Skaters are extremely popular and are generally utilized as a medium-to-high intensity plyometric exercise. The fundamental principle with any plyometric exercise is to minimize the amortization phase (the time your foot is on the ground representing the shift from eccentric to concentric muscle action). However, before beginning any plyometric program, you must first focus on TECHNIQUE. In the first clip, while still moving at a high velocity, my focus in on CONTROLLING MY LANDING and MAINTAINING PROPER HIP/KNEE/ANKLE alignment (knee over or to the outside of toes, never inside; hips back). I strive to control the lateral displacement of my body through eccentric muscle action until I have achieved a stable, single leg stance. Only AFTER I have "conquered" the landing do I then explode off the leg and repeat the process on the other side. Note: if you are truly going to do plyometrics, amortization time should be kept to a minimum and you should explode off the foot almost immediately after landing. Regressions in order are performing skaters without a theraband, then focusing simply on one hop at a time and finally, incorporating just a single leg landing while sidestepping. General guidelines for plyometric are 80-100 foot contacts (landings) for beginners, 100-120 contacts for intermediates, and 120-140 contacts for experts.
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