Plyometrics - what are they and will they help in mma or bjj?

If you have been training bjj or mma for any period of time and are fairly serious about it, I'm sure you've looked into ways to supplement your training.  Maybe you have cleaned up your diet or eating habits, or perhaps you have tried swimming to improve your cardio or kettlebells to elevate your functional strength and explosiveness.

One area you may have already heard of or may want to look into would be plyometrics.  Plyometric workouts can be used as supplements to your bjj and/or mma training or they can be used as stand alone workouts as they are pretty intense.

In this article we are going to examine just exactly what plyometrics are and hopefully by the end you'll be able to see how they can help take your game up a level.

What are plyometrics?

A plyometric workout, or plyo workout, uses fast, explosive, and volatile movements and motions to build your overall muscular capability, capacity, and speed.  Plyo workouts will help improve your performance in a variety of sports such as football or wrestling but we are focused on how they can help in mixed martial arts or Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Plyometrics (from wiki) refers to:  an activity that enables a muscle to reach maximal force in the shortest time possible.  Doing a plyometric exercise or workout causes that muscle group to switch back and forth between stretching rapidly and then contracting.

Plyometrics are simply a type or format of exercise.  Other examples include resistance training or kettlebell training, plyometrics is just another branch, another way to work out.  I think it's important to mix up your workouts for a couple of reasons.  First, so that you don't become bored with working out and second, to prevent your muscles from growing accustomed to the workout routine.  Some people call it muscle confusion or whatever.

You can think of it like this:  you know how when you start lifting weights again, how sore you are the next day or especially the 2nd day after?  It's because your muscles aren't used to that stress.  But as time goes on and the days and weeks pass, that soreness is less and less.

Why is that?

Because your body and muscles have come to expect that soreness and they have learned how to deal with and manage it.  This is where mixing up your workouts comes in.  Plyometrics will keep your body guessing, on edge, because you don't have to do them every day.  Plus you can always change up the exercises you do from workout to workout.

Who uses plyometric workouts?

This type of exercise is structured to help you eventually produce fast, powerful, and explosive physical movements.  Many athletes from all varieties of sports use plyometrics to improve their overall sports performance, particularly in areas where speed, power, and agility are crucial to success.  Plyometrics can also be used for improvement in overall fitness, although you'll generally see their use incorporated into general sports workouts.

In fact, plyometric workouts are essential to many mma strength training and conditioning programs.  These workouts are incredibly useful for any skill level, from novice to professional fighters since the type of conditioning you need to perform well gets developed through these workouts.

How are plyometric workouts structured?

Plyometric workouts or exercises work in three phases.

The starting or eccentric phase involves rapid movements that help increase the length of your muscles.

The next phase is the resting phase or the amortization phase.

The last or concentric phase calls for you to perform intense movements that work to shorten muscles.  Plyometric workouts are most effective when the span between the eccentric and concentric phases are as short as possible.

Let's use the squat box jump as an example exercise to demonstrate the different phases.  Phase I or the eccentric phase would be as you coil down into a spring, getting ready to jump.  You are pre-loading your muscles.  The amortization phase is merely the time between the eccentric and concentric phases.

The concentric phase is the portion of the exercise when you perform the motion, like the explosion or the jump in this case.

The less time you spend in the amortization phase the better.  Using our squat box jump example, as you squat down getting ready to explode and jump, don't hesitate at the bottom of your squat.  Squat down, get your butt down, and explode.  Don't linger at the bottom getting ready.  Just burst on up and out of there.  This does not give your muscles time to rest.  They are either being compressed as you squat or stretched as you jump.  Down at the bottom of your squat, they are resting.

How can plyometrics help with mma training and conditioning?

Plyometrics for mma stimulates bo

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