Very basically, your kinetic chain is the way that your body was intended to move. When working properly, all muscles are firing at the right time, in the right order, to maximize your efficiency of movement. When not working properly, overuse injuries tend to occur, and you may be working harder and utilizing more oxygen for a given movement than you need to. Two primary causes of disruptions to your kinetic chain, especially relevant to triathletes, are repetitive movements, and being in awkward positions for long period of time (aero bike anyone?).
Mixing in a few exercises to your training routine that specifically target kinetic chain imbalances will make you a faster, more efficient athlete, as well as prevent overuse injuries. Plyometrics are a great way to train athletic movement because they teach your body to produce more force through less energy expenditure. Here are 6 plyometric exercises to get you started:
1. Split Jumps. Watch demo here
2. Ice Skaters. Watch demon here
3. Box Jumps. Watch demo here
4. Burpees. Watch demo here
5. Single Leg Burpees. Watch demo here
6. Burpee/Pushup/Long Jump/Tuck Jump. Watch demo Here
D3 has a full library of strength and exercise videos and articles in both D3 U. and on our Youtube Channel.
Coach Mike Ricci is the Founder and Head Coach for D3 Multisport. His coaching style is ‘process-focused’ vs. ‘results-focused.’ When working with an athlete, their understanding of how and why they are improving is always going to take precedence over any race result. Yes, there is an end goal, but in over 2 decades of coaching, experience has shown him that if you do the right work, and for the right reasons, the results will follow.
Coach Mike is a USAT Level III Elite Certified Coach, Ironman University Certified Coach, and Training Peaks Level II Certified Coach. He was honored as the USAT Coach of the Year.
