Harry Aikines-Aryeetey is a Team GB sprinter and media personality who has successfully competed on World, Olympic and Commonwealth stages in Athletics and is known for his extraordinary physique and explosive power. As an elite sprinter, Harry AA is the ideal sportsman to help you understand and learn the basic movements of plyometrics to aid in improving your overall explosiveness and force. 

What is a Plyo Jump Box?

A Plyo Jump Box is a piece of gym equipment used predominantly for plyometric training. Plyos are used to improve fast twitch muscle fibres in the body, which increases overall muscle power. A plyo jump box can be used for a wide range of forceful movements such as single leg box jumps, step ups, lateral box jumps and 2-2 box jumps.

Harry AA's Beginner Plyometric Workout

Single Leg Hop

This exercise does not require any additional equipment and can be done anywhere. It is perfect for those who are new to the world of plyometrics, but also for those who may have balance and stability issues and want to improve their overall bodily control and functionality. For progression, you could try wearing a tactical vest or holding 2 dumbbells by your side.

• Standing in a neutral position, bend at the knee on one leg. 

• Driving through the ball of your foot and with a slight flex at the knee, hop on your standing leg.

• As you land on the ball of your foot, make sure you bend at the hip and knee to maintain a soft landing and avoid injury.

180s

This exercise will not only help engage your lower body muscles but will also aid core strength which will assist you for Part 2 and 3 of the plyometric workouts with Harry AA. To make things more challenging, try jumping higher with added speed.

• With your feet shoulder width apart, bend at the knees.

• Jump and twist 180 degrees so that you end up facing the opposite direction.

• Land with knees bent to ensure stability then repeat in the other direction, alternating between clockwise and anticlockwise 180 jumps.

Square Jump

This is another exercise that's equipment free and effective! This one will test your multidirectional movements, combining the single leg hop and 180s, whilst improving your reactivity off the ground and stability. For a challenge, you could add weight to this exercise by holding onto 2 Dumbbells or wear a weight vest.

• With your hands on your hips, stand on one leg, with the other one bent at 90 degrees.

• Create an imaginary square around you and hop on one leg to each of the four corners.

• Switch legs to repeat on the other side, before doing some double leg square jumps.

Learning the fundamentals of plyometrics will be essential in the development of your speed, power, and ground reaction force. Mastering the basics makes it easier to achieve success, therefore these exercises will act as the building blocks upon which more skills are built.

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Tags: Exercise Type > Conditioning ; Misc > Mirafit Ambassadors ; Misc > Workout