If you are a dancer who is looking to improve your jumps and stamina, plyometric training could be right up your alley. While there are many beneficial plyometric exercises for dancers, I want to discuss the pros and cons to plyometric training and the exercises that may work better for the goals that ballet dancers are trying to achieve.

When it comes to jumping, the problem usually lies in the muscle groups that are recruited during jumps and their ability to fire correctly. What does this mean in simple terms? It means that simply jumping more is not going to fix the underlying issue. Dancers looking to improve their jumps through plyometrics need to be extremely careful. If there is a weakness, imposing a new complex movement into the mix may create injury. Plyometrics can also be very hard on the knees and are usually performed in a parallel position, something that most dancers are not trained in.

Before you get started with plyometrics, you want to make sure you have the following basic exercises down to fix any potential muscular imbalances.

Squats- You need to master a basic squat before trying a plyometric exercises which will likely have you starting and ending the exercise in a squatting position. Try a basic wall squat as pictured below. Perform 3 sets of 20 repetitions paying close attention that you are keeping the weight in the heels, pushing through the heels particularly on the way up.

Lunges – You need to be able to fluidly transfer weight from one leg to the other in a parallel position before attempting plyometrics. This will challenge your lateral stability. Try 3 sets of 15-20 repetitions one leg at a time, not alternating.

Basic Jump Squat – The first plyometric exercise that you should start with is a basic jump squat, as pictured above. Begin in your parallel squat position, jump up with the legs in parallel and return to the squat position to finish. Perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions, eventually graduating to weights. *If your knees knock together when you land or your heels won’t stay down, this exercise is too advanced for you.

If you are looking to strengthen your jumps, plyometrics might be right up your alley, however as you have learned there are usually underlying issues. I work with dancers all over the world who are looking to strengthen their jumps and am happy to help you out with a program that best suits your needs. Feel free to email me or visit balletstrength.com to find the right program for you!