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Plyometric exercises have been successfully used by sprinters and power athletes to develop their fast twitch muscle fibres and improve their performance.

Plyometric exercises are specialized, high intensity training techniques used to develop athletic power (strength and speed). Plyometric movements use strength and elasticity of muscle tissues to increase the speed or force of muscular contraction; therefore allowing someone to jump higher, move faster, throw harder, or to further improve performance in any particular sport.

A plyometric exercise consists of 2 different phases: the lengthening phase, and the stretch-shortening phase. During the lengthening phase your muscles are "loaded" (like stretching a rubber band) which is immediately followed by a shortening contraction. For example, when doing squats, going from start position to the squat position is considered the lengthening phase. The next phase, the stretch-shortening phase, is considered the plyometric contraction. This is the explosive movement of contracting your muscles. With the example of the squat, this would be considered the movement from the squat position back to the start position, in a brisk, explosive motion. The main purpose is for the muscle to generate a strong and lengthened contraction as quickly as possible.

During a clinical test, a small group of average runners, who had been running for 6 months, were split into two groups. The first group continued their regular routine but added a series of plyometrics (bounding, jumping, and hopping exercises used to generate explosive muscle power). The control group continued running without doing any type of plyometrics. After 6 weeks, subjects who added the plyometric exercises to their training improved their running economy. (Running economy is defined as the amount of oxygen you use while you run.) Researchers note that while the improvements were small, even a minimal percentage can improve performance.