Workout
Full body plyometric workout
BY Added Health Editorial Team | 14 December 2022
Plyometrics is a form of exercise that trains your muscles to generate the most power possible (strength + speed), through a variety of bodyweight movements. If you want to challenge yourself, add some intensity, and work on speed, power, and agility, this is the workout for you!
This is a circuit-style workout, which will:
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Rotate between 4 exercises in a working set.
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You’ll then rest for a minute in-between each set.
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Each warm-up and cool-down activity should be completed for 30 seconds which you’ll repeat twice over.
Warm-up
Air skipping
- Start as if you had a skipping rope in your hands, with your feet close together and arms by your side.
- Breathe in and tighten your ab muscles, bending your hips, knees and ankles. Jump up and begin air skipping. Landing gently and keep your knees slightly bent throughout.
- While jumping, move your imaginary ropes with your wrist.
- Keep your spine neutral and shoulders back.
Arm circles
- Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Lift your arms to the sides, creating a T shape, and keep your elbow from bending.
- Slowly rotate your arms forwards, starting from small circles, and gradually make the circles bigger until you notice your triceps stretching.
- Reverse directions.
Hip circles
- Begin standing with your feet together.
- Raise one knee to about 90 degrees. Start to circle the hip, making a big circle with your knee. Try to go as wide as you can while staying stable.
- Keep circling slowly for the given time, then switch direction.
- Repeat on the other leg
Walk outs
- Begin with your feet hip-width apart, arms at the sides.
- Hinge at your hips, touching the floor with your hands and slowly crawl into a high plank position.
- Pause for a couple of seconds with your shoulders over your wrists and engage the abdominal muscles.
- Then, shuffle your hands back to your feet and stand up.
Repeat steps.
Workout
Squat Jumps
- Standing with your feet hip-distance apart, lower your body down into a squat position.
- Keep your spine straight, chest-lifted, and feet flat and grounded into the floor, then jump straight up and swing your arms overhead.
- Land softly, bending the knees to drop to back down to a squat and repeat.
Plyo Push-ups
- Starting in a plank position, either with knees on the floor or up on the feet, bring your hands in line with the shoulders.
- Do a regular push-up, and as you press up from the floor, push hard to lift your hands and body off the floor as high as possible to give you some air time, but maintain a connection with the knees/feet to the floor.
- Land softly, then return to the starting position and repeat. Continue for the given time.
Lunge Jumps
- Begin with your feet shoulder-width apart, and take a big step forward to lower both knees to a 90-degree angle.
- Keep your torso upright and as straight as you can, then push explosively off the ground with your legs, switching the positions of your legs whilst in the air, landing in a lunge position with the opposite foot in front.
- Repeat for as many reps as necessary
Half Burpee
- Begin with your legs wider than shoulder-width apart with your toes slightly turned out.
- Drop down into a squat, place your hands on the floor underneath your shoulders, kick your legs straight out behind you until you’re in a high plank position, lower your whole body down to the floor, and bend at the elbows.
- Use your arms to drive your body back up, bring your legs back to the starting position, and repeat.
Cool-down
Lunging hip flexor stretch
- Kneel on your left knee (like you are about to propose), and keep your right knee bent and right foot level on the ground in front of you.
- Slowly lean forward, stretching your left knee towards the floor.
- Hold the stretch before switching legs.
Wrist flexor
- Start with your arms with your palm up in front of you.
- Bend your wrist, your fingers pointing towards the floor.
- Using your other hand, gently bend your wrist by pushing your fingers back until feeling a mild to moderate stretch in your forearm. Repeat with the opposite wrist.
Shoulder raises
- While standing or sitting, have your arms by your side and your back straight; slowly lift your shoulders toward your ears.
- Hold here for a few seconds.
- Slowly lower your shoulders back down. Repeat steps.
Standing quad stretch
- Begin standing tall, your feet hip-width apart, pulling your abdominals in, and relax your shoulders.
- Bend your left leg, bring your heel towards your butt, and hold your left foot with your right hand.
- Hold your left foot with your left hand if the right-hand feels uncomfortable. A mild pull should spread slowly through the front of your left leg.
- Switch legs and repeat the stretch