Plyometrics, often referred to as "jump training," is a powerful tool for athletes looking to enhance their explosive strength and overall performance. By incorporating high-intensity, rapid-fire movements like jumps, bounds, and hops, plyometrics taps into the body's natural stretch-shortening cycle (SSC), allowing muscles to produce maximum force in minimal time. Whether you're an elite runner seeking a competitive edge or an athlete focused on agility and speed, plyometric exercises can help improve your reactive strength, coordination, and power output, making them an essential component of any performance-driven training regimen.

When I was running competitively as a teenager, we did a lot of plyometric exercises but when I reflect on that time, a lot of the plyometric exercises we did were half-hearted. Plyometric exercises are extremely valuable for developing speed, but they need to be underpinned by core foundational strength and performed with purpose.

"Like spring coils in a car, the harder tendons are to compress, the more they rebound with force."

One of the key benefits of plyometrics is increasing tendon strength. When it comes to running fast (and jumping high), strong tendons play a massive part. Unlike muscles, tendons don’t get noticeably bigger when you strengthen them. But they do become more thick and dense. Like spring coils in a car, the harder tendons are to compress, the more they rebound with force. And one of the best ways to strengthen tendons, make them thicker, harder to compress, and therefore recoil with more force, is through plyometrics.

My Top 5 Plyometric Exercises for Runners

Pogos. When I’m asked by parents what their kids can do to run faster, this is always my answer. Pogos! And as many of them as they can handle. These are the starting point for plyometrics in my opinion and I would prescribe these for everyone from little kids to Olympic athletes.

Bounding. What I like about bounding is that it not only develops incredible Achilles tendon strength by forcefully landing on a single leg in a running-type fashion, but it gives the athlete a sense of spending more time in the air and helps them to practice getting off the ground quickly.

Hurdle Jumps. The thing I like about hurdle jumps is they are so versatile. They can be small for beginners or high for advanced athletes. They can be straight leg or involve a knee tuck. They can be continuous or they can include a bounce in between. They can be linear, lateral, or even involve changing direction in the air. They can be incorporated into a track session or a gym session. In a gym session, they can be a standalone exercise or a superset exercise. And while they’re often double leg, they can even be single leg.

Depth Jumps. Depth jumps involve stepping off a box at a particular height suitable for the athlete, sink into a squat and immediately explode out of the squat for height either driving your body straight up or forward. This exercise primarily works the muscles.

Drop Jumps. Drop jumps also involve stepping off a box at a particular height suitable for the athlete; however, instead of sinking into a squat, the athlete keeps their knees relatively straight and bounces out of the landing. Focus on landing on the balls of the feet with your heels as low to the ground as possible without touching the ground and slapping the front half of the foot into the ground. This exercise primarily works the Achilles tendon.

Plyometrics tap into the body’s natural SSC allowing muscles to produce maximal force in minimal time. They are also one of the best ways to develop tendon strength, which is super important for running fast (and jumping high)!

What are your favourite plyometric exercises?

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