Plyometrics at the gym: learn to land, then jump

In a plyometric movement the muscle lengthens under load and then shortens hard with almost no pause, as when you dip and spring into a jump. A 2015 review of plyometric exercise gives running and jumping as examples: each foot contact brings a quick stretch followed by a powerful contraction. Gym drills fall into four families.

This page covers jumps and their dosage. If the slower patterns of the functional floor are new, start with functional training for beginners, and for throws see medicine ball and slam ball workouts. The turf lane, step boxes and medicine balls are on RPM's functional floor.

The 2015 review is blunt about readiness. It names a missing base of strength or training as probably the most significant reason not to begin plyometrics, while admitting there is no consensus on how to test for that base. In practice, a coach will want to see you squat, lunge and step up under control before you leave the ground.

Landing comes before height. The review's first rung is stepping down from a low box, forwards, backwards and sideways, raising the height gradually, alongside small jumps on both feet. Both teach you to absorb your own bodyweight before you try to produce more force from it.

• Feet land about hip width apart, the whole foot meeting the floor softly.
• Knees bend in line with the toes instead of caving inwards.
• Hips sit back a little and the chest stays up, as in a quarter squat.
• You hold each landing for a second before the next rep.

If jumping hurts, or you have an injury, a medical condition or a pregnancy, see a doctor or physiotherapist before starting plyometric work.

Plyometric volume is usually counted in foot contacts. Every landing counts once, whether it ends a jump, a bound or a hop. The 2015 review calls 50 contacts in a session low volume and 200 or more high, and it cites earlier guidance of about 80 to 100 contacts for a beginner. It also states that quality matters more than quantity in plyometric work.

• Count every landing, warm-up jumps included, and log the total.
• Start at the low end and add contacts gradually, not every session.
• End the jump block when take-offs slow or landings get heavy. The review says to stop plyometric work once movement quality deteriorates.
• Leave 48 to 72 hours between hard plyometric sessions, as the review's authors recommend, though no evidence fixes the ideal gap.

Worked example: three sets of five squat jumps (15 contacts), three sets of six lateral bounds (18) and two sets of five jumps forwards and back (10) make 43, which is low volume by the review's measure. Between sets, the ACSM position stand on resistance training suggests three to five minutes of rest for fast, light power work, so a jump block is not a circuit.

Jumps are fast, so they suffer when you are tired. The ACSM position stand advises putting higher-intensity exercises before lower-intensity ones, and it counts light loads moved quickly as one route to power. Many programmes therefore place a short jump block straight after the warm-up, before the main lifts.

A second option, known as complex training, pairs a strength set with a jump set, such as goblet squats followed by squat jumps after a rest. A 2026 network meta-analysis of 34 studies found that combining resistance and plyometric training improved jump height and short sprints, with complex training ahead of resistance training alone on both. Those were its only outcomes, so try the method with a coach rather than making it the default.

RPM is one club, on Level 4 of AD HUB Sports Complex in Al Manhal. Its functional area in the Mixed section has a turf lane, step boxes and medicine balls, enough for every drill up to stage 3 above. Plyometric boxes are not confirmed, so ask before you plan box jumps, and jump only onto kit a coach confirms is meant for it.

• Coaching: coaches on the roster cover strength and conditioning in both sections, and Engine is the tier that adds coached programming, with inclusions confirmed on enquiry.
• Women: the women-only Ladies section has its own strength and cardio equipment. Ask which functional kit it holds, and whether your tier covers the turf lane too.
• Heat: from May to September, keep jumps indoors and allow time to warm up. The warm-up guide sets out ramp-up steps.
• On a free guided tour, ask when classes use the turf, since bounds need a clear lane.