What is Plyoathletics

PLYOATHLETICS, or PLYOATHLETIC TRAINING is a training philosophy where you combine the benefits of three different forms of training into one, very demanding form of training. You get the best of strength, power and muscularity from strength training, the endurance and stamina of endurance training, and the speed, agility and quickness of plyometric training. The downside; you have to commit to it, wholehearted, because it takes time, will and strength. Plyoathletics consumes you and spit you out the other end as a complete athlete.

STRENGTH TRAINING has been around for ages. Strength has always had an important role in defining masculinity. No one will today question the benefits of strength training. Hippocrates explained the principle behind strength training when he wrote "that which if used develops, and that which if not used wastes away", referring to muscular hypertrophy and atrophy. Progressive resistance training dates back at least to Ancient Greece, when legend has it that wrestler Milo of Croton trained by carrying a newborn calf on his back every day until it was fully grown. Another Greek, the physician Galen, described strength training exercises using the halteres (an early form of dumbbell) in the 2nd century. Ancient Persians used the meels, which became popular during the 19th century as the Indian club, and has recently made a comeback in the form of the clubbell.

The dumbbell was joined by the barbell in the latter half of the 19th century. Early barbells had hollow globes that could be filled with sand or lead shot, but by the end of the century these were replaced by the plate-loading barbell commonly used today

Strengthtraining has progressed into many forms, but the most widespread are hypertrophy, training for musclesize, or bodybuilding. Training for strength, like the powerlifters do, and training for speed and power, like olympic lifters and many athletes do. Most people you see in gyms all over the world combine these goals in their strength training.

But how many strong men and women in gyms and healthclubs around the world has equally well developed endurance or speed. How many bodybuilders do you see running a 10k. Or sprinting with ease on the track and field. Some NFL players and many other athletes, obviously, has these characteristics. And the truth is that these athletes in many ways follows the plyoathletic principals of training. But other then that. How many hobby lifters out there do really posess this qualities? I'll even go as far as saying that too much lifting kills your endurance and makes you slow.

ENDURANCE TRAINING is another form of training that is very popular all over the world. In short, endurance training is what to you do to keep on going for a longer time at higher speed. Endurance training has an effect on the heart, lungs, muscle cells, bloodstream, bloodcells, recovery and many more important factors in the human body. Exercises for endurance tends to be aerobic in nature versus anaerobic movements. Aerobic exercise develops slow twitch muscles. Performing these exercises strengthens and elongates the muscles for preparation of extended periods of use.

Athletes train for endurance to compete in 5k and 10k races, half marathons, marathons, ultra marathons, triathlons, Ironman competitions, Century bike rides, mountain biking, cross-country skiing and so on. Non-athletes can train similarly with an aerobic workout to burn calories and fat. It is known that long distance training (LDT) for endurance over long periods of time can be helpful to joints and ligaments as one ages.

But endurance training doesn't make you strong or fast. Infact it might make you slower or weaker. If you only train endurance this will very likely happen. And endurance training, while keeping you thin, doesn't prompote the aesthetics and the looks that many people want in our moders society. Be real, who wants to look skinny?

PLYOMETRIC TRAINING is often referred to the gap between strength and speed. The link between weights and performance. And the connection between strength and pure power. Plyometrics (also known as "plyos") is a type of exercise training designed to produce fast, powerful movements, and improve the functions of the nervous system, generally for the purpose of improving performance in sports. Plyometric movements, in which a muscle is loaded and then contracted in rapid sequence, use the strength, elasticity and innervation of muscle and surrounding tissues to jump higher, run faster, throw farther, or hit harder, depending on the desired training goal. Plyometrics is used to increase the speed or force of muscular contractions, providing explosiveness for a variety of sport-specific activities. Plyometrics are useful for several sports - notably soccer, rugby, basketball, track and field athletics, racket sports, parkour, martial arts, skateboarding among others.

Muscular power and muscular strength are two different things. Muscular strength refers to how much force can be applied (The ability to lift a heavier weight as opposed to a lighter one). As per common knowledge, strength alone is not indicative of speed. Power refers to the combined factors of speed and strength (force). Performance in many sports is based on different types of power. In American Football, a lineman and a receiver may have the same power, but they have different limitations in how their power is delivered. The lineman would be speed limited, whereas the receiver would be strength limited. The purpose of plyometrics is to emphasize speed- based power. One activity that requires speed-favored power is high jumping. Ultimately, jump height is determined by how fast one is moving once his legs have left the ground. Good jumpers may not have exceptional leg strength, but they can produce their strength at exceptional speeds.

Plyometric training without strength is practically useless. You have to have the foundation to truly utilize the benefits of plyometrics. And you need the endurance to recover fast, to chain movements and to not let your cardiovascular system limit your performance. And it is from this understanding, that plyoathletics was born. We train to be the ultimate athletes. We train to lift heavy weights. We train to build muscles. We train to keep on going when others fail. We train to fast and powerfull in every way. And we train to look the best, always!!

To do this we have the following routines and guidelines to help us:

PLYOSTRENGTH - Strength training to make you stronger.
PLYOSIZE - Strength training to increase muscle size.
PLYOPOWER - Strength training to increase power and speed.
PLYOREPS - How to build a perfect routine.
PLYOSPEED - Plyometric training and speed training to make you faster.
PLYOINTERVALS - Intervalltraining to increase endurance and VO2max
PLYODISTANCE - Endurance training to keep you going for ever.

Read more about the founder of Plyoathletics here:

http://plyoathletics.blogspot.com/2010/12/about-author.html