James O'Sullivan

Hop, hop, and away! A 🧵 on extensive jumps.

A great day of sharing, learning and discussing at the @uniofgalway Biological Maturation Symposium. Thanks to all who took part. @UniofBath @DanskBoldspil @ScottishFA @IrelandFootball @officialgaa @connachtrugby @GalwayUnitedFC @Galway_GAA @OfficialCorkGAA @GaaClare @GalwayLgfa

Another productive week of testing @SportIreCampus on our study looking at effects of super spikes on sprinting perf & biomechanics 🏃‍➡️👟⚡️ @carragher_paul Thanks @JOSullivan__ @Rodn3yK3nn3dy & @roones77 & @sportireland for the continued funding support

@JoeyMcGinley Thanks Joe, much appreciated

Excellent blueprint for team sports. Well done @JOSullivan__

Extensive plyometrics: A practical and effective option for team sports A thread 🧵 Info c/o @JOSullivan__ sportsmith.co/articles/exten…

@isaac_hopkins @SportsmithHQ Thanks Isaac. Hopefully comes in handy coming into the summer months

@JOSullivan__ @SportsmithHQ Love this mate! Really good read!

This was a really enjoyable piece to put together and hopefully provides some value to practitioners and athletes alike. Thanks again to @SportsmithHQ for the opportunity!

@mullane90 Thanks Michael!

👏👏👏👍🏻

@fionn_gilbert @BelvedereSJ @brianfitzp10 Hard luck Gilly. The lads will be in a great place moving forward after a year under yourselves

It’s been a privilege to be a part of such a seriously special group this year. Heartbreaking to be on the wrong side of a tightly contested game yesterday but I’ve no doubt this highly talented group will be back. Will definitely miss working with this lot 🐼💔

@gerdy_mac Thanks for the reply Gerard. Stiffness changes perhaps more of a possible added bonus rather than a certainty from plyometrics. I have too found they are useful for coordination and likely assist in keeping tendons “elastic” during periods of heavy resistance training / loading

Problem here is plyos r meh for ⬆️ mechanical properties of tendons. Evidence mixed bag bt studies showing +ve effects on stiffness have v small effects. So don't worry about plyos making them too stiff. IMO plyos help optimise neuro-muscle-tendon interaction/ coordination

7️⃣Neural drive Jumps and plyometrics may improve neural drive, which can improve motor unit recruitment 🔢 and firing frequency 📈. However, akin to the other posited adaptations, more research is required and studies including trained individuals would be beneficial 📝

6️⃣ Pre-activation Plyometric training may lead to increased activity in lower limb musculature prior to ground contact, ⬇️ injury risk.

A bite size 🧵on the physiologic adaptations to plyometric training 🤾‍♀️