Top Of The Morning.

We Have Lift Off

You're cleared for handling this six-pack of ballistic exercises
By Lou Schuler. Photographs by Darryl Estrine.
 

Overhead Medicine-Ball Throw
Strengthens shoulders, chest, lats, triceps, abdominals. Grab a medicine ball with both hands and stand facing a cinder-block wall or something similarly solid. Stand about two paces away, with one foot in front of the other. Now, fire the ball overhead (as if you were throwing a soccer ball in from the sideline) to a spot on the wall just above your head. Catch the ball, recoil, and throw it again as fast as you can, always trying to hit the exact same place on the wall. You know you've hit the sweet spot when the ball comes straight back to your hands without your having to move. Do one or more sets of 10. You can also throw to the wall from the side, from your chest, or even underhand, to work different core muscles.

Jump Squat
Strengthens entire lower body, with emphasis on quadriceps. Stand in a squat rack and rest a light barbell across your shoulders. Step out from the rack and set your feet shoulder-width apart. Dip your lower body so your knees are bent at about a 60-degree angle, then jump so your feet come off the floor. Land with soft (slightly bent) knees, immediately dip your lower body again, and repeat. Do three to five sets of four to six repetitions.

Box Jump
Strengthens entire lower body, with emphasis on hamstrings and gluteals. Set up a box or step that's about 12 to 18 inches high. Stand in front of it, throw back your arms, dip your lower body, and jump up onto the box. Land on both feet, stand upright, then step down and repeat. Do three to five sets of five to eight jumps.
More challenging: Stand with one foot on the step in front of you, the other on the floor. Push down hard with the heel of the foot on the box, catch air, and switch legs so the opposite foot lands on the box. Do three to five sets of four to six jumps with each leg.

Single-Arm EZ-Curl-Bar Snatch
Strengthens hamstrings, gluteals, lower back, trapezius, rear shoulders. Hold an unloaded EZ-curl bar with one hand in the middle of the bar, between your legs and near the floor. Bend your hips and knees as if you were about to jump. The move has three parts, which happen in a couple of seconds. In the "first pull," you rapidly pull the bar to your midthighs while keeping your arm straight. In the "second pull," you jump off the floor while bending your elbow and "throwing" the bar toward the ceiling. In the "catch," your arm straightens overhead as your feet hit the floor and your knees bend slightly. Do three to five sets of one to three repetitions with each arm.

Mexican Jumping Clean Strengthens entire lower body, trapezius, shoulders, biceps. Grab a pair of light dumbbells, stand in front of a box or step that's 6 to 12 inches high, and hold the dumbbells at your sides. Jump up onto the box, as described for the box jump (at left), while pulling the dumbbells up onto your shoulders. Your upper arms should be parallel to the floor at the end of the movement, and the ends of the dumbbells should rest on your shoulders. The dumbbell action -- the clean -- should feel like the normal motion of your arms during a jump: Your arms drift back behind your body at the start, then thrust forward to add height. Rotate your arms at the end to make the dumbbells land on your shoulders. Do one to three sets of up to six jumps per set. Ballistic Bench Press on Smith Machine Strengthens chest, front shoulders, triceps. Lie on a flat bench under the bar of a Smith machine so the bar is over the bottom half of your chest. Grab the bar with an overhand grip, just beyond shoulder width. Roll the bar's hooks off the restraints. Quickly lower the bar and push it off your chest as hard as possible, letting go at the top. Catch it on the way down, immediately lower it to your chest, and repeat the action. Do five to eight sets of three repetitions.

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