Alright, we all know that plyometrics have many amazing benefits. Building muscle, cardio, giving you aerobic and aerobic exercise at the same time are just some of them.
Some plyometric training types can even improve your balance and explosive strength! Plyometrics are really important for everyone but especially if you are an athlete or train boxing, MMA or any other martial arts, it can improve many important skills and this can be truly vital for your progress.
However are there any disadvantages of plyometric training? Yes, actually there are…
Even though you do plyometrics in a proper form, there are some risks and disadvantages of plyometrics and you can find these below. With that, at the end of writing, you can find whether these “disadvantages” really matter or not.
1. Injury
People can have many injuries during plyometric exercises. For example, after you jump on a plyometric box, if you can’t land on it properly or can’t maintain your balance, you can fall instantly. This may cause fractures or you can even break your bones! Also, you jump all the time during the plyo box sessions and this can also cause joint issues.
Other repetitive exercises can also cause joint problems, however, please note that not all plyometric exercises are bad for joints! For example, hurdle jump training is harmful to your joints however battle rope is not. So if you consider your joint health you need to check out the exercise type before you do it.
Because of this problem, if you are a kid or an elderly, some plyometric exercise types are simply not suitable for you and you may want to consider some alternatives.
2. Challenging
I witnessed that many people, who are really good at bench press, just suck in battle rope training. I gave this example because people generally compare them. They say that it is too challenging for their muscles etc. Actually, I am one of them. These exercises require coordination, strength, aerobic endurance and more. So your body needs to be in a good shape in so many ways. For example, aerobic endurance is the biggest challenge for me during plyometric exercises. This exercise also requires coordination too and I just can’t handle it and lose my form.
These exercises require coordination, strength, aerobic endurance and more at the same time. Obviously, you may not have all of these at an advanced level.
Also, there are many techniques (shoulder circles, side slam, power slam etc.) in battle rope training. You also exert a great amount of energy and your muscles start getting tired in no time. So this training can be a real challenge for many people.
Obviously, the challenge can be a really big turn off for many people and I also saw that many people gave up on this training because it is just too difficult.
3. Overtraining
Muscles are fatigued in so many different ways and angles during plyometrics. If you spend even 5 more minutes during any plyometric training type, you can overtrain and lose muscle. Actually many people overtrain during plyometrics since these are really fun. Also, these are more intense and fatigue your muscles in so many different ways. So you can even lose more muscle and hurt yourself more than many other training types.
Certainly, you should avoid this and according to me, this disadvantage should not be disregarded.
4. Hard to Improve
I remember that when I tried to train with longer battle ropes. Actually, it took 7 months of proper training to achieve this goal. Sometimes you may feel like that you don’t show any progress at all and you would be right. Because it is more difficult to level up in plyometric training than many other exercise types. So this can also discourage you.
Should You Do Plyometric Exercises?
There are some disadvantages of plyometrics but should you stop doing it? In my opinion, the short answer is hell no and below let’s have a look at these “disadvantages” closer.
There is an injury risk in almost any sports or training type. You can hurt your knuckles during heavy bag session or you may sprain your ankle in a basketball game. You can even dislocate your shoulder during many weightlifting exercises. So almost any training type has injury risks and the injury risk of plyometrics is actually not higher than the others so it is not exactly a disadvantage.
As you read above, there is also a joint problem. Obviously, you can avoid it or reduce the risk with a healthy diet or you can use equipment like supportive straps which can lower the pressure on your joints and help you avoid injuries.
Also, have you ever done a proper speed bag session? It took me ages to develop a proper rhythm and many plyometric exercises are extremely challenging but it is definitely not a reason for giving up. I know very well that it can take time but you can be sure that the rewards will be even greater than you think.
Lastly, you can also overtrain during in any training type.
Conclusive Thoughts
Even though there are some disadvantages of plyometrics, the benefits definitely outweigh the disadvantages. Because these can happen in almost any other training type. I actually got a comment and it basically said that are there any disadvantages of this training and I remembered that many people in MMA and boxing gyms stop doing plyometrics so I figured that I should have a writing about it on my site since it provides many benefits and as you may know that many authoritative figures think that everyone should do it. If you are interested in doing plyometric exercises, you can start with good battling ropes which have less weight than normal and go on from there. It also prepares you very well for many other plyometric exercise types. I hope that you enjoyed reading and if you think that there are some other disadvantages of this training, please have a comment below and let’s talk.
Hi there, this is a very informative article as I had heard of plyometric training but didn’t really know what it was. I love all kinds of exercise, especially boxing and swimming so I would love to give this a go. As for injuries, I think you get used to that every now and then when you do regular training. I found it interesting that you said you shouldn’t do one type for more than 5 minutes, shows how hard it must be, which is a good thing!
You have inspired me to see if I can find somewhere locally to try this for myself.
These are seriously fun and I especially love battle ropes 😉 Yeah I also got used to small injuries and I don’t think that is really a disadvantage of plyometrics and I am glad you will start.