Arm Plyometrics

The following is a selection of plyometric exercises designed to develop the elastic strength of the upper body.

Chest Pass

Resources

This exercise requires an assistant and a medicine ball.

How to perform the exercise

The athlete is to stand feet shoulder-width apart and their knees slightly bent facing their assistant.
The athlete holds the medicine ball with both hands at chest level, elbows pointing out.
The athlete passes the medicine ball to the assistant, pushing it off their chest and ending with the arms out straight.
The assistant catches the medicine ball and allows the medicine ball to come to their chest before pushing it back to the athlete.
The athlete should try to anticipate the catch and return the medicine ball as quickly as they can, keeping the catch time as short as possible.

How much

3 sets of 10 repetitions/set.
5-minute recovery between each set.
The quality of the passes is far more important than quantity.

Power Drop

Resources

This exercise requires an assistant, a 40-100cm box and a medicine ball.

How to perform the exercise

The athlete lies on the ground on their back with their arms outstretched upwards.
The assistant stands on the box holding the medicine ball at arm's length, so the medicine ball is directly above the athlete's hands.
The assistant drops the medicine ball into the athlete's hands.
The athlete:

Catches the medicine ball.
Allows the medicine ball to come towards their chest.
Then extend their arms to propel the medicine ball back to the assistant's hands.

The athlete should try to anticipate the catch and return the medicine ball as quickly as they can, keeping the catch time as short as possible.

How much

3 sets of 10 repetitions/set.
5-minute recovery between each set.
The quality of the catch and pass is far more important than quantity.

Incline Push up depth jump

Resources

This exercise requires two thick (3") mats and a 12" box.

How to perform the exercise

The two mats are placed shoulder-width apart.
Place the box to elevate the athlete's feet above their shoulders when in a press-up position.
The athlete:

Faces the floor in a press-up position with their feet on the box and their hands between the mats.
Pushes off from the ground with their hands and lands with one hand on each mat.
Pushes off the mats with both hands and back to the starting position.

Keep the hand contact time on the mats as short as possible.

How much

3 sets of 10 repetitions/set.
5-minute recovery between each set.
The quality of the push-ups is far more important than quantity.

Incline Chest Pass

Resources

This exercise requires an assistant and a medicine ball.

How to perform the exercise

The athlete and assistant sit facing each other.
The athlete:

Holds the medicine ball with both hands at chest level, elbows pointing out.
Leans back at a 45°-degree angle, keeping their abdominals tight.
Passes the medicine ball to their assistant, pushing it off their chest and ending with their arms straight.

The assistant catches the medicine ball and allows the medicine ball to come to the chest before passing the medicine ball back to the athlete.
The athlete should try to anticipate the catch and return the medicine ball as quickly as they can, keeping the catch time as short as possible.

How much

3 sets of 10 repetitions/set.
5-minute recovery between each set.
The quality of the passes is far more important than quantity.

Vertical Toss

Resources

This exercise requires an assistant, a 40-100cm box and a medicine ball.

How to perform the exercise

The athlete sits in front of the box with their back to it, legs spread apart and straight.
The assistant stands on the box holding the medicine ball above the athlete's hands.
The assistant drops the medicine ball into the athlete's hands.
The athlete catches the medicine ball with elbows bent and tosses it back over their head to the assistant.
The athlete should try to anticipate the catch and return the medicine ball as quickly as they can, keeping the catch time as short as possible.

How much

3 sets of 10 repetitions/set.
5-minute recovery between each set.
The quality of the passes is far more important than the quantity.

Catch and throw backhand

Resources

This exercise requires an assistant and a medicine ball.

How to perform the exercise

The athlete stands with their feet shoulder-width apart.
The athlete bends their right arm to 90 degrees and tucks their elbow into their side.
The athlete keeps their trunk facing forward throughout the exercise.
The athlete rotates the right arm out, ready to catch the medicine ball.
The assistant stands to the athlete's right and throws a small medicine ball at the athlete's right hand (Figure 1).
The athlete catches the medicine ball, takes the medicine ball across the front of the body and throws the medicine ball back to the assistant (Figures 2, 3, 4).
The athlete should keep their right elbow on their side at all times and focus the effort on their right rear shoulder and external rotator muscles.
The exercise is repeated for the left arm with the assistant standing on the left side.
The athlete should try to anticipate the catch and return the medicine ball as quickly as they can, keeping the catch time as short as possible.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

How much

3 sets of 10 repetitions/set.
5-minute recovery between each set.
The quality of the throws is far more important than the quantity.

Warm-Up and Cool Down

A thorough warm-up is essential before plyometric training. Attention should be given to jogging, stretching (dynamic), striding and general mobility, especially to the joints involved in the planned plyometric session. A cool-down should follow each session.

Page Reference

If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:

MACKENZIE, B. (2000) Arm Plyometrics [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/armplyo.htm [Accessed