Shaun has featured in the June issue of Men’s Fitness Magazine, contributing to an article on Explosive Power and Plyometric Training.

Here is the article in full… sorry for the delay!

 

 

 

Ballistic Moves to Increase Strength Training Results.

 

By Shaun Stafford.

 

The key to working with Ballistic-type exercises is to keep them explosive. This means that they have to go at the start of your workout, or set, while you are both mentally and physically fresh. If you are fatigued, not only will the muscles not contract as quickly or effectively, but form suffers and the chance of injury will increase.

 

These Plyo-metric-esk exercises target the fast-twitch muscles fibres, allowing you to tap into the part of the muscle with the highest potential to not only grow, but to get very strong. Increasing explosive strength from these exercises can transfer onto other parts of your workout, allowing you to increase the amount you can lift on other exercises like your Bench or Squat.

 

Ballistic moves, if done to fire up your fast twitch fibres before a big compound exercise, should be kept low in volume. The goal is to remain explosive on every rep, not reach fatigue like most sets in a bodybuilding routine. Keep the reps low (1-5), with a weight pretty close to a 20 or 25 rep max, and focus on the speed and power of the move. This will allow you to easily transfer onto your compounds, and get through some heavier weights to really ramp up your strength training results, with fast twitch fibres onboard.

 

Here is a typical routine I would use for both the Bench Pressing and Squatting groups. I have also added a few more that I have used in the past and found good.

 

 

 

 

Make sure you are fully warmed up before hand, with joints taken through a good range of motion with load.

 

For the Legs, if you are using The Squat as your major lift in the set, I would use something like a ‘Box Depth Jump’ for the Ballistic response.

 

3 x 3 Depth Jumps

3 x 6 Barbell Squat.

3-5 mins rest.

 

For your Chest, if you are using The Bench as your major lift in the set, I would use a ‘Plyo-metric Clap Press-Up’ for the Ballistic response.

 

3 x 3 Clap Press-Ups

3 x 6 Bench Press

3-5 mins rest.

 

For Shoulders, if you are using an Overhead or Military Press as the major lift in the set, try using an ‘Explosive Overhead Smith Press’. Set a bench under the bar in a smith cage, in an upright position. To get the ballistic response, the key is to press the weight up as explosively as possible, let go of the bar at the top of the move, and then catch it as it comes back down. Again, this is done with a reasonable light weight (20-25rm).

 

3 x 3 Explosive Overhead Smith Press

3 x 6 Barbell Overhead / Military Press

3-5 mins rest.

 

A similar method can be used for the Biceps. If using a Db or Ez-Bar curl as the major lift in the set, the ballistic response can be gained from an ‘Explosive Barbell Throw’. With this method, you grab a barbell and curl it up as explosively as possible. When you reach the peak of the movement, let go of the barbell, launching it into the air. You then catch, and repeat the exercise. This can also be done in a Smith Cage.

 

3 x 3 Explosive Barbell Throw

3 x 6 Db / Ez-Bar Curl

3-5 mins rest.

 

 

 

 

There are a few more you can use for back and triceps, but the concept is the same as these other lifts.

 

Incorporating this form of training into your current routine isn’t too difficult; just throw it in when you feel like shaking things up. If using it as a method to focus your training around, try and work out a split with enough recovery (48-72hrs) for each body-part. Also, try and spend no more than 5-6 weeks on this form of training as it is quite neurologically demanding, and your body will adapt pretty quickly. Enjoy!