How Do You Improve Your Vertical Jump?
More and more athletic coach and trainers are looking over the possible performance advantages that are brought by vertical jumping skills. This is particularly true in most popular team sports. No volleyball, football or basketball athlete will ever be great without doing his or her famous move- the vertical jump. The ability to jump high is actually based on the elasticity of the muscles and tendons that are found in the leg area. Without flexibility, even with exceptional leg power, a great jumper will never be able to spring high into the air and balance his or her body against the pull of gravity. Hence, increasing flexibility with leg power is the key to improving your vertical jump.
There are training programs that are specifically designed to work out vertical jumping skills. Vertical jumping exercises are usually comprised with jumping drills, weight training or weight lifting exercises and plyometrics. Usually, these training programs are customizable, making it easier for you to target you weak points in vertical jumping. But before you start doing these exercises, try to think about the following points so you can optimize the results of your vertical jump training and exercises:
o Your muscles have limits. By maximizing these limits, you can maximize the results of your exercises without suffering from injuries.
o Start small. In any physical training, you have to give your body enough time to adapt to the demands of a physical training. When you are to start your vertical jump-training, do some calf raises first as it is the simplest form of vertical jump exercise. Gradually increase the difficulty and reps of the exercises.
o Strengthen your legs. Powerful legs are common among athletes who do exceptional vertical jumps. This is another reason why you should start with calf exercises. These exercises train develop the smallest leg muscles. Then, you can try out other more dynamic exercises to bring the larger muscles to work. Spending thirty minutes walking and 5 minutes walking on your tiptoes daily should do the trick.
o Do jump drills. Doing dead jumps as fast as you can increases endurance as well as the height of your vertical jump.
o Weight jumping. Adding 5-50 pounds of weight devices to your body can increase vertical jumps. For instance, when playing basketball, try hooking a book bag or sand bag on your waist while playing around 30 minutes of rigorous basketball a day. Adding weights to your game is the most logical way to increase vertical jump.
o Don't forget to do some stretching. This aids the muscle with its recovery time. Be aware that before starting with your vertical jump training, do some stretching exercises for proper warm-up.
o Don't over train. Listen to your body. Have enough rest between workouts for best results. Remember, the body actually develops stronger muscles during the rest or recovery periods.
Increasing your vertical jump can increase your power output as an athlete. It is even considered as one of the most critical and important part of an athlete's physical training. By working the body in total opposition to the vertical plane of gravity, vertical jump training exercises absolutely delivers significant improvements in flexibility, leg power, strength and endurance at a much shorter time.
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