WPH Press
Each Wednesday the WPH features the WPH Wednesday Workout, designed to help you become a stronger, fitter, faster, and better handball player. From leg and shoulder strengthening exercises to HIT Training, biking, surfing, balance, footwork, agility, coordination, first-step explosiveness, hydration, cooling down, upper body strengthening, circuit training, altitude training, swimming, jogging, and much more, the WPH Wednesday Workouts focus on the areas that every handball player needs to reach their peak form.
To view all WPH Wednesday Workouts, go HERE
On this WPH Wednesday Workout, we’ll examine how you can train your fast twitch muscles to develop more power and become a better handball player.
Defining Fast and Slow Twitch Muscles
According to Healthline HERE, fast twitch muscles are used when the body needs to make sudden, more powerful movements. Slow twitch muscles (aerobic) use energy slowly and fairly evenly for sustained endurance (jogging, running a marathon, cycling, wall sits, planks). Fast twitch muscle fibers are needed when you need sudden and reflexive movements, such as hopping, sprinting, jumping rope, lifting weights, or hitting a fly kill. Since fast twitch muscles are used for shorter periods, these muscles become tired quickly, making the use of fast twitch muscles an anaerobic activity.
How Can We Develop Fast Twitch Muscles?
Over the past 17 months, the weekly WPH Wednesday Workouts have highlighted numerous exercises and workout routines that develop fast twist muscles.
According to AlterG HERE to attain the high intensity movements sustained in short bursts, you will need to diversify your workouts. Because handball requires the use of both fast twitch (short, explosive bursts) and slow twitch (endurance).
AlterG recommends these types of training to build fast twitch muscles:
- Expand your strength training: perform resistance training – reps at a faster rate
- Sprints and agility drills: perform three-point agility drills, sprint up and down stairs, jump rope, run through cones
- Plyometrics: burpees, jump squats, plyo push-ups
*A healthy diet and a consistent sleep regimen are also critical to the development of the fast twitch muscles
Twice The Speed (TTS) HERE Lists 10 Explosive Speed Training Exercises to Develop Fast Twitch Muscles (Plyometric Jumps)
- Ski Jump: go into a catcher’s stance and jump as far laterally as you can off of both feet – once you land, you immediately jump back to where you started
- Single leg lateral hop: pitcher’s stance, jump off planted foot laterally, repeat on both sides going back and forth
- Single leg lateral jump: jump off outside leg and land on the same leg, jumping laterally back and forth
- Single leg butt kick: jumping off one foot and landing on same foot, alternate legs after reps of 10
- Rapid tuck jump: jump and touch your knees to your elbows – no rest between jumps
- Lunge to lateral hop: start in a lunge, jump into the air, landing on your other leg and laterally hop over, repeat going each way
- Full rocket jump: start in the catcher’s stance and jump as high as you can keeping everything pointed upwards and straight, land soft – no rest between jumps
- Three hop lunge hold: three consecutive hops, with the first two of moderate height and the third jumping as high as you possibly can: bounce/bounce/jump/land/launch/land in a squat
- Squat jump: hands start behind the head, slowly add a two to three second tempo drop into the squat, then explode up, jumping as high as you can – reset and repeat
- Max effort jumps: walk, step, explode, and jump as high as you possibly can
For great video tutorials on these ten exercises, go to the TTS 10 Explosive Speed Training Exercises HERE
Now you are ready to build your fast twitch muscles to hit the ball harder, move more explosively, and play lighter on your feet.
David Fink
WPH Fitness Director