Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Entertainment | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

Power jump

Pylometrics help the body generate power and speed

PYLOMETRICS IS a scientific name for what is basically jumping. Pylometric exercises such as jumping and hopping involve rapid stretching and shortening of muscles and generate explosive power.

For example, the quadriceps on the front of the thigh and the calf muscles, stretch and shorten quickly every time you skip a rope. Children who hop and skip react faster to changes in muscle stretch. Their bones are denser, and they find it easier to control body weight. Regular pylometric exercises also decrease the risk of injuries in children.

Young female athletes injure their knees more often than male athletes. Pylometrics can help prevent knee injuries in girls by strengthening muscles around the knee joint. There are many levels of intensity in pylometric training. Skipping and hopping are for beginners. Higher levels include hopping on one leg, depth jumping, multiple jumps and throws using large lightweight balls.

Children and teenagers must increase their conditioning with a week of aerobic exercise before attempting pylometrics. Another method is to begin with low intensity exercises — a few skips every day before increasing the volume and intensity of training.

RAJIV. M

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Metro Plus    Bangalore    Chennai    Coimbatore    Delhi    Hyderabad    Kochi    Madurai    Tiruchirapalli    Thiruvananthapuram    Vijayawada    Visakhapatnam