Vew-Do Balance Boards Free
Plyometric Exercise Training Program Still
looking for that silver bullet? The one that
gives you the "insiders" edge over the competition?
What's your motivation?... The love of the sport,
that high you feel from the attention of winning
or being the best? Maybe it's to attract members
of the opposite sex or overcome a disability.
Your motivation is there. You've tried training
harder, drilling, lifting and even nutritional
supplements, but you can't seem to crack-the-code. Core training
could be the missing link for you. It used to
be a secret weapon, but not anymore. Coaches
and trainers who are on the cutting edge of athletics
are adapting core training to their conventional
training routines.
Plyometric
exercise training and improving balance,
coordination and other motor skills through
proprioception
is one of the fastest growing areas of core
training. Try adding plyometric exercise
training to your
bag of tricks and see for yourself.
What's Plyometrics
and how can you benefit from a plyometric exercise
training program?
Plyometrics and plyometric
exercise training programs are exploding from
cult status to a necessity because it zeroes
in on two missing links to modern day athletics
- Sport specific core training and proprioception.
Plyometrics is the activity of rapid
alternation of lengthening and shortening of
specific muscle groups while resistance is continuously
being applied to them. This lengthening and shortening
cycle when performed in rapid succession allows
the muscles to store some of the lost energy
in the lengthening phase for use during the contraction
phase. The faster your muscles can perform this
lengthening, shortening with resistance cycle,
the more powerful your movements become. Strength
+ Minimal Time Factor = Power. That’s the
science of Plyometrics. I could go into the scientific jargon
of concentric and eccentric muscle contraction,
but you’ll probably become as confused
as I was as to which is which. The monster-sized benefit is deadly power,
but other benefits also kick-in; strength, speed,
agility, along with muscle memory and even endurance.
Once you start using these plyometric training
exercises, you’ll quickly find out why
I’ve also mentioned agility and endurance.
What’s
this Proprioception Thing?
Proprioception is often referred to
as the sixth sense. Proprioception allows you
to sense the positioning of parts of the body
in relation to other parts of the body. Without
proprioception you wouldn’t be able to
put a forkful of food in your mouth, walk or
swing a baseball bat without visually watching
your limbs doing it.
There is a lot of uneducated banter
about proprioception *usually from marketers
trying to load up sales copy with bullets of
benefits.* Proprioception is not a skill, it’s
a sense… much the same as the sense of
smell is not a skill. Smell is the enabler
for determining whether an egg is rotten or
not. Without the sense of smell, you’d
have to figure out if it was bad visually or
by the cramping stomach ache you’ll get
after eating it.
Proprioception is your body’s
enabler for learning and perfecting motor skills
like balance and coordination. Proprioception
allows you to improve coordination and balance
through repetitive drilling… and nailing
it all down as muscle memory. You either have
proprioception or you don’t.
Have you ever heard the expression, “Once
you learn how to ride a bike, you never forget
how,” That’s of proprioception
at work. Once a task is learned, it’s
programmed into body movements automatically
as motor skills through muscle memory.
In other words, it enables you to
remove the thought process. You don’t
think about it, you just do it. Imagine proprioception
as the fuel that helps make your body a lethal
jet fighter that runs on auto-pilot.
Plyometric Exercise Training
and Proprioception
The Vew-Do Balance Board Plyometric
Training Exercises I’ve developed are
easy to master and will have a radical effect
on your core training. Many of these exercises
were also designed as sport specific training
drills to help perfect motor skills through
proprioception.
Many of the exercises in this program
are sport specific. The exercises’ movements
mimic real-world actions. They transform them
from just exercises to sport specific drills
that helps develop muscle memory through proprioception.
Which sports benefit from plyometrics and
plyometric training programs?
Just about any athletic activity or
rehabilitation program would benefit from some
form of Plyometric exercise training, but I’ll
break the benefits down into two specific groups:
Full body sports and partial body sports. Full
body sports require continuous explosive power
from head to toe.
Heading the list for full body sports
is Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. The
world’s oldest sport is also the most
grueling. No other sport on the planet requires
the full-body power, strength, stamina, speed
and agility as wrestling.
Some of the other sports include Football,
Boxing, Rugby, Martial Arts, Swimming, Power
Lifting, Gymnastics and some Track and Field
events like the Shot-Put, Pole Vaulting and
even Tennis.
Partial body sports use explosive
power, but much of the power needed is limited
to one part of the body, usually the legs.
Partial body sports would include Cycling,
Basketball, Skateboarding, Skiing, Snowboarding,
Surfing and many Track and Field events.
This plyometric exercise training
program comes with a couple of warnings though...
First, plyometric training exercises are not
for couch potatoes or weekend warriors who
haven’t been in shape since Jesus left
Chicago. They’re also not for people
with half-hearted ambitions to become low-level
super heroes.
Second…They are not warm-up
exercises. Don’t even attempt to try
plyometric training exercises until you’re
body is sufficiently stretched out and warmed
up.
Third…If you own one of those
limited motion balance training devices; you
know, the Bongo Board type boards or any of
the Vew-Do copycat boards; don’t try
using them for these plyometric exercises unless
you plan on screwing the thing down onto a
couple of 2X4’s. You’re just asking
to injure yourself if you do.
Which Vew-Do Balance Boards
Can Be Used As Plyometric Training Devices?
The Indy, the Sk8, the Flow, the Zone
Complete and the Zippy are the only Vew-Do
boards that can
be adapted as a plyometric exercise equipment.
How to set up a Vew-Do Balance
Board for Plyometric Training Exercises
Setting up your Vew-Do Balance Board
for plyometric training is easy. First,
find a place clear of large objects like
furniture,
walls and pieces of exercise equipment.
To reduce the impact on joints like knees,
ankles
and shoulders, use an exercise area with
carpeting or some other dense cushioning
material like
a wrestling or exercise mat.
Using 2 plyometric
training rocks (aka teeter rocks) place
the rocks (flat
side to the floor) at stop ends of the
Vew-do Balance
Board sub-deck. Be sure that the Board’s
center rail fits snuggly in the slots of
the teeter rock and up against the stops
at each
end of the board….Ta da…..you’re
done! Let’s rock n’ roll…
 
Vew-Do Balance Board Lateral Pancake
Board Jumps.
None of these exercises can be considered
warm-ups, but pancake box jumps are the closest
thing you’ll see to a warm-up exercise
in Plyometrics. The term “pancake” is
derived from the fact that the balance board
lays on a flat surface like a pancake. You
don’t use the Vew-Do plyometric training
rocks for this exercise.
  
Stand
alongside the center of the board facing
the vertical length of it. Slightly
coil your legs and jump laterally to the
other side of the board, repeating this
motion from
one side to the other. This is a speed
burner. The trick to perfecting this exercise
to take
just enough air to clear the board before
coiling your legs for the next jump. After
landing,
spend as little amount of time on the ground
as possible.
nother variation to this is the Vertical
Pancake Board Jump. Stand alongside the
center of the board, but face horizontally
across
it. Coil up, jump vertically across the
board to the other side and then jump back
to your
original position. Remember that you’re
looking to increase foot speed, so limit the
amount of air you take on the jumps. You want
just enough to clear the board on landing and
prepare for the next jump.
Sport Specific Benefit – Low-impact
Plyometric exercise for developing power and
increasing foot speed. This exercise effective
for every physical activity including rehabilitation.
Vew-Do Balance Board Lateral Box Jumps -
Now we’ll start to get into some serious
plyometric training. The box jump is a simple
yet effective plyometric exercise. The term “box” is
used because this exercise is commonly done
using a wooden box. There are lots of fancy
box jumping apparatus on the market; usually
the only benefit is increased height. The problem
is, about the only other thing you can use
them for other than plyometrics is possibly
doubling them as a seat or a snack table.
Stand alongside the center of the
board facing the vertical length of it. Slightly
coil your legs and jump laterally onto the
board, bend your knees, coil and jump off the
board on the opposite side. Reverse the sequence
of floor, to board, to floor again returning
to your starting position.
This is a speed exercise. You’ll
need to add some air to your jump to make it
onto the board and remember to keep your feet
close together. Try to use as little time as
possible to land and prepare for the next jump.
The 3 step sequence of the box jump will also
help your coordination, muscle memory and endurance.
Vew-Do Balance Board Vertical Box Jumps -
Stand alongside the center of the board,
but face horizontally across it. Coil up,
jump onto the board, bend your knees, coil
and jump off the board to the opposite side.
Continue facing the same direction after
your landing. Reverse the sequence by jumping
backwards onto the board, bend your knees,
coil and jump backwards again off the board
to your starting position.
    
Sport Specific benefit – Increased
power and foot speed is an almost universal
benefit, but is critical for the following
athletes because it adds balance and agility.
Football players, boxers, wrestlers, soccer
players, surfers, skiers, snowboarders,
skateboarders and martial arts.
Vew-Do Balance Board Carving Jumps – Do
you often need to change your body position
laterally? How about being able to do it
with more quickness, power and agility?
If your sport requires aggressive lateral
movement, this plyometric carving jump
exercise will help you kick-in that extra
split-second burst of power. The added
benefit is balance training
Stand at one end of the board
facing horizontally across it. Coil and
jump laterally onto the center of the board.
Immediately coil and continue jumping laterally
off the board to the other end. Continue
facing the same direction and reverse your
jumping direction back onto the board.
Immediately jump again laterally off the
board to your original position. Spend
as little time as possible on the floor
or the board. The goal is to develop a
short quick carving technique.
Sport Specific benefit – Any
sport where carving and lateral movement
is important. This includes all your board
sports like snowboarding, skiing, skate
and wake boarding as well as surfing and
skating. Also helpful for soccer and football
players especially positions where you
need quick lateral movement. Running backs,
receivers, defensive backs and linebackers
are the beneficiaries.
Vew-Do Balance Board Grand Amplitude
Carving Jumps – This is where
the rubber meets the road. “Grand
Amplitude” in wrestling is quickly
elevating your opponent and taking them
from their feet to their back in a wide
arc. This exercise requires the same
wide arc and will hone your carving ability
along with some serious balance, agility
and endurance skills.
Using the same body position as
the carving jump, keep your feet together,
coil your legs and jump laterally in a
wide arc across the length of the board.
Adjust your body position in mid-air to
absorb the impact of the landing and to
position yourself for the next jump. Make
sure you use enough power and get enough
air to clear the entire length of the board.
Landing should be done cleanly and without
any hopping or extra steps.
Immediately coil your legs and
jump the length of the board to your original
position. Land cleanly and prepare to jump
to the other side of the board. The key
to performing this exercise correctly is
your old friend proprioception. You must
change your body positioning in mid-air
to have the ability to land cleanly without
any extra steps.
Sport Specific Benefit – Any
athlete that needs powerful lateral changes
in body position. Skiers, snowboarders,
surfers, skateboarders, hockey and figure
skaters. Running backs, receivers, defensive
backs and linebackers in football. Soccer
players, wrestlers and gymnasts.
Vew-Do Balance Board Diamondback Jumping
Jacks – I call these “Diamonds
backs” because the foot postioning
resembles the four corners of an imaginary
diamond. This is one of the harder exercises
for coordination. I suggest walking through
this exercise slowly at first to develop
some muscle memory before you step it
up to full speed.
Stand alongside the center of
the board, but face horizontally across
it. Coil up, jump onto the board. After
landing on the board, jump up vertically
and land spread eagle with your legs on
the outside of each end of the board. (You
can cheat a little by landing on the same
side of the board as you started, but spread
your legs as far as you can.) Jump back
onto the board with your feet together.
The next move is to jump forward
in front of the board. Then jump backwards
back onto the board with your feet together.
Jump up vertically again and land spread
eagle with your legs across the length
of the board. Jump back onto the board
with your feet together and then jump backwards
off the board to your original starting
position. You can enhance the effectiveness
of this exercise by raising your arms above
your head during the spread eagle jumps,
just like a regular jumping jack.
This exercise requires coordination,
balance and muscle memory. You’ll
feel a little awkward until you get the
sequence mastered, but you’ll appreciate
the results.
Sport Specific benefit – Any
sport that requires balance, coordinated
foot movements and speed. Best examples
are soccer, wrestling, hockey and figure
skating, martial arts and boxing.
Vew-Do Balance Board Extreme Squat
Thrusts – This exercise takes
the classic squat thrust and adds an
aerial component along with additional
arm movement. Don’t be fooled by
the looks of this. You’ll feel
some serious arm burn doing these.
Squat down and face across the
board. Place both hands down on the board,
shoulder length apart. The first move is
to uncoil your body and assume a push-up
position. Coil up and return to your starting
position.
While facing the same direction,
jump up onto the board while raising your
arms above your head. As soon as you land
on the board, immediately jump up again,
jumping slightly backwards off the board
while raising your arms above your head
and return to the original squat position.
Repeat the cycle.
Sport Specific Benefit – This
is an all-around plyometric training
exercise. It works the legs, abs, and
arms. Best
bet for full body sports like gymnastics,
wrestling, martial arts and swimming.
Vew-Do Balance Board Vertical Riot
Bomb Push-Ups – How about a
plyometric exercise carved from a modified “jailhouse” push-up.
Forget about clap or Japanese style push-ups.
They’re no comparison to this street-tough
arm burner. Don’t try this exercise
if you have any shoulder or rotator cuff
problems.
Assume the standard push-up position,
facing across the board with your arms
shoulder length apart and the board in
front of you. Coil down and push up quickly
using the spring in your arms to get enough
air to land on the board.
Perform another push-up, this time
landing with your arms in front of the
board. Reverse the sequence backwards onto
the board again and finish the cycle with
another push-up off the board and return
to your starting position. Make sure you
absorb the landings by bending at the elbows
to relieve the impact strain on the shoulders.
If you ate your “Wheaties” you
can try this variation of the Vertical
Riot Bomb. Skip the push-up onto the board
and vault your arms across it. Be aware
that you’ll need enough air to clear
the board and land on the other side. Reverse
the sequence and vault back to the starting
position.
Sport Specific Benefit – Any
sport which requires straight ahead, powerful
arm thrusts to create separation between
you and your opponent or another object.
Best bet for boxing, shot-put, gymnastics,
wrestling, martial arts, defensive and
offensive linemen in football to name a
few.
Vew-Do Balance Board Lateral Riot
Bomb Push-Ups – This exercise
adds lateral movement to a standard push-up
and something else. It requires you to
torque your mid-section during the push-up
phase. With some sports, it’s all
about pushing people or objects around.
That requires powerful arm thrusts while
simultaneously using torque from your
hips and abs. Stay away from this exercise
if you have rotator cuff or shoulder
problems.
Face your body along the vertical
length of the board, with your shoulders
lined up with the center and take a close-hand
push-up position. Coil down into your push-up.
As you vault up onto the board, torque
your hips slightly to change your arm position
and land on the board with your hands.
Coil into another push-up from
the board, and torque your hips to
land on the opposite side of the board.
Reverse
the sequence and the hip torque to
return to your original position. Make
sure you
absorb the landings by bending at the
elbows to relieve the impact strain
on the shoulders.
If you’re an absolute masochist,
another variation of this exercise
is to skip the push-up onto the board
and just
arm-hop from one side of the board
to the other. May the force be with
you on that
one.
Sport Specific Benefit – Here’s
a partial list sports that could benefit
from lateral riot bombs. Pole vaulting,
wrestling, offensive and defensive linemen
in football, shot-put, discus, hammer-throw,
javelin and gymnastics.
Vew-Do… “Balance
without limits ™
This is just another example of
how you can get limitless versatility for
your money if you do some research and
make the right choices before you plunk-down
your hard-earned cash…This is just
the first in a series of articles showing
how you get more value from Vew-Do.
They
say practice makes perfect, not true…only perfect practice makes
perfect. If you’re doing it wrong
in practice, you’ll do it wrong
everywhere else.
By: Rick Contrata
|
Fitness
Zone - 
