Monday, February 9, 2009

Training Video: Explosive Leg Endurance

Here's a short video showing one of the exercise sets that I do for explosive leg endurance training. I use a bar with no weights, but you can add weight if desired. Due to the dynamic nature of the exercise, the more weight you add, the slower your repetitions may become, so I recommend keeping it relatively light. The goal output of this exercise is to develop a more explosive jump and to be able to increase the anabolic endurance of the legs for dynamic movements. For me, I do this type of training for wushu (martial arts).

Barbell pull hops: The pull motion for this is similar to a clean. I start from a hanging position, knees slightly bent. You are using your legs to power you up. Try not to pull the bar up using your back or arms too much. Arms should stay straight for the hop and then the catch motion is as if you're pulling yourself under the bar. You're going to try to keep the bar close to your body on the way up in a straight line. During the hop motion, my feet leave the ground about a couple inches. I catch the bar momentarily at its peak as I land and then lower the bar back to the beginning hang position.

Barbell back squats: This is just like it sounds, the bar is on your upper shoulders, anchored in by your hands on both sides. Back should remain straight with head and chest up. When squatting, your knees should not travel past your toes.

In the video, I'm showing 20 barbell pull hop reps followed by 20 barbell back squat reps. You can increase or decrease the repetitions as needed based on your athletic condition. For the anabolic endurance goal, try for at least 10 repetitions on each. The motion for the pull hop takes some getting used to if you're not familiar with the movement. You may also opt for a full clean if you prefer (i.e. hang clean or power clean).



This is just something that I've been doing and may not be suited for you. Be safe and use caution while exercising of course! See how this feels before you go all out! Good luck.

3 comments:

  1. We watched this video, and SW was inspired to do a bit of exercise. Post more, and maybe SW will get to doing exercise regularly! :-D

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  2. Oh, nice! Get some use out of your home gym! :) I'll post more soon.

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  3. That's good enough to improve your leg endurance. I will definitely try this out and examine what the results are. To be fit and healthy and improve our exercise quality we need specific training for our body.
    Cary Fitness Trainer

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