By 
The Minimum Effective Dose Of Strength Training burpees, are a one-way ticket to nailing your paces and nabbing PRs, since they help you build strength, explosiveness (or power), speed, and agility. Those last three perks don’t come from strength training alone, so it’s key to round out your cross-training routine with jump training (another name for plyo).
All plyo movements require your muscles to stretch and contract at a rapid pace, which helps them become more explosive. So, unsurprisingly, they’re considered a high-intensity workout. mat, dumbbell, box or a sturdy elevated surface, like a stair.
Before you jump into plyo training, you want to feel solid when it comes to stability, balance, and core strength. But aside from that, the beauty of it is that you can scale plyo to your fitness level and that it is totally beginner-friendly. Can’t jump up onto a three-foot-tall box? Start small! The most important thing is that your movements are quick; they don’t have to be big. As you feel more stable and powerful, amp it up.
We recommend incorporating two or three plyometric exercises into the beginning of your workouts after your warmup. Since they demand so much from your body, you don’t want to go into them already fatigued from a bunch of other moves. Want your entire workout to incorporate plyo? You can do that, too. Just be ready to feel the burn in ways you’ve never felt it before.
Time: 20 minutes
Equipment: mat, dumbbell, box (or a sturdy elevated surface, like a stair)
Good for: full-body, power
Instructions: Complete 10 reps of the exercises below, resting for 30 seconds between each move. Once you’ve finished all movements, start from the top and repeat once more for a total of two rounds.
Join Runner’s World+ to become a stronger, faster runner!
Box Jump
How to: Start standing facing a plyo box (about two-feet away from it). Rise up onto balls of feet and swing straight arms over head, then bend knees and push hips back into a hinge position and swing arms back behind body to gain momentum to explode up off floor and jump up onto the box. Land in a squat position, with knees bent, feet flat, and hands in front of chest. Then stand up straight and step back down to starting position. That’s one rep.
Pro tip: Make this move more beginner- or home workout-friendly by jumping up onto a lower step or stair.
Sprawl
How to: Start in a plank position, then jump feet forward outside of hands. Drop butt below knees, lift torso up, and raise hands to chest level. Reverse the movement to return to start. That’s one rep.
Box Over
How to: Start standing with feet under hips next to a plyo box, bent forward to place both hands flat on the top of it. Press through hands, brace core, and kick feet up and back towards glutes to hop body over to opposite side of box. Reverse the movement to return to start. That’s one rep.
Donkey Kick Burpee
How to: Start standing with hands at sides. Hop up into the air. Upon landing, squat down, press hands into floor, and kick feet up into air higher than shoulder height. Let feet land directly under body, then hop back up. That’s one rep.
Pro tip: If you’re new to these types of exercises, start with a regular burpee Hip Extension Exercises.
Rotational Box Jump
How to: Start standing with feet under hips to the right of a plyo box. Rise up onto balls of feet and lift arms overhead, then with momentum, push hips back into a hinge position and swing arms back. Use this oomph to press through feet while swinging arms forward to explode up off floor. In mid-air, rotate entire body 90 degrees to the left and land in a slight squat position with hands in front of chest on top of the box, knees bent and feet flat. Stand up straight, then step back down to starting position. That’s one rep.
Mountain Climber
How to: Start in a plank position with shoulders stacked over wrists and core engaged. Drive right knee toward chest, then return to plank and quickly repeat with the left. Keep alternating sides as quickly as possible. That’s one rep.
Skater
How to: Start standing on right foot at far right end of mat or workout space with left leg bent, left foot lifted and crossed behind right leg, left arm bent and crossed in front of body, right arm behind back, and torso tilted slightly forward. Take a big hop to left switching arms and legs to mirror move on opposite side. Jump back to start. That’s one rep.
Pro tip: What to Know About Zone 2 Heart Rate Training.
Jumping Jack
How to: To start, stand with feet together and hands at sides. Then, lift arms out and overhead while jumping feet out past shoulders. Without pausing, quickly reverse the movement to return to start. That’s one rep.
Plyometric Wood Chopper
How to: Start standing with feet just outside of shoulders holding one dumbbell with both hands in front of body, arms extended straight toward floor. Lift right foot up off mat and behind body while bending at elbows to swing weight over left shoulder. Quickly hop from left foot to right while straightening arms and drawing dumbbell diagonally across chest toward right hip and torso, your gaze following the weight. That’s one rep. (Make sure to switch your starting foot for the second round.)
Shoulder Tap and Jack
How to: Get into a plank position, with shoulders stacked on top of wrists. Keeping core engaged, tap right shoulder with left hand while jumping both feet out wide to sides. Return to start, then repeat on the opposite side. That’s one rep.
Pro tip: Find your rhythm with just the jacks before adding the shoulder taps.
Readers Also Read
Shokz Headphones On Sale
Our Mental Strategies to Avoid the Wall
What’s a Good Beginner Marathon Time?
5 Download Your Training Plan
