TAKE GREAT LEAPS

Chase the jump, not the pump this summer and take your fat burn and fitness to the next level with plyometric training

Chase the jump, not just the pump, this summer. Here’s why plyometric training is the smart way to burn fat and shape up

When many of us returned to the gym this year, it was with one core aim: to lift big. After all, cardio and conditioning are easy enough to replicate at home, but few of us have the set-up for a gruntinducing 100kg bench press in our back gardens.

Admittedly, there’s no sound more satisfying than the clatter of a barbell on the ground as you push for a new personal best, but there are some elements of your WFH workout plan that are well worth sticking with. Plyometric training – the squat jumps, burpees and doubleunders that you (perhaps begrudgingly) perform in your garden and living room – is an indispensable weapon in your body-transformation arsenal.

Though its primary purpose is to develop power, says personal trainer Jason Jackson, plyometric training has serious, underrated fat-loss benefits, too. According to a study published by the Journal of Strength and Conditioning, young basketball players noted a reduction in body fat after just six weeks of plyo work, alongside increased muscle mass in their lower bodies and torso. A recent study of parkour athletes noted similar changes with three plyo workouts a week, over eight weeks. And these are practised athletes.

There’s a time and a place for those biceps curls, too, but jump training is often underappreciated, both as a lower-body muscle-builder and as a calorie-torching cardio tool. It’ll do more to reveal your six-pack than a set of bicycle crunches – plus, as an added incentive, you can do it outside in the sun. Hop to it.