Pulses are a great intermediate exercise to help transition from calf raises to jumping/hopping and can be useful for rehabilitation from: calf injuries, Achilles tendinopathy, plantar fasciopathy, ankle sprains and foot injuries.
Pulses are simply calf raises performed at a faster speed. Standard calf raises are performed at the speed of one rep every 2 seconds, pulses can be performed by increasing the speed to 1 rep every second (60 beats per minute) and then further increased to 100 beats per minute (you can use a metronome to help keep track of this timing). Using the metronome also can also be useful to improve neuromuscular control of the calf-achilles: this control can be affected in those with Achilles tendinopathy.
On our AxIT forceplates, you can see the increase in peak force that occurs with an increase in tempo: increasing the tempo from 60 to 100 more than doubles the peak force and also increases the RATE of loading. This can help transition from a calf raise to hopping and other plyometric exercises.
Give them a go and feel the burn!