Cardio vs Plyometrics

[AdamJM]

Ok I know Cardovascular and Plyometric Exercise are generally two different things, but after running long distance and doing plyometrics (jumping exersise, running up bleachers/stairs, for those who may not know) I'm beggining to wonder. Not only do plyometrics make my muscles more sore but they also leave me breathing hard, much like running distance. The question that this all leads me too, could a program of plyometrics and sprints be as effective at building endurance and cutting fat as a cardovascular program and also give the quickness benifits that plyometrics give?

[Lee J B]

why does no one understand !? drop out the cardio and everything else , just go heavy well anyway mate here is a very helpful site which will deffinitly give you a definitive guide as to your question..

P-L-Y-O-M-E-T-R-I-C-S This will tell you all about plyometrics and various other stuff so you can compare it to your cardio routine , and i think you should be able to tell which one you benifit more from then, personally if your looking for fitness i would stick with cardio .. ( do you know how hard that was for me to say ) anyway good luck let us know what you decided ... sorry i dont have a more detailed answer for you than to just give you a site to look at .. i dont really know that much in the plyometrics area.

Cheers

[AdamJM]

I guess I should jsut say right up front, being an American football player, I need quickness and endurance. There are times during the season that we will run various sprint drills (everthing from running up hills to bear crawls) for 2 hours straight.

[Fudomyo]

Well for sports you certainly have to train to figure out how to use your newly found muscles. You don't gain much speed only from weight lifting, though it is clearly important. Your brain has to figure out how to use those muscles in the most effective way.

Any program that has anaerobic activity is going to help you. This is the most effective stimulant for growth hormone we have. Ever see any whimpy world class sprinters? They all have like 4% bodyfat, and muscles everywhere.

Hope that helps.
Fudo

[AdamJM]

Just so anyone who might read this knows, the link Lee gave is kindof a weak workout. It would be really good fro beginners though. No offence Lee, just I need more intense.

[cursor]

Plyometrics are beneficial when training the your body to react to the dynamics of many sports. Obviously, quick body adjustments required for football, basketball, etc. are dramatically different from those experienced by sprinting or running long-distance runners. Certainly if your interest is football then endurance strength, and radical agility are all key to success. In your case, DON'T leave out aerobics or plyometrics.

For basketball, one book that I could recommend is NBA Power Conditioning, authored by the National Basketball Conditioning Coaches Association. I'm confident that you can find a quality coaching text of similar style targeted for football excellence.

To be competitive and excel in sports, just looking good doesn't cut it.

[abarlament]

I personally do both, after I lift I run distance, like 1.2 or 1.4 miles I'm not sure what it is but its more than a mile but less than 1.5. Anyways, when I get back we go out back to the football field and we do grass drills, you know bear crawls and gassers and stuff.

[AdamJM]

Ahh the mighty bear crawl, how I love thee. LMAO the suck but I like them cause I can leave most the rest of the line in the dust

[abarlament]

Adam, I'm sorry to say it but you blasphemise the line by saying you actually LIKE bearcrawls. I never thought I'd see the day. Being that you ARE a sub-200 lineman that makes it a little easier to bear but still,

[abarlament]

Oh yea pun intended

[beefcurry1]

no offense taken from your post but being a sub 200 pound lineman is nothign to laugh at. i know its said to death but its not all about the size of the dog in the fight... having said that i was only 175 as a starting center. we did well enough, our team made playoffs and would have gone far had we not dumbass coaches. (losers excuse? maybe, truth? absolutely) a lot of it is being a crazy mofo on the feild. i was the kind of guy who would be jacked for a game. i guess dislocating my shoulder midgame being crazy helped.

[abarlament]

Hey it's cool. This season will be the first one I break the 200 barrier. Oh yea, I like don't even get pumped for the games, and I think it's really hurt me, I mean, I do my job but I don't really put fear into teh otehr players, that's soemthing I'm going for this year.

[beefcurry1]

music always gets me pumped. i always lay in front of my locker with a towel over my eyes with slipknot playing as loud as my ears can take it and imagine inflicting the most torturous acts of violent chaos my sick and twisted mind can conjure. i carry that to the field and think of that and "one of us is gonna lose.....who's it gonna be" i'm a BAD loser.

[Piper]

you are an evil f***... but I like it.. hehehehe

I'm a head wrecker in soccer... I get the ball... and instead of running toward the oppositions goal, I run into a space on the field and keep running until people follow me to get the ball... I pass the ball back into the space in the centre that I just created... BOOM.. Goal sweet

[Lee J B]

footballs dont seem to agree with me.... always seem to roll away from me