BUILDING ATHETICISM: Hop Like a Bunny
Who knew that hopping like a bunny for Easter could be a legitimate athletic drill!Injury prevention, body control, and rate of force production are a few of the many benefits jump training has to offer. Each of these drills focus on landing mechanics which should be mastered before progressing to true plyometrics where you rebound off the ground.
Drill 1, the Double-leg drop squat is a great starting point for old and young athletes alike.
DOUBLE LEG DROP SQUAT
• Start in an athletic position with arms in front of the chest
• Stay on the balls of the feet, so you could slide a credit card under your heels
• Rapidly pull your arms back, breathing out and drop into a squat, stabilizing on two feet.
• Catch your balance and hold for 2 seconds
• Perform 3 sets x 10 reps
JUMP INTO DROP SQUAT
Start in a shallow squat on the balls of the feet, with arms cocked back
• Explode off the ground, driving your arms up for power
• Land with control in a shallow squat, holding for 2 seconds, then repeat
• Perform 3 sets x 10 reps
The next two exercises focus on single leg control.
If an athlete cannot control themselves on one foot, they have some serious leaks in their performance. We run, cut, decelerate, transition, drop step and cross over with multiple times body weight on one leg. When fractions of a second count, this critical component cannot be overlooked. As simple as these drills look, mastering them will reap huge rewards. Two drills to help develop your single leg strength, power and stability are the Single leg Drop Squat and the Linear Hop and Hold.
SINGLE LEG DROP SQUAT
• Start in an athletic position with arms in front of the chest
• Stay on the balls of the feet, so you could slide a credit card under your heels
• Rapidly pull your arms back, breathing out and stabilize on one foot remaining on the ball of the foot
• Catch your balance and hold for 2 seconds
• Perform 3 sets x 6/6 reps
LINEAR HOP + HOLD
• On one foot, start in an athletic position with arms in front of chest
• Stay on the ball of the foot, so you could slide a credit card under your heel
• Drive your arms and non-working leg up as you jump, thinking of pushing the ground away from you
• Try to fully extend the leg as you jump
• Land on the ball of the foot
• Breath out and throw the arms back behind you to gain more stability
• Perform 3 sets x 6/6 reps
If you are interested in athletic development, incorporate these exercises 2-3x/week. We love training athletes of all ages, working with clients as young as 7 and as old as 87! We especially. love it when we train 3 generations within one family. Check us out at www.pitraining.ca or reach out to us at info@pitraining.ca
