Great Exercises for Your LEGS

Boxers have long-lamented that “the legs are the first things to go.” While that may be true in relation to the quick reflexes boxers need in the ring, the rest of us mere mortals would do well to incorporate some basic exercises that maintain muscle mass in our legs and keep a little bit of spring in our step.

Now go figure. Little did I know that these basic jumping/hopping movements actually had a NAME. I just discovered that what I’d learned years ago thanks to an old coach of mine is now referred to as PLYOMETRICS. Fine. You call it plyometrics, I call it hopping and jumping. No matter how educated you want to sound, it means nothing if you aren’t doing something to improve your health.

These exercises involve three phases. The first phase is the “pre-stretch.” You don’t want to pull a muscle while you’re trying to build your muscles. 

The second phase is the time between the end of the pre-stretch and the start of the concentric muscle action. According to plyometrics, this brief transition period from stretching to contracting is known as the amortization phase. I call it….”rest.” I know, it doesn’t sound nearly as technical, but the shorter this phase is, the more powerful the subsequent muscle contraction will be. 

The third and final phase is the actual muscle contraction - better know as the exercise itself. In practice, this is the movement the athlete desires - the powerful jump. 

This sequence of three phases is called the stretch-shortening cycle. In fact, plyometrics could also be called stretch-shortening cycle exercises. I call it something easier: the workout. 

Now why is it that if I describe these exercises as ‘hopping and jumping” a lot of men and women will simply NOT be interested. Yet, the minute I call them ‘plyomterics’ and charge you money, all of a sudden the interest/participation level skyrockets? I’ve seen it happen and I have yet to figure it out.