Creating an Explosive Lower Body

[Andystal03]

Right now I'm sitting here with a bum ankle and shin looking to clean up my workout. I've gotten a little sloppy lately, not particularly paying attention to reps but waiting for the burn.

Height: 6'1
Weight: 205lbs
Max Bench: 200-210lbs
Max Squat: 250-260

What I'm looking for is a way to be more explosive on my feet for quick moving and jumping. With doing so, my vertical should obviously increase as well.

Currently, I'm fairly clueless as to what workouts I should look at to help build this. I have heard of Jump Squats, Box Squats but am unfamiliar with how they work or any other workouts.

Lately I have been doing something similar for my workout:

Squat: 3x6 - 175, 185, 195
Sled Calf Raises: 3x25 - 405lbs
Step Ups: 3x10 - Holding 20lbs

I cut Leg Press out of there cus it was hurting my knees. Also, I realize no Deadlifts in there. Never had anyone show me how to do them, nor do I usually see anyone doing them

My cardio has been either jogging, bike, some cardio machine or just basketball in general.

 

[ExtraMile]

Alot of olympic lifts will give you explosive power from the floor if your interested.

And deadlifts? Watch these:

Deadlift and stiff-legged deadlift
YouTube - Strength Training & Workout Tips : Dead Lift Fitness Exercises

 

[Jocques Straap]

to become explosive, one must train explosive. A start would be to concentrate on lifting as quickly as possible during the explosive(concentric) phase of any exercise.

Why do you want to become more explosive?
What sports do you play?
Are you in season, off season? How much time to you have before your season starts?
age?


You numbers show that you are right around the point where you will see great gains from including speed work, and plyos in your program. However since you say you are nursing an ankle,shin and possible knee injury, you probably don't want to get into a intense explosive program now.

If I were in your position, I would concentrate on improving functionally first. Giving your body some time to recover from the injuries you have, as well as working on correcting the muscle/flexibility imbalances that you have. Yes, you do have imbalances, everyone does.

If sprint speed, and vertical leap are important, I would look at my form/technique as well. Very few people/athletes have an ideal gate, taking the time now to fix the big problems in your stride will allow you to continue to progress and not have to back track, or get hurt in the future.

 

[Andystal03]

Well it's for basketball so the reason would be for getting high up and fast. It will also help moving around with and without the ball and being overall quicker.

The ankle is a sprain from a 8-10 weeks ago, maybe longer, that is still slightly swollen. I occasionally have some pain in it but then it goes away within a few minutes. As for the shin, it's just shin splints I believe. I hadn't run for a little over a week, started running in game and took a little kick there I believe. It's no biggy. The knee is okay and has been for awhile. It use to give me problems and still sounds nasty but doesn't hurt.

What do you mean by improving muscle/flexibility imbalances? And how can I go about doing so?

As for the technique, commonly I am told I run flat footed and I know I do. I'm not necessarily looking to improve my raw vertical leap rather than my ability to get off of my feet and high up quickly.

 

[needtogetaas]

to become explosive, one must train explosive. A start would be to concentrate on lifting as quickly as possible during the explosive(concentric) phase of any exercise.

Why do you want to become more explosive?
What sports do you play?
Are you in season, off season? How much time to you have before your season starts?
age?


You numbers show that you are right around the point where you will see great gains from including speed work, and plyos in your program. However since you say you are nursing an ankle,shin and possible knee injury, you probably don't want to get into a intense explosive program now.

If I were in your position, I would concentrate on improving functionally first. Giving your body some time to recover from the injuries you have, as well as working on correcting the muscle/flexibility imbalances that you have. Yes, you do have imbalances, everyone does.

If sprint speed, and vertical leap are important, I would look at my form/technique as well. Very few people/athletes have an ideal gate, taking the time now to fix the big problems in your stride will allow you to continue to progress and not have to back track, or get hurt in the future.

well I like this guy.

 

[[CinnamonBuns]]

plyometrics, olympic lifting, heavy squat work and dynamic squat work all play a roll in getting you some hops

 

[Jocques Straap]

Thanks Needtoo, funny thing is, up until earlier today, I've always read your name as NeedtogetASS. I'm almost half convinced that you just recently changed it to aas.

Sounds to me like you have weak dorsiflexors and most likely tight calves. You probably have a heavy "foot slap" meaning when your running/jogging and you heel comes back down to contact the ground, your lack of flexibility in your ankle and your weak dorsiflexors can't hold your foot up, and your mid foot comes "slapping" down to the ground. People that run like this, typically get shin splints. And are often told that they run flat footed. (your probably also quad dominant and have weak inactive glutes, more reasons to deadlift.)

In basketball, ankle mobility is very important. So start stretching those calves and start strengthening your dorsiflexors.

For your sprint technique, check out this drill here This should help a lot with your technique, plus the girl instructing is cute, and does and awesome job. When running, try to mimic the action seen in this video. Heel stays off the ground, you are slightly leaning forward and driving with your legs, not pulling.

Check out the "Agile 8" thread on this forum. It should be on the first page. It has some good hip mobility exercises and warm up/stretching ideas that are very good for everyone. Although some of them may or may not apply to you, so try them all and drop the ones you find easy and continue to work on the painful/difficult ones.


As far weight training, along with the other exercises mentioned in this thread, step ups, lunge variations, split squats are critical. You spend a lot of time on one leg in basketball, you need to make sure your legs are balanced, and capable of performing on their own, as well as in a pair. Unilateral exercises. - If you aren't comfortable working on one leg, then this should be a priority.


There are tons of videos on youtube demonstrating plyometrics and speed training exercises( I would search for some good ones, but my internet is taking a crap today). Check some of them out, and pick some that have you moving forward, backwards, side to side(laterally), and jumping. Spend your first few sessions working slowly, so you know that your getting the form correct. It's not even worth doing if you aren't doing it right. Then work on building up your speed and moving as quickly as possible.

As far as managing rest and sets, the priority with plyo's is making sure speed doesn't fall. If you are working and you feel your feet slow down, or you aren't jumping as high, then take a minute break or 2, and then start again.


good luck, feel free to ask any more questions you have.

 

[Andystal03]

Dead on with the tight calves and weak dorsiflexion. ESPECIALLY tight calves. Would stretching help that out long term, or would I need to stretch a lot before often to prevent it?

I'll definitely mix in the main heavy lifts with plyo and other lifts. Should I do them on same days, or how should I work my Upper/Core/Lower? I have Mon-Friday to workout so 5 days is plenty of time. I was looking for Plyometrics on youtube, but there are so many random videos with such different things.

Found these: http://www.basketballdailyworld.com/practice/jumping/basketball-plyometrics-free-jumps-and-hops/

I've got what I have used along with a few I wouldn't mind using workouts. I'm just not sure how to incorporate plyometrics in there.

 

[fortunatesun]

The most important thing at this point is to improve your squat to 1.5x body weight. This provides the foundation that will allow you to most efficiently take advantage of explosive lifts and other specific exercises. It will also show you faster immediate results. It's what provides the horsepower that moves your wheels in the first place.

Like JS said, doing exercises that imitate what you want to get good at will be more effective. Running jumps, standing jumps, jumps to a box, depth jumps off a box, standing broad jumps, etc. are all good besides the ones already mentioned. Of course you've got to hold off on high impact because of your ankle.

For deadlift, go to the powerlifting forum and read called article 'The Deadlift'. It will be time well spent.



Here's a

 

[skyflyer231]

This is a good thread.

 

[Jocques Straap]

+1 on bring your squat max up. My math skills need some work too. (Since I read your numbers as 200bw, 250max = 1.5) I'm assuming your season is a long way away, if so concentrating on getting stronger now, is a good idea. Strength is the foundation.

Start stretching now, stretch everyday. Your not going to overtrain or run into any problems with stretching too much, so the more the better. I would start at twice a day. Once in the morning after you get out of the shower. This way your muscles are warm. Then again at night or after your workout. Preferably morning,workout, and night Focus on your calves, hams, and quads.

Something that I find tremendously helpful in your case, is to simply contract your dorsiflexors, attempting to raise your toes up to your knee. You can do this standing or seated. Hold it there, performing an isometric contraction of your dorsiflexors, keeping your heels on the ground. Hold for 10 seconds or so. Do as many sets as you want. Not only will this strengthen your dorsiflexors, but it will also stretch your plantar flexors. Kills two birds with one stone, and can be done anywhere. When your sitting in class, watching TV, of where ever. It's also very low impact.

Plyometrics shouldn't take up too much time. 10-15 minutes of drills per day or every other day would probably be ideal. Studies show that it doesn't matter if they are preformed before, or after a workout. But I strongly feel that they need to be done when you are fresh. Remember speed is king. If you start to slow down, then stop and take a break.




I would structure my workout like this:

2-3min, - get the Heart rate up. (jogging, skipping, jumping jacks)
5min - Dynamic Warm up exercises
10-15min - plyometrics
5min -rest.
30min - Weight Training
5min - cool down stretching.

 

[fortunatesun]

I've got what I have used along with a few I wouldn't mind using workouts. I'm just not sure how to incorporate plyometrics in there.

Plyometrics are usually done after heavy lifting especially until you get stronger. It's a common idea that you do your more physically taxing exercises first. I think they help in recovery and conditioning when done afterwards and keep your muscles from tightening up.

Of course if you have the time you can also do them on seperate days if it doesn't interfere with other activities. It depends on what's more comfortable to you.

 

[Jocques Straap]

With respect to Fortunatesun, I feel plyo's should be done first. Plyo's are all about the nervous system. Doing plyo's when the CNS is fried from squats and cleans, may not give you the greatest results. It's best to have a fresh nervous system so that your nerves can fire at their peak output when performing speed exercises. The great thing, is that since plyo's aren't that taxing on the CNS, you still will have plenty left for heavy lifting afterwards.

You will be able to give plyo's 100% effort, before heavy lifting, and still be able to give 100% to heavy lifting. However, if you do heavy lifting first, you won't be able to give 100% to plyo's after wards. You simply will be too drained to move at maximum velocity.

Of course, this means you would then need to include a proper cool down, afterwards to aid in recovery.

I will state again, that this is just my personal opinion on the matter, and the studies that I have seen say that it makes no difference if you do them before or after your workout.

Perhaps it's an individual thing and you should just do them when you feel like you're able to give them the best effort you can.

Also your priority may also come into play. If you are in preseason, improving in quickness and agility will be more important than strength. If you are in the offseason then strength should be the priority.

 

[fortunatesun]

Having done them both ways, I'm still siding with the conventional wisdom of this one. Agreed there's always going to be a trade off in doing one before the other. The thinking with doing heavier work first is that while of course you activate the CNS, the length of time to complete 5 reps is shorter than sets of plyo work. Peak activation times are much shorter. It's also about strength work lagging in comparison when doing them the other way.

You stated the best case, though, that really it's a matter of priority. And you want to be doing your heavier lifting in the off season so it doesn't impinge on game performance.

In any case, get his numbers to useful functional level should be first priority.

 

[Andystal03]

Alright, I think I have the idea down. Should I switch Plyometrics every other day or something? Like do the same ones Mon-Fri?

Also, I'm still unsure of basketball specific plyometrics to incorporate. I just don't know what it is I am looking for since it varies so much in videos. Don't want to try the wrong things.

 

[fortunatesun]

OK. I was review some literature about JStraap's posts and I'm going to have to amend my earlier statement a little.

Ideally, you should divide your weight training into two phases. First, the strength phase for reasons I said earlier. But then you can go through a sport specific phase where doing a movement that imitates your sport goal becomes the primary exercise. So, during this time, your first exercise would be something like box jumps, then squats, followed by secondary exercises like RDLs, would be the way to go.

Turns out we're both right. Mine was the more musclehead point of view. And I'm not kidding about getting squat numbers up first.

I don't have any vids handy but here's an article that describes several jump exercises you might want to do:
Might as well Jump

 

[fortunatesun]

Here's something that says I'm wrong.

From Kelly Baggett's article "Workout Templates For Various Athletes:

If you’re combining strength training, speed, agility, and plyo into one workout, always do the faster stuff first (i.e. dynamic mobility followed by speed followed by plyo followed by weights).

Well, I'm quitting for the night.

 

[1999TL]

OK. I was review some literature about JStraap's posts and I'm going to have to amend my earlier statement a little.

Ideally, you should divide your weight training into two phases. First, the strength phase for reasons I said earlier. But then you can go through a sport specific phase where doing a movement that imitates your sport goal becomes the primary exercise. So, during this time, your first exercise would be something like box jumps, then squats, followed by secondary exercises like RDLs, would be the way to go.

Turns out we're both right. Mine was the more musclehead point of view. And I'm not kidding about getting squat numbers up first.

I don't have any vids handy but here's an article that describes several jump exercises you might want to do:
Might as well Jump

This thread just motivated me to start jumping. I ran full court the other day and I felt old. I could only graze the rim. I'm 5'9".

 

[silent says]

Great thread.I think speed deads with bands would work good incorporated with all else above.Like 135 with the purple or green bands on a platform with rails on the side.It does help with your vertical.
Silent

 

[Jocques Straap]

There is a progression with plyometrics. There are easy exercises, and of course hard exercises. I can't really help your choose which one's are best for you. Since I really have no idea what level of athlete you are, and what you are capable of. You should choose a few plyometric exercises that you think, would be challenging for you.

Chose between 4-8 different exercises. Pick an exercise that hits on one or several of the traits below:

-Quick Feet
-Starting/stoping - acceleration/deceleration
-Lateral movement (side to side)
-backward movement
-max jump - single/double leg. -stationary/moving
-quick bounding
(-probably missing something here)


-Do 2-5 sets, of the exercise. Start off slow/medium pace to make sure you are getting the foot work right, and moving correctly for the exercise. Learn the steps, and the sequence. Then focus on performing it quickly.

You shouldn't need more than 45 seconds rest between sets. But if you do, take that time. Going through it half ass isn't worth anything. Really concentrate on being quick.

Don't spend more than 30 minutes consecutively on ploys, you should be able to burn through them in about 10-20 minutes.

Do the same exercises for 2-6 weeks. The great thing about speed work, is that the gains made are primarily neurological. They happen quickly. After a couple weeks, phase out the exercises that are getting too easy, and insert more challenging exercises.

As far as frequency, you can do these everyday, if you plan on doing it every day. I was develop 2 different programs and alternate them. One could be focused more on jumping, the other on moving.

Why don't you come up with a program for youself, and then post it up here. We will tell you if it's any good or not. Chances are, it will be fine, but I've been wrong before. Or better yet, find an experienced independent strength coach in your area.

 

[Andystal03]

I wish I could give an update, but my shin has not healed at all and I JUST rolled my other ankle yesterday. I guess I'm brittle

 

[Jocques Straap]

Sorry to hear about the ankle. Keep on working on it. These things take time. It's not going to fix it self over night. Also, you may want to start taking some naproxen or ibuprofen if you aren't already.

 

[Andystal03]

My ankle that I rolled over two months ago is still swollen some and VERY tight. I am heavily considering a Multi Vitamin.

 

[1999TL]

what you mean CONSIDERING a multi vitamin? You should be taking them every day.

 

[Andystal03]

I have been taking no-xplode and then just my regular eating habits [which is a lot honestly]. I have never taken a multi vitamin.