Plyo Drills

Women's Basketball, Feb 2005 by Rangel, Mike

Noted plyometrics expert Mike Rangel discusses several easy to learn plyo exercises. By Mike Rangel

Left Foot-Right Foot Touches

This exercise, demonstrated by the Marina High School (Huntington Beach, Calif.) girls' basketball team, is designed to build foot speed, quickness and conditioning.

Reps: Do 2 sets with each foot with each set lasting 25 seconds with a 25-second break between each set.

1. Starting position. Left foot on the ground with the right foot off the ground in front.

2. Left foot moves forward with the opposite foot moving backward (like a pendulum). Opposite foot swings back and forth never touching the ground.

3. Left foot moves backward with the right foot moving forward like a pendulum.

4. Repeat movement.

Plyo bit: The foot on the ground should move back and forth about 8 to 12 inches as fast as possible. The opposite leg helps maintain balance, The athlete may add 5 seconds to each rep every 2 weeks, maxing out at 55 seconds with each leg. Remember the rest period between each rep is equal to the time of the rep (1:1 ratio).

Skier

This exercise, also demonstrated by the Marina High School girls' basketball team, is designed to build foot speed, quickness, explosiveness and conditioning.

Reps: Start off with two sets each, 30 seconds in length. 30 seconds of rest in between each set. Work up to two sets of 1 minute each.

1. Starting position can be done on the court, on the pavement outside, in the grass or in your home. Place feet together with knees slightly bent.

2. Jump to the side 6-8 inches in a skiing motion (back and forth) as quickly as you can. Jump back to the starting position and repeat movements.

Plyo bit: When doing this drill, pretend you are skiing. Jump from side to side as if your feet were touching hot coals. Barely touch the ground when landing.

About the author:

Noted plyometrics expert Mike Rangel is the founder of PlyoCity, a chain of plyometric workout facilities around the country. Rangel has done extensive plyometrics training with over 4,000 world-class basketball athletes, including Miles Simon (Arizona, NCAA Championship MVP), casey Jacobsen (Stanford, Phoenix Suns), Pat Garrity (Orlando Magic) and 2003 McDonald's Ail-American and current UCLA freshman Lindsey Pluimer. For more information on PlyoCity, visit www.plyocity.com.