Plyo Power

I have a love-hate relationship with plyometrics.

When I was in high school and college and involved in competitive cheerleading, a lot of our conditioning workouts involved plyometric exercises.

A plyometric exercise is a movement involving repeated rapid stretching and contracting of muscles (ie: jumping or rebounding).

I remember on the 16th lap hopping up the atrium stairs at the university thinking “I am dropping out of cheer and joining the debate team!”

Because plyometrics primarily target the booty, hamstrings and quads which means a leaner lower half and a show stopping booty- WIN!

Now, way beyond my cheer days, I incorporate plyos into my training to condition my entire body by raising my heart rate in order to burn more body fat and I’ve noticed I can keep the body fat off easier when I add these somewhere into my training.

Be sure to warm up and stretch your legs before this calorie torching workout!

Plyo Power

Perform each of the following exercises in order for 50 seconds each with 10 seconds of rest between exercises. Rest for 2 minutes then repeat. Perform this circuit 3 times total.

1) jump squats
2) jumping lunges, alternating feet
3) kettlebell swings (modification: dumbbell swings)
4) lunge skip right
5) lunge skip left
6) high knees (modification: marching knee taps)
7) traveling frog hops
8) side to side skater hops