Want to know how to increase your vertical jump?
Chances are if you're searching around trying to come across something that will show you how to increase your vertical, then you've most likely already come across a few articles or blog posts and for whatever reason, didn't give you what you were browsing for.
Frequently we encounter articles that give us an exercise to do and guarantee magical results.
Wrong.
Or you might find an article that says that XYZ program is best thing since sliced bread and will have you gain 20,000 inches to your vertical jump.
Wrong again.
Sadly, this simply isn't the case and what it really boils down to is this.
…if you want to discover how to increase your vertical and jump higher, you have to first accept the fact that there is no magic pill to do it and you're going to have to start training in a different manner than you have before.
Most of the time athletes don't get the results they desire because they simply are training the WRONG way. They don't know how to properly train to increase their vertical because it is completely different than any other training that they've done before.
And most of the people that are out there writing articles, telling you to do this and that and guaranteeing you the world simply don't have the proper knowledge of the right principles to get you where you want to go.
So it's really not your fault.
If you want to figure out how to increase vertical then you need to start training for two very specific things:
1) Strength
2) Explosion
Without these two things, you simply won't be able to increase your vertical jump. It's as simple as that.
And here's the problem.
Most people simply do not have a clue HOW to train for explosion. Training for explosion is unlike anything you've ever done before and completely counter intuitive to any type of training that you've done.
Now, I'm not going to go into all the details that are involved in training for explosion here. It's simply too much information to talk about in one article.
I really just wanted to open your eyes to a new way of thinking about this and realize that there are places that show you how to increase vertical.
Now if you care to learn about training for explosion and how to get results fast, than you should head on over to my blog below:
At my blog I go through all of the details that you need to know to get the results that you want and I do it in a very methodical and step by step manner. So if you want to learn how to increase vertical, head on over there now.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
How To Use Plyometric Training Exercises To Increase Your Vertical Jump
Plyometrics training exercises appear to be like it's one of those things that so many athletes talk about however nobody really grasps exactly what it is. So today, we're going to get into plyometrics training exercises for your vertical jump and get you a real understanding of what it is and how it can benefit you and your explosiveness and your vertical jump.
To Begin, let's start with what's really going on when you jump.
What's really happening when you jump is that your calves and thighs are fully extending causing your skeletal system to get as vertical as possible (well, at least ideally)
And your bones pretty much perform like little levers throughout your body and your muscles are like the motors that move the levers. They're actually really similar to rubber bands because they hold a lot of elasticity.
And what plyometric training exercies do is train the elasticity of your muscles to become more explosive so you can end up jumping higher and faster.
So here's how everything ends up working
The first phase that you go through is called a loading phase. During this phase your using your own body weight and gravity to squat down and prepare your body for the jump. As you do this, your body is going through something that's called eccentric contraction and all that really means is that you're lengthening your muscles.
Second you have an amortization phase which is the phase right in the middle of your jump. This is when you are literally at a complete stop just before you explode up. You want this phase to be as short as you possibly can to help your body explode upward.
The last and final phase of your jump is the explosion phase which is the point where you actually explode and jump upward.
In more simple terms, what's happening is that your body is squatting down in the loading phase, gathering up as much energy as possible to use to explode up during the explosion phase and that small time in between where you aren't moving at all is called the amortization phase.
Which is why it's incredibly important to limit that amortization phase. The more time you spend at a complete stand still, the more your muscles will lose their elasticity.
But before you do any plyometric training exercises, here are the things that you need to avoid at all costs:
1) Pacing yourself or doing too many reps|
There's a huge misconception that the more that you workout, the better results you're gonna get and I just want to debunk that myth right now. Instead, you want to make sure that you are doing proper training so you are training effectively and not over training your muscles.
And in order to do that, you want to make sure that you do each rep with explosiveness and with as much intensity as possible.
2) Having an extra loading phase or bounce step
Shockingly, there are some people that tell you to do this but it isn't an effective way of training for your vertical jump but it simply doesn't work. What it actually ends up doing is screwing up the flow of the load and explode phase which is terrible for your vertical jump.
You MUST explode with full intensity and by adding that extra loading step, you won't be able to achieve that.
Here's what a proper plyometric training workout entails:
Proper loading phase
Don't use any weights when you first start doing plyometric training. Just use your own body weight
A Brief Amortization Phase
Have this phase be as short as humanely possible. You should be focusing on shortening that amortization phase as much as you can when you train
Explosion Phase
If you do the other steps correctly, this is the phase that you will have a ton of energy and be able to explode upward. This is the most intense of the phases
To Begin, let's start with what's really going on when you jump.
What's really happening when you jump is that your calves and thighs are fully extending causing your skeletal system to get as vertical as possible (well, at least ideally)
And your bones pretty much perform like little levers throughout your body and your muscles are like the motors that move the levers. They're actually really similar to rubber bands because they hold a lot of elasticity.
And what plyometric training exercies do is train the elasticity of your muscles to become more explosive so you can end up jumping higher and faster.
So here's how everything ends up working
The first phase that you go through is called a loading phase. During this phase your using your own body weight and gravity to squat down and prepare your body for the jump. As you do this, your body is going through something that's called eccentric contraction and all that really means is that you're lengthening your muscles.
Second you have an amortization phase which is the phase right in the middle of your jump. This is when you are literally at a complete stop just before you explode up. You want this phase to be as short as you possibly can to help your body explode upward.
The last and final phase of your jump is the explosion phase which is the point where you actually explode and jump upward.
In more simple terms, what's happening is that your body is squatting down in the loading phase, gathering up as much energy as possible to use to explode up during the explosion phase and that small time in between where you aren't moving at all is called the amortization phase.
Which is why it's incredibly important to limit that amortization phase. The more time you spend at a complete stand still, the more your muscles will lose their elasticity.
But before you do any plyometric training exercises, here are the things that you need to avoid at all costs:
1) Pacing yourself or doing too many reps|
There's a huge misconception that the more that you workout, the better results you're gonna get and I just want to debunk that myth right now. Instead, you want to make sure that you are doing proper training so you are training effectively and not over training your muscles.
And in order to do that, you want to make sure that you do each rep with explosiveness and with as much intensity as possible.
2) Having an extra loading phase or bounce step
Shockingly, there are some people that tell you to do this but it isn't an effective way of training for your vertical jump but it simply doesn't work. What it actually ends up doing is screwing up the flow of the load and explode phase which is terrible for your vertical jump.
You MUST explode with full intensity and by adding that extra loading step, you won't be able to achieve that.
Here's what a proper plyometric training workout entails:
Proper loading phase
Don't use any weights when you first start doing plyometric training. Just use your own body weight
A Brief Amortization Phase
Have this phase be as short as humanely possible. You should be focusing on shortening that amortization phase as much as you can when you train
Explosion Phase
If you do the other steps correctly, this is the phase that you will have a ton of energy and be able to explode upward. This is the most intense of the phases
Monday, December 14, 2009
6 Ridiculously Easy Steps To Improve Your Jump Form
As I've helped many athletes train to increase their vertical jump, I often get asked the same questions over and over again... Many are along the lines of "What Exercises Should I Be Doing To Increase My Vertical Jump?" and yet, they are all missing something so very important.
You see, sure the exercises that you do are important, in fact very important, but there's one thing that is even more important than just doing the exercises...
And that's having the right jumping form.
Let's clear this up just a little bit. Your form is like the building blocks of your vertical jump. If you don't have the right form, then you simply aren't going to be able to achieve all the rest of your goals. It just isn't going to happen.
So the first thing that you should be doing, before you even think about doing exercises or taking any special supplement or anything like that is to learn how to have correct jumping form.
And that's what I'm going to be talking about in this blog post.
6 Ridiculously Easy Steps To Increasing Your Vertical Jump Form:
1) Warm yourself up and do some stretching of all your major muscles. You want your muscles warm and elastic to be as explosive as you can possibly get them. And just as a side note, when you're stretching, make sure to stretch all your inverse muscles too... like if you're stretching your quads, make sure you are stretching your hamstrings too.
2) Clear your mind. I bet you didn't see that one coming but it's incredibly important and very overlooked as well. If you aren't in the right mindset going into your exercises, you simply aren't going to get results so make sure you are mentally prepared to focus on what you're doing and nothing else.
3) Exaggerate your last step. This basically helps you get into a position that is more conducive to being explosive which leads me to the next tip...
4) Have your body poised to be explosive. A vertical jump is a very explosive movement and you need to have your body in the best possible position to be explosive.
5) Use your entire body. A vertical jump is a full body exercise and you need to use as much of your body as you can, especially your arms and lower back. This will help you get into a position where you are best able to be explosive and jump higher. Make sure that your toes are pointed upward to use the full range of motion of your muscles.
6) Transfer your momentum and energy upward. When you're running, you're focusing your energy and momentum forward. You want to try and transfer as much of that energy upward so you don't have to come to a complete stop and recharge your momentum.
And that's it!
Those are 6 simple tips that you can use today to start increasing your vertical jump now.
But realize this, this will help you start seeing results but you won't even become close to your genetic potential if this is all you do. You need a plan that's proven to get results if you want to get a vertical jump in the 50+ inches range. If you don't have a plan yet, you can see how to get one at the How To Increase Your Vertical Jump Blog.
You see, sure the exercises that you do are important, in fact very important, but there's one thing that is even more important than just doing the exercises...
And that's having the right jumping form.
Let's clear this up just a little bit. Your form is like the building blocks of your vertical jump. If you don't have the right form, then you simply aren't going to be able to achieve all the rest of your goals. It just isn't going to happen.
So the first thing that you should be doing, before you even think about doing exercises or taking any special supplement or anything like that is to learn how to have correct jumping form.
And that's what I'm going to be talking about in this blog post.
6 Ridiculously Easy Steps To Increasing Your Vertical Jump Form:
1) Warm yourself up and do some stretching of all your major muscles. You want your muscles warm and elastic to be as explosive as you can possibly get them. And just as a side note, when you're stretching, make sure to stretch all your inverse muscles too... like if you're stretching your quads, make sure you are stretching your hamstrings too.
2) Clear your mind. I bet you didn't see that one coming but it's incredibly important and very overlooked as well. If you aren't in the right mindset going into your exercises, you simply aren't going to get results so make sure you are mentally prepared to focus on what you're doing and nothing else.
3) Exaggerate your last step. This basically helps you get into a position that is more conducive to being explosive which leads me to the next tip...
4) Have your body poised to be explosive. A vertical jump is a very explosive movement and you need to have your body in the best possible position to be explosive.
5) Use your entire body. A vertical jump is a full body exercise and you need to use as much of your body as you can, especially your arms and lower back. This will help you get into a position where you are best able to be explosive and jump higher. Make sure that your toes are pointed upward to use the full range of motion of your muscles.
6) Transfer your momentum and energy upward. When you're running, you're focusing your energy and momentum forward. You want to try and transfer as much of that energy upward so you don't have to come to a complete stop and recharge your momentum.
And that's it!
Those are 6 simple tips that you can use today to start increasing your vertical jump now.
But realize this, this will help you start seeing results but you won't even become close to your genetic potential if this is all you do. You need a plan that's proven to get results if you want to get a vertical jump in the 50+ inches range. If you don't have a plan yet, you can see how to get one at the How To Increase Your Vertical Jump Blog.
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