World's Toughest Plyometric Exercise- Best exercise for powerful athletic athletes

[TheCoachmass]

Nothing personal, but, this movement is not very explosive; at all. This movement would be a much better explosive exercise if some things were altered, like the amount of reps the athlete is being asked to perform for the set; the athlete had better core strength ( which you can see from the first rep, needs work), the athletes jumping form were improved.

[xTRVLNMANx]

Seems like an intense workout. Should be more explosively though, but can tell hes wiped. I do believe though, that power is mostly gained in explosive movements and strength is built with resistance/weights.

[jimjoneislaw]

I do all that and add a muscle up off the box. Maybe this is hard for regular people but we used to do this exact exercise in boxing.

[TrueFitnessSD]

We use power for the first 30 seconds of this exercise. After that we have converted to an anaerobic capacity exercise but that doesn't mean that for the beginning of the exercise power is not being improved. If we simply learn to move quicker as a result then that can be transferred in the future as power but we also increase our power as a result of the box jump. and part of what we are trying to do is improve "sport" power which is rarely if ever under ideal balanced set conditions.

[Davidson032390]

Looks like a nice cardio/finisher to end a workout with. I'll stick with Olympic Lifting and Explosive movements to develop power..its worked for Russia/USSR for quite a while.

[TrueFitnessSD]

@Davidson032390 Russia/USSR as in the country that perfected steroid abuse for their athletes? That is the model you want to follow. That is one way of doing it. We are presenting just one exercise of a sports performance program. We include olympic lifts in our programs just feel no need to post video of us doing them here. This is a great exercise we do on top of those lifts to increase athleticism and power. A well rounded program does include conditioning for speed and power.

[Davidson032390]

@TrueFitnessSD Steriod use-yes-abuse-no. And developing power, from a scientific/physiological standpoint, is best achieved through 90% max as fast as possible. I wouldn't call this something that makes you more powerful..it is a pain in the ass to perform-but definitely not a "power" producing exercise.

[redtailedblackshark]

you need some type of resistance for any "power" to be gained.

[TrueFitnessSD]

@redtailedblackshark Can you please explain why you think "type of resistance" is needed? Gravity is a type of resistance. Bodyweight is type of resistance. And the application of speed to any movement makes it more forceful aka powerful

[redtailedblackshark]

@TrueFitnessSD For beginners this is very true, but when thinking of other gravity or body resistance exercies, like pull ups and tricep dips, those resistances fall short, thus you don't see GOOD power lifters doing tricep dips as fast as possible to gain any sort of power or athleticism.

[Reignunlimited]

Why is this box so special.. whats the difference from other boxes you find in the gym..

[TrueFitnessSD]

@Reignunlimited It is the only box that combines the push pull sled abilities of a prowler, Attachment points for speed bands and resistance bands and is adjustable for different heights.

[burny88th]

people who are for some reason against this vid obviously are not performing burpees!! As they alone are considered one of the hardest moves of all!

[droddy2hottie]

i dont understand all the hate over this? i mean I personally wouldnt say its the BEST but it sure as hell is a good one. maybe people are just pissed they cant do many?

[TrueFitnessSD]

@droddy2hottie Thank you. We do say in the "quite possibly, might be" because everyone is going to have a different definition of "best' or 'hardest'. This is simply one of the many exercises we love to do and there are haters everywhere who refuse to allow people to do what they love instead just feel the need to shout out their own opinions which show their own limits

[justbig]

You realize any power exercise performed under 90% of maximum effort is no longer developing power. Fatigue is power's enemy. I do think what you're building here is mental toughness and metabolic capabilities.

[shameless520911]

Toughest????? Come on, let's be real lol

[vinrod34]

where can I get a box like that?

[TrueFitnessSD]

@vinrod34 Let us know when you want to order one. We are finalizing the manufacturing and will be ready to ship in 4 to 6 weeks You can find it on facebook at The Catalyst Performance System thank you

[TrueFitnessSD]

I am not sure how to answer that question. An athlete is person who does anything athletic. The sports he played are baseball in college and in the minor leagues. Now he plays Softball, beach volleyball, bikes, hikes, surfs, football, basketball anything he is in the mood for. We make anyone more athletic for the ability to be better at whatever they choose

[dchen345]

What kind of athlete is he?

[jcdcsc]

gets the heart rate way up, so you go into anaroebic exercise.  great workout routine. i think i will try it.

[KobraKai2]

I do this every other day now since i first commented on this video and I love it. I use it in my Tae kwon do conditioning classes and my students love it. Unfortunately, there will always be people on the internet who want to disagree or play devils advocate. Please keep posting your videos. If you have time to do that video about exercises from TKD fighters I would love to see one!

[TrueFitnessSD]

@scarred10 A BS in Exercise Science, certified CSCS through NSCA, university professor in Exercise Science. the person who you think knows nothing about Exercise Science. Sports are about integration of Full body not isolation of single joints like you incorrectly believe. Doing separately decreases body control and athleticism. Sports and training for sports are about increasing athleticism and body control especially while fatigued and this exercise was created to do that. thank you

[scarred10]

@TrueFitnessSD i never said anything about single joint exercise.This exercise would be great for calorie burning in minimum time and creating a large oxgen deficit,thats all.Theres no sport where you do a plyo pushup and then a jump immediately so the full body argument is void.If you wanted to increase lower body power,youd just do the jump,same for upper body but doing both dilutes the others effectiveness due to CNS fatigue.You cant be a prof with just an undergrad degree.

[TrueFitnessSD]

@scarred10 And that is exactly why we do it. EVERY sport is full body movement and we are teaching the body to control full body integration. Of course it isnt an exact sport, Thats why we are in a gym. Training for a sport, not playing a sport and we are not trying to produce max power in either upper or lower. We do other exercises for that this is simply one exercise of our well rounded program and thank you for telling me what I cant do. I know my job history. thank you

[scarred10]

@TrueFitnessSD thats exactly what ive just told you,its not a good exercise for power developement anywhere,its a metabolicallly demanding exercise with no relevance to any sport,like what you might see at crossfit.You need a doctorate to be a prof at any credible university

[TrueFitnessSD]

@scarred10 Thank you for making more assumptions.

[smithlashawn]

This is an amazing workout!!!! Keep it up!!!

[TrueFitnessSD]

@smithlashawn Thank you. Be sure to check out our other vids and let us know what you think

[iamalexgonzalez]

Awesome Vid! Where did you guys get that box? Sick!

[TrueFitnessSD]

@iamalexgonzalezThank you We invented it. Its called the Catalyst. Let us know if you would like one and we can take care of that for you

[TrueFitnessSD]

Please try it out and let us know how you like it. Thank you

[clevohardcore]

That plyometric box is sweet. Nice exercise, I will incorporate it in my routine tomorrow. 

[marklevidude]

just did this for the first time. I did 1 minute sets with 90 seconds of rest. I did it three times and I was absolutely exhausted! amazing workout!

[TrueFitnessSD]

@marklevidude awesome job!!

[18kcoey]

where can i get a burpee box from

[TrueFitnessSD]

@18kcoey Thank you for your interest Please check out The Catalyst Performance Systems on Facebook

[heretostay51]

Submaximal jumps with full body calisthenics? Nice if you want to try to compete with some Crossfit gyms, otherwise there is nothing plyometric or power based in this.

[TrueFitnessSD]

@heretostay51 Please never mention the gym that is CrossFit here. Simply because we do not do slow, and heavy "traditional" weight lifting does not make anything about this CrossFit. Now if you want to lift to you muscle size yet never increase your athleticism that is your life. We choose sport over muscle vanuty thank you

[heretostay51]

@TrueFitnessSD Thanks for not addressing my comments, and instead making your own. Defined as power, this movement is not power based. The jumps are sub-maximal in nature. Power output is minimal, therefore it is not truly defined as a 'power' exercise. Second, plyometrics are defined as any jump where reaction to ground/surface contact is less than .2 seconds...this isn't plyometric. Nice conditioning circuit, but nothing powerful or plyometric about it. Learn a little.

[TrueFitnessSD]

@heretostay51 Yes I know the traditional definition of plyometrics and the NSCA position statement about plyometrics and if you follow any trainer of elite clients the term of plyometrics is becoming more about the quick stretch shortening cycle and the term CSCS deflects any belief in your false statement of incompetence. Learn more before you attack others. And we are trying to increase power through a fatigued Creatine Phosphate system thereby able to maintain longer power output

[onatarazz]

some tweaks to make this drill much more physically demanding:

1-do it on one leg

2-ad turns when jumping onto the box

3-jump over the box

4-with a band attached to your waist (posterior pull and,or lateral pull)

[TrueFitnessSD]

@onatarazz Yes thank you. We actually do all of that. The box actually has attachment points on it as you can see in the video. We do all those modifications to this exercise but this is what we consider the "base" of all that. and vary as needed. Thank you

[ADAMwontLOSE]

good video though :)

[TrueFitnessSD]

@ADAMwontLOSE Thank you . We are just trying to show the world some things new things besides traditional strength training thats it

[ADAMwontLOSE]

this is easy stuff. my guys and I do this as an active-recovery.

Check out my page for some training motivational videos. Let's go hard in 2012.

[97skatedonthate]

0:39 fuck it man

[onatarazz]

not the hardest exercise-- i know several that are much more intense than this one.

[TrueFitnessSD]

@onatarazz Please post here so we can see them. If its out there, safe and actually replicable then we want to do it

[WalkerRunnels]

@TrueFitnessSD :) hater got owned lol

[KobraKai2]

do you have any exercises that you would recommend for Taekwondo Fighters?

[TrueFitnessSD]

@KobraKai2 Yes. I do I actually have a lot. Ill create a video for you when I get a chance. A compilation of some things.

[TrueFitnessSD]

@KobraKai2 I will show you some things asap

[KobraKai2]

How tall is the box?

[TrueFitnessSD]

@KobraKai2 We have 2 models with on ethat is adjustable at 12. 15. 18 inches and the one in the video is adjustable at 21 24 27 and 30 inches. thank you

[SweetoBoyee]

*tries this*

*smacks face on stool*

"done"

[SupaNami]

how bout ya just Dance? without the drinks? ... if ya want to build this way .. that guy should be playing in the NBA... point is, everyone can do an Exercise to their liking .. .. this is not the best way for everyone :) .. but it's good exercise if ya like it .. but you can get the same results .. playing Basketball and then hitting the pool .. 

[TrueFitnessSD]

@SupaNami if you think you can get the same results playing basketball and then hitting the pool then your competition must love playing against you. Easy wins. Why do you think every athlete now incorporates plyometrics, speed,strength and power training in their off season routines. its because training off the court is proven to make you better on the court. And no where in the video does it say this is the best for everyone. We train ALL clients specific to their goals and abilities

[SupaNami]

@TrueFitnessSD go run and jump around on the court ... and then go do some laps in the pool ...

[TrueFitnessSD]

@SupaNami How does swimming translate to basketball? Its a different conditioning, its non weight bearing, it involves no agility or speed and doesn't replicate any movements involved in basketball. Playing basketball is great but the guy in this video isn't even a basketball player. He plays volleyball.

[bdono555]

@TrueFitnessSD swimming is the best exercise athletes in every sport do it, it's low impact, provides resistance, and cardio. You can look up MMA fighters swimming on this site. I don't remember any of them doing the backstroke in there fights but all athletes who incorporate swimming in there training all claim improved cardio, flexibility, and power. You should look into it and it's a better workout than your squat thrusts with a box jump. psst, that's what they called this in the 1950's.

[MrOdsplut]

kettlebell snatches m8

[Mrbaneface]

we used to do these in the army. except instead of a box we just did a knee to chest jump. called them bastardos. Horrendous! especially when you have a 20kg rucksack on your back

[Tygrus]

Really, a chained set of directional burpees!

Toughest Plyo? This is barely even plyometric. A burpee isn't very tasking plyometrically and neither is a box jump.

Burpee BackFlips are much more tiring and difficult (not that you are going to able to get many athletes to even do them [and I wouldn't bother trying])

[TrueFitnessSD]

@Tygrus Plyometric being a stretch eccentrically which engages the stretch shortening cycle and coupling with a short amortization phase into a quick explosive concentric phase these are indeed plyometric. And they are very taxing on the body so they are extremely difficult and if you have clients who do burpee backflips then either you or your clients are phenomenal athletes but what we go for here is intense yet replicable by all our clients thank you

[Tygrus]

@TrueFitnessSD I do know what Plyometrics is. Spent more than enough time going through Mel Siff's and Verkhoshansky articles.

The point being that a chained series of directional burpees is not THE MOST plyometric exercise out there.

Burpees are a pretty good exercise as are any of their variants (Burpee pullups, Lateral Burpees over a small hurdle, etc) but they are not the TOUGHEST Plyometric Exercise out there.

[Bodytribe1]

You can make anything harder, so calling something "the hardest," is hyperbole. Make this one even harder. Stay low in the squat, springy and with a greater amount of flow and control, never standing up. Absorb the landing in a squat, both on the box and on the floor. That's how we do 'em. Like a ninja frog.

[TrueFitnessSD]

@Bodytribe1 Of course its hyperbole. That is what hyperbole is. In the video we say "might quite possibly" and we offer ways to increase the intensity but if your athletes find the exercise extremely difficult then there is no reason to increase the intensity since that will probably just lead to injury and minimal to no extra progression. If you are doing ninja frog style congrats because that sounds like it is quite a challenge

[ProBangers]

Listen to him fall over and die at 0:43

[SurfTrainingSecrets]

I do a similar exercise with surfers and throw in a chin - adds serious full body explosive power..

[TrueFitnessSD]

Sprinting with the prowler is not even in the same ballpark and yes I have done 100 yd sprints with the prowler and if that is the case why not sprint push with an SUV and yes I did that in college too. Neither of those is remotely close to the intensity of this exercise

[69yi]

@TrueFitnessSD ya prowler are very hard to do, what is thw wegith you use, i do as many as i can with 45s,and 25s on each side

[everythingcathy]

That is seriously impressive!!!

[AngelJimenezCPT]

Looking at this exercise, would you keep the reps at a minimum. Obviously, you do want to focus on performing the movement, but should it be performed to the extent where some of the fundamentals are affected by it such as the landing?

[TrueFitnessSD]

@AngelJimenezCPT We vary the reps depending the specific goal and as such depending on the goal we vary our focus on perfect technique. As the landing gets sloppy we are focusing on re-establishing body control under a fatigued condition which is the true application in a game situation. Sometimes we allow technique to slip to mimic sport application. However this only happens after the technique and athleticism of the individual are perfected

[TrueFitnessSD]

The most important component of a world class athlete is body control. Think Michael Jordan in the air and Barry Sanders on an ankle breaking run. Plyometrics are defined as a rapid stretch in the eccentric phase with a quick transfer through the amortization phase into a rapid, powerful and forceful contraction through the concentric phase of a muscle contraction. This exercise is exactly that and therefore is plyometric. Olympic lifts are great but not the only way to develop power.

[captainjosue]

This is not a plyometric exercise. These are power jumps and I'm sure they are hard indeed. A plyometric exercise is when there is some kind of rapid stretch occurring in a muscle which initiates a stretch reflex in the golgi tendon organs followed by a rapid concentric contraction. These jumps aren't maximizing the stretch reflex needed for a plyometric exercise. What's harder and better for power development? Olympic lifts hands down. Perform Olympic lifts with plyo's = world class athlete.

[cleve101]

@captainjosue For sure I agree with that, Olympic lifts or increasing your 1 rep max is the best, you gain little to no muscle but increase explosiveness and strength through muscle memory. Best training EVER!

[drfitnessnow]

@captainjosue Sorry to be that guy....but the stretch reflex is mediated by the Muscle Spindle which initiates a contraction...the Goldi Tendon Organs (GTO's), when stimulated, cause an inhibition of the contracting muscle...But I agree that this isn't a plyometric in the true sense of the word...

[captainjosue]

@drfitnessnow Thanks for the clarification Doc. I do appreciate it. So Golgi Tendon organs cause inhibition of the contracting muscle while Muscle Spindles initiate a concentric contraction.

[drfitnessnow]

@captainjosue Yes sir...The GTO inhibits contraction..Real life example of each...Muscle Spindle: When you're standing and one of your friends comes up behind you and bumps your knee and unlocks it...as you're falling, the quads lengthen/stretch and the MS makes the quads contract to prevent you from falling....GTO: You're trying to deadlift a weight that's too heavy...try all you can...but you drop the weight...the GTO sensed that an injury could occur so it inhibited your muscles

[RagingBaby]

I thew up just watching it...haha jk but I will try this once I buld myself a fucking box lol

[TrueFitnessSD]

I usually recommend 4-5 reps for all out intensity. The highest we have had a client go is 8 reps.  We increase the speed if we decide to go lower in our reps and love to vary it up for changes. Enjoy

[iDRO305]

This Looks Crazy i Would Love to Do it.

How Many Reps or For How long do you recommend doing one set.

[stimp01]

This is funny because I thought I created this excersise last year when I was thinking up a way to make my box jumps harder. I do this same drill for 3 minutes using a box 3ft high. Try mixing this with "Monkey Fuckers" if you really want to give your legs a little more of a workout as well.

[chiconspiracy]

You could add a pullup to make it harder :P

[LibertyOne001]

Just the thought of doing it makes my entire body hurt. :P

[chuckhayes]

Love the latereral...thats so money.

[dragoninxanth]

i just did some burpees going for 1/4 mile, seeing this, i think im done with burpees if they keep getting harder

[TrueFitnessSD]

Still the hardest exercise in the world in my opinion. Do you have anything more difficult?

[cleve101]

@TrueFitnessSD Sprinting with a prowler is much harder than any exercise.

[redcrayon324]

Burpees by them self are difficult and draining adding a jump onto the catalyst to the mix is brilliant

[gIoI71]

I'll certainly try it!

[TrueFitnessSD]

@gIoI71 Did you try the Burpee box jump? How did it go and how many rounds did you get through?

[jdubbydizzle]

Going hard! Now this is what TrueFitness is all about. Great work!

[TrueFitnessSD]

@jdubbydizzle TrueFitness is doing to be cutting edge. We do what works and big muscles for athletes is not what we believe works. We want to be faster, quicker, more powerful and more athletic. That is how we judge ourselves

[GameChangingAthlete]

WOW!!! hardcore exercise no doubt

[mikesalvietti]

lil bro representin. lol. good one.

[TrueFitnessSD]

Try to do this nmore than 5 rounds. Forward. Side, Side is one round

[TrueFitnessSD]

Using the Catalyst in the world's hardest exercise