Eamonn Flanagan on Plyometric Progressions, Jump Testing and Moving the Right Needle in Training

Today’s show brings on Eamonn Flanagan. Eamonn is the lead Strength & Conditioning Consultant with the Sport Ireland Institute where he manages the S&C support to Ireland's Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Amongst other areas of expertise, Eamonn is a leading coach in both the science and practice of jump training and plyometrics, has a PhD. in Sports Biomechanics and previously worked in professional rugby over a decade. Plyometrics and jump training is a common, and enjoyable training topic, one of the reasons being that leaping ability is generally a sign of superior athletic ability. Jump training goes far beyond simply being able to dunk a basketball or reach the top-10 of a highlight series however; as it’s also a useful predictor of various athletic qualities, and if those qualities are actually being improved (often times, we see a lifting related quality improve without moving the needle on important jump related qualities). The data-based approach to jump monitoring can come across as mundane, but Eamonn approaches it from a practical perspective that represents his coaching intuition, as well as that of his sport science abilities. On today’s show, Eamonn talks about what stiffness is, and isn’t in plyometrics, and what makes a good athlete from a plyometric and reactive perspective. We talk about plyometric progressions, and some points of intent Eamonn looks for in plyometric activity that most coaches overlook. Eamonn also talks about the fallacy that coaches can get into when jump testing, and how the test can no longer “be the test” when you use it too often. He also covers what “stiffness” really is in plyometrics, single vs. double leg metrics in jump testing, and how to optimally manage jump testing history in uncovering puzzles of injury. Today’s episode is brought to you by SimpliFaster and Lost Empire Herbs. For 15% off your Lost Empire Herbs order, head to www.lostempireherbs.com/justfly View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Timestamps and Main Points 05:55 – What drew Eamonn to jump testing and plyometrics in sports science? 08:50 – How Eamonn experimented and learned all aspects of plyometrics simultaneously 09:37 – What does the ideal athlete looks like from a plyometric perspective? 12:20 – How to go about training an athlete’s jump-based weaknesses and the idea of a “minimal reactive strength” 19:07 – Stiffness and reactive strength in the context of jump testing 28:12 – Determining what jump tests to use with certain athletic groups & what tests to use for an explosive short-burst acceleration athlete 40:55 – How often concentric jump testing could or should be done 44:47 – Eamonn’s four phases of plyometric for improving raw metrics & the role of finding relaxation in training 51:58 – One of the biggest mistakes strength coaches make in plyometric training 56:59 – Insights into single leg vs. double leg reactive strength testing & the importance of record-keeping in sports performance and training “When we’re talking about jump testing… I like to keep things pretty simple. So, while I might have access to tools like force plates, when I think about jump testing, I’m more thinking about incredibly simple metrics and I’m more thinking about a variety of different jumps rather than these incredibly in-depth metrics from a single jump.” “I think the beauty of looking at athletes’ plyometric ability is that, for me, there is no one way to do things, there is no ultimate because ultimately, what it’s about is performance. It’s about outcome… and there is an infinite number of ways to achieve that.” “In terms of addressing weaknesses… if you feel that there’s really some areas there where it’s not so much a weakness as a real deficiency, then I think you want to get after that.” “The device you use to measure, as well as the surface on which you perform the tests, can be quiet variable in terms of their impact on the output.” “It’s about not putting too much importance on a single metric or a single test and it’s also about not just looking at the number at the other end of the test but what you’re seeing with your eyes at the same time. These reactive strength tests can be quite useful, quite meaningful, but you want to be looking at them alongside the sporting outcome, the speed scores, the concentric only jumping, the countermovement jumping…” “There shouldn’t be a standard battery that you just use with everybody. It’s got to be about, what is the problem in front of you? What’s the questions that you’re trying to answer?” “One of the most important things, when you think about frequency of any test, is that the more often you test, the less influence you’re going to have from just noise… whereas if you test very infrequently, let’s say once in week 1 and once again in week 12, the relative effect of any noise in those tests is quite high.” “The exact problem that I’ve definitely had… is that coaches come from more of a strength background than an athletic track and field type background… I think that is the default mistake that a lot of us can make. It’s easy to look at plyometric work and to fall into the same reps and sets and intensities that we use for back squats and power cleans… it requires some bravery to use your training time for some of that submaximal stuff that is a little bit more about feel, posture, being relaxed, the right force in the right direction... because it’s not as measurable and it’s a little bit more subjective for the athletes.” About Eamonn Flanagan Eamonn Flanagan is the lead Strength & Conditioning Consultant with the Sport Ireland Institute where he manages the S&C support to Ireland's Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Amongst other areas of expertise, Eamonn is a leading coach in both the science and practice of jump training and plyometrics. He has a PhD. in Sports Biomechanics and previously worked in professional rugby over a decade, working with Scottish Rugby Union, Edinburgh Rugby, and the Irish Rugby Football Union.