3 Quick Tips to improve your vertical jump: In ball sports such as basketball, volleyball and netball it is considered advantageous to have a high vertical jump. It also relates to other activities of lower body power so its frequently tested in sports such as Football, Rugby and the Combat sports. So how do we build our vertical jump? Here are 3 tips! 1. Get strong! Strength is easily the biggest area I see missing from people wishing to improve there vertical jump. Power is force represented over time so if you can increase the force you can create you have a greater force production, bear in mind though this is only one part of the equation so if you get stronger but also get significantly bigger you wont get the benefit from your new found strength. A good method to do so is using 8 sets of 3, you can also super set movements of strength with bodyweight power exercises such as deadlifts and box jumps. Also Dont be afraid to train the eccentric part of the movement with slow tempos and pauses. I.e. back squats on a 52X0 tempo.. This will teach you to overcome the inertia in the descent faster meaning you can create more power in the concentric part of the jump. 2. Focus on the hip extension/full range of motion exercises The majority of power comes from the hips so make sure this makes up a large part of your training plan. Dont just go heavy either, variations of speed deadlifting, the olympic lifts & weighted broad jumps are also valuable to develop faster contracting muscles. Make sure youre preforming your exercises for a FULL Range of motion. While it might seem counter-intuitive, there is a greater correlation between full squats than quarter squats (mimicking the depth of a jump) when it comes to vertical jumping. 3. Flexibility, Mobility & Technique Make sure you spend adequate hours stretching hip flexors, quads, calves (both soleus and gastrocnemius) and glutes. 5x 15secs on each part works best in addition to PNF work. Also get in adequate time on the foam roller working on the ITB as well as the aforementioned muscle groups. Also, LEARN to jump properly, just like any other skill there are technical areas to work on. The descent phase is often where people need the most work. So putting it all togetner you might come up with something like this: Warm up with mobility drills & foam rolling A. Power Snatch 6x 3 (90secs) B1. Clean Pulls from stepbox 4x 3 (15 secs) B2. Weighted Broad Jumps 4x 6 (120 secs) C. Bulgarian Split Squats 3x 8 (90 seconds) D1. Back Extensions 2x 15 (30 secs) D2. Backwards Lunges 2x 12 (60 secs) If youre going to incorporate Olympic Lift variations, it is strongly recommended you learn the correct movements from an experienced/qualified coach. Done incorrectly, you wont yield the desired benefit from the movements and even worse, you could end up injured. Aim High. JK
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 00:08:51 +0000
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