Charlie writes:
It depends on how many reps and how often. A low number of very explosive hops or bounds will have a very different effect than a series (10-20 second duration) of plyometric work.
Q: When are low number explosive med ball workouts done oppossed to high number longer duration workouts (10-20 seconds). Are low number workouts more for explosion while longer duration are more for power endurance. Could you expand on this idea.
Good question, to ellaborate more, do you compliment the sprint training with the med-ball focus? On speed days, keep med ball work low volume/ high intensity? Then on speed or special endurance days bridge into slightly longer sets?
What kind of wattages are generated during a typical med bal throw (at the hips).
Does the lack of impact and slower limb velocity make it less intense compared to other activities?
Dazed. I dont know much about wattages. I do think that med ball throws are intense if an explosion (leap) is called for at the climax of the throw. I wouldnt say that they are as demanding as an oly. lift, but they do stress CNS. If you think about it, A toss for height simulates a power clean or snatch since you want to completely extend the hips in the throw as in the lift.
I think I read on the original forum, regarding ordering of high intensity elements, that plyometrics were considered by Charlie to be of a higher (absolute/relative?) intensity or value then were total body throws/squats etc. Unsure as to why this is the case. If someone could elaborate on this I’m sure many here would appreciate it, I know I would.
Joel, didn’t Charlie cover this in Asheville. If I remember correctly (someone correct me if I’m not), he was talking about the muscle fiber recruitment chart camparing different exercises. Med ball throws were ranked higher in terms of number of motor units used and CNS involvement, but the plyos were ranked higher in intensity due to the mechanical stress from the impact.
Yeah, now that you mention it, I do remember that about the higher CNS involvement. Makes sense that anything resisted would involve more motor units. I did not remember why they(plyos) were ranked to have higher intensity, though. I wonder if jumping up to the top of a box or into a pit would remove it from this category since obviously the mechanical stress of the landing impact would be greatly reduced?
I think the intensity comes from the mechanical stress of the impact. And I agree with you about the jumps onto a box. I’m not a big fan of plyos because I have low tolerance for impact work, but I don’t have a problem with box jumps.
Flash and Pioneer, you both are right on the mechanical stress. That is what I got from the discussion.