Boost Fat Burning!

Plyometrics, or “plyo,” helps you burn twice as many calories and adds spice to your workout. It encourages muscle development, speed agility, endurance and quickness. It stimulates many different muscle groups, which helps transform fat into lean muscle. It’s great for the larger muscle groups like legs, butts, thighs, and arms.

Below are a few tips for performing plyometrics:

1. Before you start, stretch for 10 to 15 minutes to help loosen muscles and joints.
2. Start slow, then increase the speed between jumps as you become more comfortable with the exercises.
3. Use your arms for balance.
4. Always land with knees bent (not locked) to “cushion” the joints on impact.

Here are some basic plyo exercises to begin with:

1. Squat jumps
2. Lateral jumps
3. Front jumps
4. Alternating lung jumps
5. Single-leg hop

Check out this video by fitness expert John Basedow as he demonstrates some basic plyometric exercises: