Plyometric drills for improved run power and efficiency

The September issue of Canadian Running is hot off the press and on sale at newsstands around the country, and Jon-Erik Kawamoto is back – this month with plyometric (jumping) drills you can do in the back yard, or in the park.

Kawamoto is a strength and conditioning specialist, and he owns a gym — JKConditioning — in St. John’s, N.L. He’s also a runner, so he combines his knowledge of exercise physiology with his experiences from the road, trails and track to come up with the best strength training programs for runners everywhere.

In the video, Kawamoto takes you through a series of plyo drills (demonstrated by his wife, running and nutrition coach Julia Howard), that will improve your muscular power and rate of force development (your muscles’ ability to create force quickly).

Related: Key run workouts from Canadian Pros

The exercises consist of vertical jumps, pogo ankle jumps, depth jumps and alternate leg bounding. Kawamoto cautions that plyo drills can be hard on the body, so if you’re new to jump training, go easy at first, and do half the recommended sets until your body is accustomed to them.

The exercises appear in the September/October 2020 issue of Canadian Running, on newsstands now.