumping around.

I do jumping every day. I have a kitchen timer at my desk and have it set for 30 minutes. Whenever it goes off, I get myself up off my butt to do a bit of exercise for a few minutes. It's a break from sitting, a break for my eyes and a break for my brain. When I'm done, I reset the timer.

One of the things I like to do during that break is jump into the air ten times. We have high cathedral ceilings; I can't touch the peak when I jump, but I try hard, stretching out my arms as I go up. When I started doing these, I felt I was doing myself a lot of good: a bit of heart stimulation, building power in my legs both in the jumping and the landing, stretching my upper body, improving balance (that comes when landing) and giving weight bearing exercise to my leg and hip bones.

I was not unaware of the danger. My major fear was and is losing my balance and crashing head first into a piece of furniture. No doubt a twisted ankle would be easy enough also.

All the benefits seem to be real, and there may be more hidden in the dense jargon of that Wikipedia article. They say that plyometric training will "increase the efficiency of neuromuscular connections between brain and muscle."

I like efficiency.

But can an adult do this?

Obviously an adult CAN jump about like a child. I'm doing it and, having almost attained my 64th birthday as I write this, I have to be considered adult, in body if not in mind. I'm definitely in better physical shape than most people of my age, but I'm not sure I'd meet the conditioning levels that Wikipedia article seems to be calling for.

I've read other articles about plyometric training and they all seem to stress caution, the use of heavily padded mats and the watchful eye of a coach whose stern gaze will discourage the careless exuberance that might otherwise endanger the plyometric paractitioner.

In other words, this might not be a good exercise for you to be doing by yourself in a room full of things you could crack your head open upon. Even if you don't smash your head on the kitchen counter, you could sprain muscles or strain tendons and that could really put you in a sour mood and cause you to leave a nasty comment here. I wouldn't blame you for being peckish if you hurt yourself doing something I recommended, so I certainly am NOT recommending that any sensible adult would do anything resembling plyometric exercise unless professionally supervised and after being vetted by their doctor.

You should probably wear a helmet, knee and ankle pads and only do this in a deeply padded room with a crack team of medical emergency personell standing by just outside. Seriously - this could be dangerous,

But it is fun

I'm sure you can sense my vacillation. I enjoy my jumping and the benefits are real. At the same time, I have to acknowledge the strong element of risk inherent in this activity. All joking aside, I do think about that risk and I do keep myself very aware of it. I would not recommend this to most adults, even if they had a safe place to do it with knowledgeable supervision.

However, if you are physically capable of this and can find a safe place to do it, I don't think you need to be a professional athlete to benefit. I would strongly suggest that you read up on this thoroughly and of course talk to your doctor and assess your own capabilities realistically and honestly. Plyometric exercise just might be too risky to consider.

But it is fun. It really is.