Real Life Runners with Angie and Kevin Brown

400: The Power of Plyometrics – How to Run Faster, Stronger, and Injury-Free

• Angie Brown

Share episode

Most runners focus on endurance and strength training—but what if explosive power was the missing piece to better running?

In this milestone 400th episode of the Real Life Runners Podcast, we’re diving into plyometrics—a powerful training tool that can help you run faster, improve efficiency, and reduce injury risk.

Many runners assume plyos are just for sprinters or elite athletes, but the truth is, every runner can benefit from adding explosive movements into their training. Whether you want to improve stride power, reduce ground contact time, or stay injury-free as you age, plyometrics could be the key.


🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn:


 ✅ What plyometrics are and why they matter for runners

 ✅ The science behind explosive movement and how it improves running efficiency

 ✅ How plyos can help runners over 40 maintain speed and strength

 ✅ The best beginner-friendly plyometric exercises for runners

 ✅ How to add plyos into your training safely and effectively


If you’ve ever felt like your stride was missing “pop” or struggled with slower ground contact times and injuries, this episode is for you! Learn how to train smarter, build power without burnout, and take your running to the next level.


Have you ever tried plyometric training? What’s your experience with it? Let’s chat! DM me or comment on Instagram—I’d love to hear from you.


Thanks for Listening!!

Be sure to hit FOLLOW on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one!



Grab your free Strength Guide for Runners here.

Interested in our coaching program? Check out our coaching options here.

Grab your free copy of the Running Snapshot by clicking here.

Come find us on Instagram and say hi!





Don't forget: The information on this website is not intended to treat or diagnose any medical condition or to provide medical advice. It is intended for general education in the areas of health and wellness. All information contained in this site is intended to be educational in nature. Nothing should be considered medical advice for your specific situation.

Angie:

It's episode 400 of the Real Life Runners podcast, and I'm so glad that you're here. For today's episode, we are diving into a game changing training tool that can help you run faster, improve efficiency, and reduce injury risk. All about the power of plyometrics. So many runners think that plyometrics are just for sprinters or for elite athletes where some have never even heard of them. But the truth is every runner can benefit from adding explosive movements into their training. So whether you want to increase your stride power, improve your running economy, or stay injury free as you age, or just get faster and stronger, plyometrics could be the missing piece in your training. So today, We're breaking it all down. We're talking about what plyometrics actually are and why they're different from strength training. The science behind why plyometrics make you faster and more efficient, how to use plyometrics safely, even if you've never done them before and the best plyometric exercises for runners. So let's jump in. What's up, Runners? And yes, that pun was definitely intended, because plyometrics are also known as jump training.

Kevin:

I can't believe you took the let's jump in joke. I was so ready for the let's jump joke myself. I was, I was gonna dominate that one. It was gonna be great.

Angie:

Puntastic.

Kevin:

It was Yes. It was ponderful.

Angie:

Oh, it will be anyway. So welcome to today's episode to this week. Um, first of all, thank you so much for those of you that have been on this journey with us. Can you believe that we have recorded 400 episodes?

Kevin:

That's even more in metric.

Angie:

It is. Yes. Okay. I was not expecting that one, but I mean, what a cool journey, you know? I mean, I can. Came up with this idea back in 20 16 20 17? 2017. 2017. Yeah. Hey, like, Hey, Kevin, let's start a podcast. And you're like, what are you talking about? Like, did you even then I,

Kevin:

I had a seizure in response to it.

Angie:

No, stop it. It was not, I mean, you did have a seizure relatively soon after that. But it was not in response to my, it was not

Kevin:

in response. to

Angie:

my podcast idea. Um. So what a cool and wild journey this has been. I mean, we can probably talk all day and reflect about how. Great. The last 400 episodes have been, um, we've really recorded and released a podcast once a week for the last seven plus years, which is wild.

Kevin:

Like there were a few episodes in there that were like interview episodes that we didn't get together, but I love the, yeah,

Angie:

so I've recorded 400, but you have not. This

Kevin:

is true. There have been some where I've lost my voice also.

Angie:

There have. Yeah. So there was a couple, I've done a couple solo episodes, some interview episodes, which we definitely have more of those in, uh, planned for this year, so I'm really excited to be bringing on some really stellar guests. And you're going to have some of your own interview episodes as well, where it's just you and not me.

Kevin:

Also true. I don't know

Angie:

how I feel about that. I

Kevin:

know you're going to jump. You're going to jump in on those ones also, but I've really enjoyed just being able to spend this time with you and discuss all of this to help other people and try and improve everybody. We've clearly improved our podcasting. If you go back and listen to. Episode one, we sound a little bit like robots. Um, and now we sound much, so more comfortable.

Angie:

And thank you to all of you who have been with us since episode one, or those of you that found the podcast and then decided to go all the way back to the beginning. I remember, um, I got an email from somebody. a couple years ago that said he had found the podcast and was so excited because he had gone back and started listening from episode one, which is binging all the episodes. And he found himself coming up on like 2019 and the beginning of 2020, knowing that the pandemic was going to hit, you know, he's like, so what's going to happen in the podcast. So that was, I thought that was cute.

Kevin:

Yeah, it's, it's really been quite the, the journey. Our podcasting has improved and I think that it's because we just started doing a thing. Like we weren't like, Hey, we're going to be awesome at podcasting. So now let's, now let's start actually hitting the record button. We just started to record, which I think ties in really nicely to today's episode is you don't get really good at plyometrics and then incorporate them into your training. It's just a thing that you start kind of easing into.

Angie:

Yeah, that's true. And so before we jump into the episode, I am going to make a request as a way for you to help us celebrate our 400th episode, can you please hit pause right now on this episode and go leave us a review. Even if you already left us one, you can leave us another review. If you have not left us a review, please, if you could leave us a review, that would be such a great way for you to Say thank you for the last 400 episodes for you to help celebrate 400 episodes of the Real Life Runners podcast with us. Uh, we obviously would appreciate those five star reviews and especially if you leave us a review, um, you know, a couple sentences because you can leave a rating. Oh, that's the other word. Rating and a review. The rating is how many stars you give us and then the review is you can write as little as one sentence if you want or a couple words, um, or just one thing that. This podcast has added to your running or to your life. One way that we have helped you to improve as a runner, that would be so amazing. So thank you in advance for everybody that takes me up on that. And that, you know, goes, goes forward with that request and answers that, that call in that request, because I would just love to help more runners. That's really our goal. On this podcast, we produce this podcast every single week for free. We don't have any sponsors. If you notice, there's no commercials or anything like that. So we're literally just doing this out of our desire to help more people. And if you could help us to help more people and to reach more people by leaving us a review, that really does help us. Like when people go into Apple podcasts or Spotify and they're searching for running podcasts, the ones that are rated more highly tend to pop up. You know, first, so that will help more people to find us and, um, if you share it on social media or share it with a friend, that's another great way for us to spread the word as well.

Kevin:

I should go in and review the ones where you're interviewing other people and I'm not on them. It feels, it feels awkward to give myself a five star review, but the ones where I'm not there, they're phenomenal episodes. Oh,

Angie:

thanks. That, we had a great one last week with Dr. Christine Lee. I've been getting a lot of really good messages about how powerful that. Episode was for people.

Kevin:

Yes. I have not I'm like part way through that episode. It's a good one I'm just part way through.

Angie:

All right, so let's jump in to today's episode Nailed it. We're gonna probably do quite a few of those. So hopefully you don't get too tired It's gonna be the

Kevin:

same pun every time. It's always jumping.

Angie:

Yeah, so plyometrics have been in athletics for a very long time, and they were traditionally known as jump training. Hence all of the jumping puns that we're making. So let's first talk about exactly what they are other than just jumping and why they matter for runners. So, So throughout this episode, you're going to kind of hear us referring to a spring metaphor like so think about a spring, not like a slinky, a very loose spring, like a very tight spring where like your garage, like your garage spring, you do not want to get your fingers stuck in those springs or let those things pop off because that will like take off your limb.

Kevin:

Yes. Yeah, no, that'll shoot right through you.

Angie:

So yes, we're talking about like a spring that when you compress it, it builds tension. And then once you release it, it springs back and creates power, right? So if you think of your legs, like springs, the more stiffness that you have in your legs or the more stiff that spring is, the harder it is to compress. But also when you release it, the more spring back it has, the more recoil that spring has. And it's the same thing goes for. Your muscles and your tendons specifically your tendons. Okay, like when we talk about the spring back We're not as much talking about the muscles. We are to an extent but it's it's a kind of a different Way that your muscles operate the different benefit to your muscles from plyometrics then to your tendons But when we talk about your tendons, I always like to think of the Achilles because it's jumping and so that's an is easy one for us to visualize. And we all know where the Achilles tendon is. So when you compress it, you're storing energy. And then once you push off the ground and you're like, you basically release it, that energy gets transferred to help push you up or forward if you're a runner. So it's giving you essentially free speed without extra effort, just because you are utilizing this passive energy reserve that your tendons can

Kevin:

Yeah. I mean, that's why there, there's a lot of running coaches out there that suggest that running is generally a passive action that it's at that one leg kind of moves and it doesn't

Angie:

feel passive at

Kevin:

all. Like the first time I heard somebody that was like, they were adamant. They're like, no, no running is a passive thing. If you just lean forward, you take one step. The next leg will naturally move forward in response to your first leg moving forward. You've got like the fall reflex and your body literally just keeps kind of bounding forward. I'm like, that doesn't seem right, but it's. It's part, I agree partially,

Angie:

it is partially true because I would say that running is reflexive action than a passive action.

Kevin:

Yeah, I think they were trying to equate those two words and I didn't fully agree, but I get that it's reflexive. Um, so where do we actually go with plyometrics? Like what specifically is plyometrics? Cause I remember when I did this in like. Junior high, I was trying to pretend like I was going to be really good at basketball. I was thoroughly confident in seventh grade I was going to be in the NBA. And so I had like a two by four in the backyard that I was like jumping over. My dad had this all set up for me. I'm sure that he had a book involved that led to my plyometric just jumping all over the backyard. Is that what it is? Do I have to get a two by four?

Angie:

We, I mean, you can absolutely get a two by four and put it in our backyard if you'd like to. There's some falling off of our fence right now so that you could maybe use one of those. But That's why I think that I'm glad you brought that up because a lot of runners or a lot of people they think about plyometrics Like that, you know in jump sports, right like basketball volleyball Sports that obviously require jumping. They're like, oh, yeah, of course You would do jump training because in basketball and volleyball it matters how high you can jump and so people Equate it with that but don't always necessarily equate it to With running and basically plyometrics help train your body to be springier, which helps you to push off the ground faster and more powerfully. So plyometrics basically are these quick explosive movements that often involve jumping, hopping, bounding, those kinds of things, and they involve rapid muscle contractions. Okay, that is the key to plyometrics is that they are very quick. Movements that involve the rapid compression and release of muscles and tendons. So these are different than traditional strength training because strength training is more of like slow, controlled movements, whereas plyometrics focus on speed, elasticity, and power. So I would put plyometrics kind of under the strength umbrella. Like if we're looking at a very broad um, umbrella because they do make you stronger, they make you faster, they increase your power, but they're kind of like a different leg than traditional strength training.

Kevin:

Okay. So they are a hundred percent not replacing strength training. I just want to, I want to drop that down as a clear statement. You can't just be like, all right, plyometric sounds more fun. Can I avoid strength training? That is a no.

Angie:

That is a definite no. And it's actually. Important for you to have a base of strength training before you jump into plyometrics nailed it. I did it again But essentially when you think of running running it is a series of jumps It's a series of plyometric movements where you are actually jumping or bounding from one foot to another and with each stride your muscles and your tendons absorb the force and then push you forward like you were just saying like in A lot of it, you know, a lot of that action does happen quote unquote passively like where you are storing and releasing energy because that's one of the ways that elites set themselves apart from more recreational types of runners is that they've learned not only do they have ridiculous genetic Genetics behind them, you know, and, uh, but they have also learned how to maximize their running economy and efficiency so that they can utilize all of that passive return of energy. So basically what happens is every with every step your your body exerts a force on the ground and then the ground do. It exerts what's called a ground reaction force.

Kevin:

Thank you, Newton. I was

Angie:

going to say, you're the physics teacher. This is

Kevin:

our third law.

Angie:

Right, so the ground reaction force, so the third law is for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction.

Kevin:

Yeah, but that, when Newton said action and reaction, it always messes people up because he used the word action and reaction as a synonym for force. For every force, there's an equal and opposite force. So when you're foot hits the ground, the ground hits right back up on your foot.

Angie:

With the same exact force. They match each other. Otherwise, your foot would go through the ground.

Kevin:

Yes, which would be tragic.

Angie:

Well, and that's one of the reasons why, like, running on ice, for example, like, people, your foot can go through the ice or, you know, Or the snow, if you're,

Kevin:

if you're, uh, Yeah. What's it called? Where your foot just drops all the way in? Pulling, like, uh, No

Angie:

idea.

Kevin:

Nope.

Angie:

Nope. Don't don't have it. Don't have it. Okay. I don't know what you're talking about, but yeah, so that's one of the things that happens is that ground reaction force is essentially pushing up on your body and helping to push you forward if your body is at the right angle and if you're utilizing the forces properly,

Kevin:

right? If your body is at the right angle. So when we talk about running is essentially Jumping from one foot to the next. I've seen people that that's what it looks like. They're running. They literally look like they're bounding from one foot to the next. And like, well, that, that does not look efficient at all. That's

Angie:

not, you're correct.

Kevin:

It looks remarkably inefficient. If you've ever watched like the Olympic long jumpers, their first few steps are super long bounds down the runway. And it's trying to kind of get them to the point where they're able to put out this huge amount of. Force and power with every stride, but it's a remarkably inefficient way to run. There's a reason why they don't even cover like a straightaway of the track when they're doing that, because it's super inefficient to run that direction. And there's other people that just shuffle the entire time. That's like the complete opposite of bounding along. If you're shuffling, you're not going to get much rebound off your leg either, because you're not hitting the ground with very much force. Cause you're never really picking your foot up.

Angie:

Right. And that's one of the reasons that people that shuffle tend to have. Pain, especially like in their hip flexors and other muscles because they're overworking the muscles instead of using some of that force That's passive through the tendons,

Kevin:

right? And then you get this third category which I think that, that track coaches put people into this thing or people found something online and it's a terrible running cue of any coach that's ever told you, well, make sure you pick up your knees when you run. If you see people that shuffle, they're like, Oh, pick your knees up. You get this very weird marching form when you do that. And you're, you're basically trying, you're almost eliminating the bounce back of your Achilles, because instead of letting your Achilles just drive your leg correctly, you're hitting the ground and then, Actively lifting it back up instead of like hitting the ground and letting your leg recoil back up It's sort of if you've ever been on a trampoline with somebody else you try and double bounce them It's the opposite of that if you try and jump right as somebody lands on the trampoline and your legs like buckle underneath you, you're getting no recoil.

Angie:

That's the worst. I hate it when that happens, right? But that's what double bouncing sofa double

Kevin:

bouncing is super fun. And that's essentially what you're getting. If you strengthen the Achilles and you get this rebound and it's coming back up, you're moving up because the tendon is just compressing and springing you forward. If you're trying to do this sort of like, Oh, I'll get my knees up and really make sure that I'm going, you're essentially like, it's the opposite of that. If you've ever been on the treadmill or on a trampoline and had it like bounce underneath you right as you're ready to jump and you just drop to the ground, that's what's happening with every single stride.

Angie:

So what does the research say? Right? So hopefully you kind of have an understanding of what plyometrics are, why they're important for runners. But what does the research say? The research has shown that. Plyometrics increased your running economy. So, what does that mean? It means that you can use less energy at the same pace. So, that improves the efficiency of your running as well. So, you don't get as tired running the same pace, which means you can maintain that pace for a longer period of time. It also shows increased stride power and speed. So, basically, there's this Concept inside the muscle that plyometrics utilize, which is called the stretch shortening cycle, and it's what, like when you shorten the muscle and like release it and like you do, uh, I'm trying to like figure out how to explain this in a very simple way. It's like it's a reflexive stretch and then the muscle shortens and then stretches and then releases and you get that power. Does that make sense or is that not, is that more confusing?

Kevin:

No, try saying it one more time, I'm gonna see if I can come up with it. The stretch shortening

Angie:

cycle.

Kevin:

I know, I'm not good at trying to explain it, I know what it muscle

Angie:

spindles and the Golgi tendon organs. Like in my brain is like all the science behind it. Um, but basically it's like this quick contraction of like when you stretch a muscle, you get this reflexive contraction. So it's this rapid Stretch and shortening cycle of the muscle and you're kind of trying to trigger that. It's a neuromuscular thing

Kevin:

If you've ever actually learned how to type on a keyboard Which maybe people listening to us have learned how to type on our keyboard Our kids only know how to type on their phone with their thumbs, but it's possible if you ever type with your keyboard It's the difference between having your fingers up above and literally hunting and pecking Versus if you get your hand placement, right your fingers literally pop right back off the key and send you towards the next place It's a very crude metaphor for what's happening inside of this.

Angie:

I've never would have put those two things together. But yes, you're essentially helping your your muscles to work more efficiently. So you spend less time on the ground, which is going to allow you to move forward faster because running the thing that. Separates running from walking is the float phase, which is when both feet are off the ground. You are literally flying, right? And I'm literally figuratively. No, you're literally literally fine because both feet are off the ground You

Kevin:

just made me smile because I love all the slow motion Replay of the speed walkers in the Olympics where they're like, oh both feet off the ground both feet off the ground,

Angie:

right? So when you're spending less time on the ground you can move forward faster again As long as you're moving forward and not up and this is another point that we're going to make later. Um, you know, which is why you're running form overall matters because plyometrics is not about giving you more upward motion. It's about giving you more forward motion. Um, and plyometrics can also reduce your injury risk when used correctly. Um, if plyometrics also have Increased inherent risk within them. So you have to be careful and we're going to talk about how to incorporate them safely later in today's episode. So the stronger your tendons are, there's, that means that there's less strain on your joints and lower risk of Achilles problems, knee problems, and hip injuries. So incorporating plan metrics can. Decrease your risk of injury as well. And that's what also has been shown in the research. As

Kevin:

long as you're doing it correctly and not just searching Instagram for plyometrics and then trying to do the coolest looking ones.

Angie:

Right. Because you know, you don't want to do what I did last week. I actually forgot. I was going to tell this story at the beginning of the episode of one of the reasons why we're talking about plyometrics this week, um, because you don't want to be like me. So last week, I, in my Monday strength session, I decided I was going to do box jumps and I had been doing box jumps pretty consistently for a few months and then I basically took a month off ish, about a month off and didn't do box jumps for about a month. And then last Monday I was like, I really should start doing those again. Those are really good for me. And so. Not only did I start doing box jumps again, I increased the number of sets that I did and I also made them harder by including a depth jump, which means like I jumped up onto the box and then jumped back down instead of doing it the way that I had been doing it before, which is jump up and then just gently and slowly step back down and then jump up with two feet and then step back down. Um, I just decided to jump up and then jump back down and that is much harder on the body. And so I tweaked my back doing that. It was a stupid thing to do. That shows you that we as coaches often know better, but that doesn't always mean that we do better because we like to trick ourselves and our brain, you know, likes to lie to us sometimes. And, uh, yeah, so So, I want you to start incorporating plyometrics, but I want you to do so safely and not follow my lead there.

Kevin:

Yeah. It's nuts to me that you decided, I've taken off several weeks, I'm going to come back, but I'm coming back in a more difficult manner than I left.

Angie:

It was dumb. Yeah. It was very, very dumb. Okay. And in part three, we're going to talk about how to incorporate everything safely. So, um, all right. Now we're going to talk about how plyometrics help you to run faster and more efficiently. You start to understand a little bit, you know that there's research behind it, but basically let's explain how this is working. Mr. Physics major, would you like to take the microphone?

Kevin:

Sure. I mean,

Angie:

you're not physics major, but you are a physics teacher,

Kevin:

physics teacher, engineering major. I've got all sorts of things. All right. So Essentially, your tendons are storing potential energy. Every time you hit the ground, the spring that is your tendon compresses, and then when you take your foot off the ground, it's able to spring back. And that potential energy, stored in your tendon, turns into kinetic energy, which moves you forward. We skip some steps along the inside, but that is essentially what is happening, is the potential of your tendon turns into kinetic energy, shooting you forward.

Angie:

Right, so it's kind of like a rubber band, except in the opposite direction. Like, with a rubber band, when you Pull a rubber band and you lengthen that rubber band. You build up the potential energy in that. And then when you release it, it shoots much further, right? So the tendons, it's not that we're stretching the tendons per se, like, but we kind of are because it's, it's a stretch and then a shortening that that's that muscle stretch shortening cycle that we were talking about before. So that's what essentially plyometrics help your muscles and your tendons do which improves that elasticity Making you more powerful with less effort

Kevin:

Which is like the holy grail of training if you can increase power and speed without increasing your effort level That's as good as it can possibly get whatever Training method you can come up with that. That's the result you're winning because you're going faster and it's not harder

Angie:

Yep, and so Those of us that are over 40, which I think is the majority of our audience. I mean, there might be some of you youngins listening, which is, you know, wonderful. And for you to know this information and start incorporating this information into your training now is a great idea. So this is A universal principle that runners and athletes of all ages need to be incorporating, but especially for runners over 40, it's important for us to know that plyometrics help us to maintain the stiffness and elasticity of our tenons that we tend to lose with age, because as we age, we Not only lose that stiffness in that tendon, the elasticity, but we also lose fast twitch muscle fibers, which are the key for speed and power and plyometrics help us to preserve more of those muscle fibers. So you don't feel like you're losing that pop in your stride as much it. That's really the key here. Plus, stronger tendons also mean less stress on your hips, your knees, and your ankles, which reduces your injury risk.

Kevin:

We kind of skimmed over this, but just for, for some anatomy assistance on this, tendons are the ones that connect muscles to bones, right?

Angie:

Yes. All right. So as ligaments connect bone to bone.

Kevin:

Okay, so if we're connecting, if we're strengthening the connection between muscle and bones, that's what's happening at every single joint, which is why plyometrics are super helpful. When you're hitting this, you're like, Oh, is that going to be good for, for this part of me? It's good for all of the parts that bend. So ankles and knees and hips, which one of those is. probably given you problems in the past or could potentially give you problems in the future. So if you can reduce the likelihood of some sort of aching soreness in a joint, that's, that's a win. Give me, give me some plyometrics. I'm going to go get a two by four.

Angie:

Excellent. All right. So let's talk about how to start incorporating them safely into your training without getting hurt like I did. So number one, start small. Plyometrics are all about quality. Not quantity. And this is a very important concept that is really Carrying over to pretty much all of our training as we get older quality over quantity You don't need to be out there just doing endless jumping exercises but if you do a few targeted plyometrics drills done correctly and Consistently they can make a huge impact in The results that you get from them,

Kevin:

you

Angie:

can't

Kevin:

actually be out there doing endless jumping drills because as you start stacking up drill after drill after drill and all sorts of exercise on top of each other, you're going to immediately lose the quality if you can't actually get the spring off of we're going to go through some of these different exercises. If you're not getting the quick springiness or you're not landing stable, that's going to put you in a position of hurting yourself. And then you're not actually getting any of the benefit of the plyometrics. If you're moving really, really slow through the plyometrics, you're not getting the whole idea of actually building the spring, actually working on the elasticity of your tendons. It's, it's just taking. Uh, it's taking a spring and instead of like compressing it and letting it pop back out, it's just taking that spring and just slowly stretching it out so it doesn't actually recoil. That's not the benefit of plyometrics. Everything needs to go at a faster cadence.

Angie:

Yes. And so these do need to be those, again, those rapid explosive types of movements, and they should be done when your muscles are fresh. Like Kevin said, when you have fatigued, tired muscles. Like so if you go out and do a heavy lifting session or a speed session and then try to do plyometrics afterwards, your muscles are already very tired. So when you do the plyometrics also makes a big difference because if you try to do plyometrics on already tired muscles and tendons, number one, it's going to increase your risk of injury. You're much more likely to get hurt doing them. And then number two, you're not going to be getting the same effects. You're not going to be getting the same benefits. And so Why are you doing things, anything in your training plan, if you're not getting good benefits from them? You know, people might say, Oh, well, there's the mental health benefit and this benefit and that benefit. And sure, there is some of that, that, you know, maybe. The training plan or the exact weekly routine that you're following is not completely optimized and that's fine It's real life, right? Like it doesn't have everything does not have to be optimized in our lives, but at the same time Plyometrics are one of those things that you can't do a lot of them because it increases your injury risk So you need to do a small amount of them for a short period of time, put them in when they're going to give you the most benefit and be the most effective.

Kevin:

All right. So if you were, let's take some, before we get into what we've got here in the outline, if you were looking at somebody who's like, I want to bring in plyometrics consistently on a weekly basis and they're, they go out for a run and they get in there, they're, you know, I don't know, 30, 45 minutes, like their regular run. And they realize, Oh, I do actually have a little bit of time. Is it better to put plyometrics On the end of a run, if you might be fatigued or should you be like, Ooh, I missed my plyometrics. I should have done it at the beginning of the run when I had time. I didn't think I had time. Is it a safer move, especially for athletes over 40 to be like, I'm going to have to skip plyometrics this week and do it again next week? or to do it on tired legs? I know it's a pure opinion question that you've got here but that's what I'm going for.

Angie:

I think it depends on what kind of plyometrics you're doing.

Kevin:

Oh, good one, gray area answer. So if you're doing plyometrics that will be less demanding, then you could probably get away with it?

Angie:

Yeah, you can get away with some but you wouldn't want to do some of the harder ones. So

Kevin:

depth jumps?

Angie:

Depth jumps is in there. Okay. Okay, so before we jump into kind of some common exercises that we can recommend for you and ways for you to get started, Let's first start with common mistakes to avoid. So number one is the Angie box jump problem, which is doing too much too soon. And even though I have a background in plyometrics, I was doing them consistently. A month ago, I took off a month from doing them. And so my body wasn't Still used to them, especially in that volume. I think that if I would have done, um, in that volume and that intensity, I should say. Because if I would have just done my normal set of box jumps to get back into it, it would have been fine. I think that I increased the sets and I added that depth, that jump back down, which was a really dumb idea. That was the dumbest of all of the ideas. Increasing the number of sets would have probably been okay as well. But doing too much too soon. is one of the worst things that you can do. Okay. So you want to start with a low volume and with controlled landings, you have to make sure that your body can control this. So again, you don't want to just jump into plyometrics. You want to have a base of strength training and mobility and stability before you start working on power, because plyometrics helps you to develop your power. And it's not a good idea to just jump into power and speed training. If you don't have a foundation underneath you, because again, your risk of injury is much higher.

Kevin:

Right. The plyometrics themselves are going to strengthen the muscle, like the tendons around your ankle. But if you're so weak in the ankle that you can't stand on one foot for like 10 seconds, then plyometrics might not be the place to start. You might want to start by practicing standing on one foot and then stretch that out to where you can stand on a foot for a minute. And then can you stand on a foot for a minute on an uneven surface or with your eyes closed, get to the point where you can actually support yourself on a foot before you start jumping all over the place.

Angie:

Yep. Second common mistake to avoid is ignoring recovery. These are intense. exercises. And I know that some of the beginning examples that I'm going to give you, you're probably thinking, okay, Angie, really, that's what you call an intense exercises. But for your tendons, they are, you know, that's the thing. It's, you know, it might not seem that intense since you are a runner, but But to your tendons, these are things that they have to kind of get used to. So recovery is really important. That's why you're only going to do them a couple of times a week. This is not something that you're going to necessarily do on a daily basis because overuse can lead to tendon fatigue. Tendon fatigue can lead to chronic, you know. Uh, it can lead to acute inflammation. It can lead to chronic tendinosis and other changes in the tendon, which you're already having age related changes in our tendons. So we don't need to add overuse and fatigue on top of that.

Kevin:

Okay. Tendon fatigue. I know what it feels like when my muscles get tired. Can I actually feel when my tendons are getting tired or is this sort of like I need to take it easy and slowly advance because otherwise I'm likely to get to tendon fatigue and before I even notice it it's moved into You know inflammation in the area. I'm heading towards tendonitis

Angie:

Yeah, I think it's probably the second one. I don't think it's like, Oh, my tendons are fatiguing because we noticed muscle fatigue before we noticed tendon fatigue. That's what I thought. So that's one of the reasons that you're, you're less likely to actually understand it, that and tendons are avascular.

Kevin:

That was my other thought is like, we're not getting good blood flow to our tendons. Like, I don't really notice that my tendons are getting tired. And that's what you call them intense. I've done these things with my high school kids and they're like, that's, All we're doing for our workout today. I'm like, uh, yes, cause I don't need you getting hurt. And it's, it doesn't seem like a huge amount, but for your tendons, there's such a small little part of your body and they don't repair very rapidly because there's no blood flow going to them essentially. So you've got to ease your way into these guys.

Angie:

Yeah. Um, the other mistake that people make is. Letting their form break down and not being aware of their form, and this is one of the things I tell all of my clients is as soon as your form starts to break down, you need to stop that. Like, I don't care if you've done three repetitions. If the fourth repetition feels like I can't maintain that form, then that's the answer. Like you have to stop. You have to focus on soft landings like where you You when you're jumping and you sound like it if there's an elephant in the room, that is not a good sign, right? You want to focus on keeping the knees slightly bent do never ever land with straight knees So you want your knees slightly bent at all time and you want to try to absorb those forces and Make your landings as quiet and as soft as possible. And again, making sure that you're controlling that movement and that you're not wobbling all over the place.

Kevin:

Right. Because if you feel like your form is breaking down, you're probably two reps beyond where your form actually started to break down. If you were filming yourself. You might be good with like the first three or four and then it starts breaking down and then it gets to a point where it's so broken down that you're like, Ooh, I feel like I landed wobbly on that one. Those first signs where you're actually sensing that you're not quite in control is definitely the time to stop and not the time to be like, I could probably get a couple more in. Right?

Angie:

I agree. Okay. All right. So when should you be doing plyometrics? How often should you be doing plyometrics? So basically you want to incorporate these 2 to 3 times a week for about 5 to 10 minutes per session. This doesn't take a lot of volume. Again, less is better. Quality over quantity. You can do these for 5 to 10 minutes and that includes rest breaks. So it's not 5 minutes straight or 10 minutes straight of plyometrics. It's doing them for about 15 seconds, 30 seconds. Maybe up to a minute, depending on what you're doing and then taking a break in between them. So two to three times a week, five to 10 minutes per session. So maybe about three to five exercises per plyometric session is essentially what you're looking for. You want to make sure that your body is warmed up before you get into plyometrics. So, if you want to do these before a run, which is when I would suggest to do them if you can, I would, uh, suggest to do essentially a dynamic warm up of about 5 to 10 minutes, where you're getting the blood flowing, you're getting your muscles and your joints warmed up and the body moving. Then you do your Set of plyometrics, and then you can go off on your run, especially if you have a speed workout that day. You definitely want to get your plyometrics done before. If you have a shorter, easier run, you can probably do them afterwards. But again, you're going to want to make sure that if they're after a run, they're more of like a low intensity type of plyometric, not the more difficult versions,

Kevin:

right? Because it's, it's quality over quantity. If you're already fatigued from your run, it's likely that your first couple of reps are already going to not have the proper form and then you would have to stop anyway,

Angie:

right? But there's a lot of running drills that we give to our clients as well that you can do either before or after you can do them before as part of your warmup or you can do them after a run when you do them after a run again, they're low intensity and the goal is. Running mechanics, right? Like really focusing on the biomechanics of your run and trying to improve your running form and to improve the springiness. And again, it's better if it's after an easier run or a shorter run versus a speed session.

Kevin:

Yeah, and I mean, the, the running drills as a, as a light form of plyometrics is totally different than saying, I'm going to go off on My normal, it's an easy run, I should be fine. And then coming back and doing something intense, like box jumps. It's always the one I go to is box jumps. Cause it just seems like one of the most intense forms of plyometrics or something where you're jumping excessively from side to side,

Angie:

lateral one. Yeah.

Kevin:

Because like the last thing you need to be is like, Oh, I'm slightly fatigued for my run. And then you try and do something side to side and completely roll an ankle.

Angie:

Exactly. Um, so that's how you would kind of. incorporate them into running days. You can also put plyometrics on strength days, which is when I like to do them as well. Um, plyometrics are a great way to get kind of sprint interval training types of things in where you're doing a more high intensity type of activity for a short amount of time. Um, so you can kind of kind of killed two birds with one stone there. Um, So if you're doing them on a strength day, again, you would want to warm up first, then do your plyometrics and then go and do your heavier lifts. You wouldn't want to lift heavy and then try to do plyometrics at the end. No,

Kevin:

definitely plyo on the front end of a strength day. Like, let's have the muscles be nice and fresh for those.

Angie:

Yes. So that's kind of how you would incorporate plyometrics into your routine. Um, any Are there further clarifications or anything you think there?

Kevin:

No, I mean, I like, you know, some easy drills at the end is, is one of my favorite ways just to get in some easy plyo. I do it more often than two to three times per week if, if you add in the very low intensity like running drills. I try and do those on a very regular basis. Right,

Angie:

but how intense are those running drills when you do them?

Kevin:

Super low intensity.

Angie:

And that's why?

Kevin:

That's why I can get them in all the time. So if you're, if you're starting to try and advance your plyometrics, Two to three times per week, max. But if you're like, Oh, well, I'm just doing these like very easy form drills at the end, technically it's plyometrics, but it's also just, it's, it's part of my cool down.

Angie:

Right. And so I think that always goes back to quality over quantity and also knowing the intention behind what you're doing. Are you trying to do this for your running mechanics and to kind of improve and to just kind of loosen up your joints, right? A lot of times I'll do slow running drills at the end of my run to just kind of get my joints moving and less stiff, like kind of work out some of that stiffness that develops during the course of my run versus doing plyometrics that are actually. With the goal and the target of developing speed and rapid power explosion.

Kevin:

Yeah, less power explosion, more increased range of motion and just feeling good and mobile afterwards.

Angie:

Exactly, exactly. So, some beginner plyometric exercises, if you're new to this world, things that you can start to incorporate. The first one is just ankle hops. So, what that looks like is essentially pretending like you're jumping rope where you're just doing these very small, short, quick hops. The motion is coming from the ankle, so it's not like you know, you're getting a big bend in the knee and the hip. You're not trying to jump for height. You're just kind of bouncing up and down as if you're jumping rope. So, of course, there is some Movement in the knee, but most of the movement is coming from the ankles where you're just landing and then pushing up from the ground with your toes.

Kevin:

Yeah, most of the movement in the knee is to help soften the landing. Correct. Because And that's why

Angie:

there's such good beginner exercises because it's teaching you how to land softly as well.

Kevin:

Right, this is like, find the loudest thing you can land on. Like your exercise mat is super loud because of it's like the, the stickiness of it. If you can figure out how to land on, on an exercise mat like that silently, You're, you're ready to move on to the next step because you're soft landing.

Angie:

It's just because I do things barefoot. I think that it's not as loud if I were to wear socks and other things. Sorry, that was

Kevin:

a personal commentary and not at all about the sound that you make on the mat. As much as any time I've tried to hop on that, I'm like, what the heck is wrong with me? Why am I just echoing through the entire house? That was no commentary on you at all.

Angie:

Alright, so ankle hops are a great place to go. Um, Pogo jumps are basically ankle hops, but just a little bit higher. So ankle hops are focusing on like that rapid quick movement, and you don't get very high off the ground. Pogo jumps are basically the same, but you're just jumping higher. It's not a squat jump. So a squat jump would be like actually bending the knees and bringing your hips down closer to the ground and then exploding upward. A pogo is like you're still in that very upright position. You're just trying to jump a little bit higher, but the motion still comes from the ankles as if you were on a pogo stick as a kid.

Kevin:

Okay. So pogos versus jump squats, you can kind of just keep a regular rhythm on pogos. Whereas with squat jumps, every time you land, you're going back into a squat, like it's a slower motion. To get through just like one full round of it.

Angie:

Yeah, exactly. And so, so those are some really good, um, beginner ones. Skipping is a great one. So just literally skipping in place or skipping forward is a great running drill that you can do. There's different types of skips that you can do. Um, but when we look at progression and this is why I always start people off with ankle hops, the first thing that you want to do is do. In place so you're not moving forward or side to side you're starting in place So you're jumping and landing in the same spot and you're doing it on two feet Okay, because when you think about progressing safely, which is very very important with plyometrics you will always want to start with double legs and then move to single legs and start with in place and then move on to as you get stronger, then you can move on to things that will actually move you like so forward hops versus hopping in place.

Kevin:

Right. So in terms of intensity, where do you put hopping versus skipping? Cause I think skipping is less intense, but I feel like it might also depend on the type of skip you're doing. Are you talking

Angie:

about double leg hops or single leg hops?

Kevin:

Single leg hop versus skipping.

Angie:

Single leg hops versus skipping. Well, are you talking about skipping in place or skipping forward?

Kevin:

Forward. In both cases we're moving forward.

Angie:

In both cases we're moving forward. I would say skipping because you're alternating legs.

Kevin:

That was my thought. There's like a fluidity to it.

Angie:

Right. So I think that makes it a little bit less, um, Tough on you and also easier to do.

Kevin:

Okay.

Angie:

Okay. So, those are some beginner plyometrics that you can start to incorporate. Again, do not just jump into plyometrics if you don't have a good base of strength, if you're consistent with your current strength routine, you're doing strength training at least twice a week, then you can think about adding in some plyometric drills and things like that to develop your speed and your power. If you're not doing strength training at least twice a week, you're going to want to hold off on this.

If you do have a good base of strength and you want to start incorporating plant metrics, I would love to invite you to check out our YouTube channel. I have not been posting a ton over there over the course of the past few years, but I am starting to add more videos to our YouTube channel. It's at Real Life Runners over on YouTube as well, so go check it out. I have examples of all of the beginner plyometric exercises that we talked about up on. The YouTube channel. So check us out over at real life runners on YouTube. If you want some examples of plyometrics and also there's some strength training exercises on there, and I'm really going to be adding more to that YouTube channel this year. So check it out, give us a follow. Uh, and I hope it's helpful.

Angie:

So as just a final summary, plyometrics aren't just for sprinters or jumping athletes, they can make any runner faster, stronger and more resilient. They help you to improve your running economy, your stride power, your injury resistance, and just a few minutes of targeted plyometrics each week can create Big results, but don't jump in. Don't do too much too soon. Start small quality over quantity. Your body will adapt and you're going to start to feel the difference in your runs. I'd love to hear your thoughts. I'd love to answer any questions that you guys might have. if you're not following us yet, head over to Instagram and follow us at real life runners. Um, send me a DM if you have any questions. And again, I'll just going to put in that plug again for. You know, please leave us a review if you like this episode. If you have another favorite episode, you can reference that episode in your review, but just take a minute, um, and write us a couple sentences to help us spread the word and help us share the plot, the podcast with other people that can benefit. And as always, thanks for spending this time with us today. This has been the Real Life Runners podcast, episode number 400. Now get out there and run your life.