Developing a huge vertical jump in essence comes down to 4 key qualities.
* A high degree of relative strength
* Being able to employ that strength fairly quickly
* Adequate efficiency of movement
* Minimal amounts of body fat and mass
When you can achieve these Four factors then it is fairly safe to assume you will jumping high. The first piece of vertical jump training theory to understand is that your jumping potential is basically a product of your power to weight ratio. In other words you want to become as light and powerful as possible.
By getting light we mean reducing your body fat percentage and any excessive muscle mass. Carrying a spare tyre of fat around your stomach or large slab of meat pectorals won't allow you to jump high.
The other half of the power to weight ratio equation is power. Muscular power is the level of force one can apply divided by the time it takes to apply it. The primary variables of muscular power we are able to make improvements to are therefore speed and strength. Speed can be developed by increasing your co-ordination and also by training your central nervous system to respond faster.
This is where the plyometrics aspect of vertical jump training comes into play. If your main sports activity consists of a whole lot of jumping type movements already, you might not actually have to do much more actual jump training to enhance your current vertical.
Strength on the other hand is developed primarily by weight training, normally with heavy loads. Becoming strong is very important for increasing your vertical jump.
You Can't Fire Cannons From a Row Boat!
It is additionally crucial with regards to vertical jump exercises to know what muscles you need to concentrate on. Many people believe that it is mainly quadriceps, but in fact your major movers include your glutes, hamstrings, core, hips as well as the rest of the posterior chain. To a lessor extent your calves, shoulders and lats also play a role, but the vast majority of your jumping power comes from the bigger muscles situated around the top of the leg.
Accordingly the bulk of your vertical jump training should deal with the development of these parts. Inside the gym by far the two best exercises for the development of these parts, especially from a pure strength point of view, are the variety of styles of squat and deadlift. Becoming more powerful on these two exercises is among the easiest tactics for the regular athlete to generate improvements in their vertical jump.
What Sort of Jumping Do You Need?
A further key concept associated with vertical jump development is specificity. From a technical standpoint your vertical jump is actually how high you are able to leap from a stand still position. Even though this in itself is a good indicator of muscular power, in reality not many athletes will be training only for that. Most people want to enhance his or her vertical to improve a sporting relevant activity particularly basketball or volleyball.
Due to the function of specificity, just performing standing vertical jumps will help your standing vertical test result, however it sure isn't the best training for your needs for anybody who is endeavouring to slam a basketball.
As one example I know a runner who applies a form of specificity in his training involving solely using single legged versions of every exercise. The person does this simply because sprinting is really a unilateral movement and therefore he feels that unilateral training shows a considerably better carry over for him. I probably would not suggest everyone pursue his strategy but his plan is made with regard to his requirements and he has gotten good improvements with both his sprint performances as well as his vertical jump from following it.
The take home learning from this is that prior to beginning your jump training, ask yourself precisely what your real desired final outcomes are and tailor your training accordingly.
The Quickest Way To Make Gains
Now listen up, because the following point will prevent possibly many months of discouragement. The quickest and therefore most effective way to boost your vertical jump is undoubtedly by focusing on your weaknesses. Should you be really strong but your jumps are generally slow then there is not much need for you to do additional weight training work, you will end up a lot better served simply by getting out and performing jumping and plyometrics.
Training is Only A Small Part of Your Success
It is additionally extremely important to understand that performing vertical jump training is without question incredibly demanding to your body. It's very easy to over train and hurt yourself as a result of the high impact nature as well as CNS intensiveness related to the endeavor.
What you do in the Twenty three hours each day you aren't in the gym or on the court is able to make a huge impact on how well you progress. Looking after your body away from the training track will result in quicker and higher gains, not to mention reduce the likelihood of personal injury.
Summary
So that is the basic vertical jump training principles. If you want to jump high you'll want to improve your muscular power. Special focus need to be paid towards the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and also most of the posterior chain. The actual exercises and training you need to do will depend on your specific strengths and weakness and also the demands of one's preferred activity.
Vertical jump training isn't just about the proper training though. You should also take additional effort to make sure you stimulate your recovery since this can greatly help your vertical along with minimizing injuries. If you get those ideas correct you could soon be soaring above the rivals.
