“Mom, I need to get faster on my feet or Ultimate Frisbee,” Jasper (16) said, lounging on the couch and nudging me with his foot. “How do I do that?”

“Jumping and faster leg turn over,” I said, looking up from the book I was reading. He sighed.

“I hate jumping,” he said.  I made the, that sucks to be you face, and turned my attention back to my book.

“I need someone to do it with me.” He smiled and again nudged me with his foot.  Now, I made the , that sucks to be me face.

Plyometric exercises sprang out of USSR in the 1970s (figures, doesn’t it? USSR turns out some tough athletes). The idea behind plyometric exercises is that running is a series of jumps from one foot to the other. Over a mile a person takes anywhere from 1900 steps (twelve min. mile) to 1100 steps (six min. mile). Your hip, knee, and ankle essentially act like a spring as you land and propel your body up and forward.  Plyometric’s build off of this principle and work to strengthen your muscles and tendons, which allow you to become like Tigger bouncing on his tail. Continue reading →