How should I combine plyometrics with weights?

[sami]

How should I combine plyometrics with weight training to increase my speed and vertical jump (basketball)?

I consider myself as an advanced lifter but I would like to take a shot at this type of training (plyometrics) too?

Thanks

[CrazyR]

Originally Posted by sami

How should I combine plyometrics with weight training to increase my speed and vertical jump (basketball)?

i'll qualify this by saying i have no particular experience or expertise in such training....

but from what i've read and what i would assume.... your leg training should consist primarily of explosive movements.

the leg press would be a great example - do say 3 sets of 10 where the weight is light enough for you to do very quick reps.

... also practice jumping (lol)... say again 3 sets of 20... starting from a squat position and jumping up and reaching out as high as you can where each rep is done as quickly as possible.

[Chain]

In my opinion you should only do plyometrics when your legs are fresh. Doing them after lifting would be like praying for an injury. But before you even begin doing plyometrics you should have a decent level of strength (ie, if you can't squat 1.5 times your weight forget about plyometrics until you can). But it sounds like you have that. So the other thing you have to consider is the height to do plyometrics from. If you are doing something like depth jumps you do not want to use a box that is too high. A basic rule of thumb is, when you hit the ground and jump back up you should be able to jump higher than your normal vertical. If you can't then the box is probably too high for your strength level and you should jump from a lower height. Obviously you can't do that with every plyometric exercise but it's just a basic guideline.

One way to incorporate a plyometric type activity is to use jump squats. Try doing a few sets of 10 reps with jump squats first thing in your leg workout. Use a light weight (start with about 20% of your 1RM squat and work your way up as you get used to the exercise). That helped me quite a bit.

[TommyD]

Search the forum for a program called Air Alert. It supposedly adds not only to your vertical, but it will improve your speed as well. Just to warn you, I hear it's tough...

[sami]

Originally Posted by Chain

One way to incorporate a plyometric type activity is to use jump squats.

How do you do them (jump squat)?

[Chain]

Just like they said in the other thread you started my friend. The key is to try and stay on the ground as little as possible. So do it like they advised but keep that in mind.