Jumping Exercises: Jumping exercises are an important part of many athletes’ training regimens. The ability to jump high and far has a variety of applications in many sports, including football, baseball, many track and field activities, and especially basketball.
While many people might believe that the athletes who seem to so easily jump to such vertical heights must be genetically superior to the rest of us, the truth is that they have all worked long and hard to develop those explosive skills.
Jumping Exercises: Explosiveness!
Most people can only watch in amazement as they watch an athlete elevate several feet into the air, remain suspended for what seems like an eternity, and then slam dunk a basketball with a force that seems certain to bring down the entire stadium.
That explosiveness lies at the heart of every athlete’s ability to jump, and is the primary objective that every athlete seeks in his quest to fly higher than his peers and rivals.
- Jumping Exercises: The right kind of strength
To accomplish that goal, an athlete needs to focus on developing the right kind of strength. Many athletes who focus on increasing strength, however, often find themselves making little improvement in the area of explosive strength.
That is because explosiveness comes from a different kind of strength than that required to move several hundred pounds of weight in the gym multiple times. It is a strength that involves speed and power.
- Two types of muscles
To understand why certain exercises produce specific types of strength, it is important to understand the two types of muscle fibers involved. The first is the Type I fiber, which is a slow twitch fiber that provides enduring strength. The second is the Type II fiber that is responsible for the fast twitch activity that results in explosive strength. The key to increasing lift is to learn to develop these fast twitch muscle fibers.
Jumping Exercises: Combining efforts!
The key to successfully developing these fibers is found in a combination regimen that involves both standard resistance training to improve strength in the quadriceps and calves, as well as plyometric movements that enhance explosiveness.
Together, these two types of exercise can result in the development of greater strength and speed, and the real explosive power that comes from the combination of those two factors.
- Intensity
It is critical that athletes who are intent on developing this power commit themselves to bringing the highest level of intensity with them into the gym every time they work out. Real progress will take time and effort, and these programs are not for the faint of heart. Any athlete who embarks on a prolonged effort to increase vertical jumping ability has to be committed form the very start.
- Plyometric exercise
The plyometric exercise portion of the regimen includes many specific movements designed to mimic the movements used in a given sporting activity. For vertical leaping improvements, athletes will be doing squat jumps, horizontal leaps, high knee jumps, and other exercises that are performed using only body weight. Each repetition should be attempted with the maximum level of effort if progress is to be made.
- Resistance Training
These exercises should be alternated with standard resistance routines that are designed to increase the strength of both kinds of muscle fibers. Squats, leg presses, quadriceps extensions, and various types of calf raises are essential for increasing the strength needed to support the fast twitch fibers when they unleash their explosive power.
Jumping Exercises: Do not forget this!
- Overdoing it
While it is tempting to go all out right from the beginning of any regimen, it is important to work into the higher levels of activity. Muscles build every kind of strength over time, so be sure to start with simple movements and increase the intensity on a progressive basis. Plyometric activities should not even be attempted until after the resistance training has yielded some level of positive results.
- Rest and Nourishment
Never neglect the importance of proper nourishment and sufficient rest. Muscles cannot be worked two days in a row. They require rest to enable them to rebuild and repair damaged muscle fibers. In fact, no strength or muscle gains occur during exercise. They only occur during periods of rest. As for nourishment, muscles require protein and a variety of quality whole foods if they are to be at their peak condition.
For athletes who want to develop greater explosive power and superior leaping abilities, the good news is that there are many effective programs that can help them to reach that goal. The key is for them to fully understand the proper use of jumping exercises within any overall program for increasing vertical lift.
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Not only can a good speed allow you to get further off the ground, it can also compensate for a lack of strength. When carrying out speedy jumps, you need to also be able to land on your feet correctly. As with most activities, practice makes perfect. If you are not the tallest competitor, a fast speed can more than make up for your height.
