Deceleration. Learning how to land & Slow Down will not only enhance your ability to explode & Fly, it will also enable you to be your best athletic version of yourself for as long as possible.
CPPS co-founder, Joe DeFranco asks when teaching about this principle, “Would you trust a pilot who was great at takeoffs but a little rusty at landing the plane?” Hell no right?
Well, unfortunately many athletes only focus on ridiculously high volume plyometric programs to build their ‘explosive power’ and as a result while they may get an adaptation training effect and increase their vertical, it comes with the painful price of tendonitis, tendonosis and a greater risk for injury.
Charles Poliquin would often say “You can’t fire a cannon from a canoe.” What this means is if
You don’t have the ability to stabilize & absorb force, then you just might blow yourself out of the water!
Isometric holds in various ranges of motion, slow eccentrics, super slow reps, landing drills and proper deceleration techniques are all very important and should be apart of ANY athlete’s training program.
It’s not sexy, you’ll get very few likes posting about it and it’s hard and can even be boring. However, to the invested athlete, it is of the utmost importance and will make the athlete feel great, help with their mobility, build muscle and help them be pain free and more confident as they hit the court and attack the rim.
Below is an example of a lower body workout and how you would implement some of these principles.
Warmup:
After performing a series of low impact movement to increase core temperature, complete the following:
i Iso-metric Pallof Press in Split Squat 2 x 15 secs each way
ii Depth Jump Landing x 5-8
iii Deceleration Landing Drill x 2-3 times each way
https://youtu.be/xavpSfMQSlQ
iv Burnouts 2 x 50-100
1A Trap Bar ‘Library’ Deadlift 5-6 x 5
1B Box Jump or 2 hand Rim Grab 5-6 x 1
2A Slow Eccentric Rev Lunge w/Explosive Knee Drive 3 x 8
2B MB Slam to Broad Jump 3 x 1
3A Glute/Ham Raise 4 x 6
3B Bodyweight Reverse Hyperextensions 4 x 5
4 Forward/Backward Farmers Walk (5 steps forward, 2 steps backward) 3 x 20 yards
5A Rolling Calf Raise on Sanddune Stepper 3 x 10
5B Banded Dorsi Flexion/Extension 3 x 10
Train smart. Be consistent in doing the important things that develop your athletic base and give yourself the best chance possible to succeed.