Beach Volleyball Jumping Biomechanics

Jumping exercises are now widely known by the term plyometrics. The actual words plyo and metrics stand for measurable increases.

Plyometrics links strength with the speed of the muscle to produce power. Plyometrics are exercises designed in a way to enable a muscle to reach maximum strength in the shortest time possible.

When you want to move a muscle, your brain sends a chemical reaction to the muscles. Some movements occur without any conscious effort on your part.

The greatest jumpers actually don't spend much time on the ground. They realize that the longer they are on the ground the more energy is lost and that same energy could be used to jump higher.

So to teach people how to jump higher you must focus on being in contact with the ground for a shorter period of time. This is why plyometrics exists, to teach muscles a faster reaction time.

A muscle has more energy if it is stretched immediately prior to it contracting. This is why dropping down before you jump will actually cause you to jump higher.

Muscles behave in many ways like a rubber band. The more you stretch a rubber band the more power it will have when you let go.

An example of how our muscles react to stretching is the knee test. When the patella tendon under the knee cap is tapped, your muscle will react with power with no conscious thought on your part.

A muscle contraction is always fastest if stretched prior to contraction. Sadly, training does not increase the speed of the reaction, but it does increase the strength that the contraction will have.

So whether you play sand volleyball, basketball, or any other sport you need the power you develop from plyometrics.