How to Increase Vertical Jump

#1. How to Jump Higher

How to jump higher? Increasing our vertical leap can give us an edge in our sport of choice.

In addition to the advantage of a higher vertical, the same muscles involved in increasing

our vertical will also give us better overall quickness.

So how is it done? Why are there so many programs and products that seem to have

differing methods? When you are out doing your searching for the next training program

or the next product you are going to test to increase your vertical there are a few things I

recommend that you keep in mind. These few principles can help you understand the

underlying principles behind an increased vertical and give you better insight as to what

YOU need to do next in order to answer the question.

Is the question how to jump higher or how to increase my jumping endurance?

Probably none of you really ever think about this question… but if you did you would

realize that often you are training your jumping endurance and not your jumping

explosion. For example.. if you were training to run the 100 yard dash would you train by

running 2 miles every day? NO! Why? Because distance running optimizes the muscle fibers

that provide endurance… NOT the muscles that provide speed and power.

THIS PRINCIPLE ALONE WILL SAVE COUNTLESS ATHLETES UNTHINKABLE HOURS OF

INEFFECTIVE TRAINING! Just because you are tired, and sweaty, and your legs are sore

does not mean you are training correctly. In fact, training your explosive power can be

quite counter intuitive. You would be better of doing 3 – 4 sets of 8 very explosive reps

that you would doing 3 – 4 sets of 20 – 30 less explosive reps.

Here is another example to illustrate this idea. If your vertical is currently 19 inches and all

your training involves repetitious exercises requiring you to jump within the 6 – 12 inch

range you will not be working to train your explosion.

How do you jump higher?

BY EMPHASIZING EXPLOSION AND GOING BEYOND OR YOUR CURRENT

EXPLOSION CAPABILITIES IN EVERY TRAINING EXERCISE.

Absolutely guaranteed. If you train with that kind of intensity, you will notice explosion

gains, and vertical increases faster than you ever have before. Does this make sense? I hope

it does because it will make the difference between results and excitement about your

training and potential burnout because of slow results.

#2. Vertical Jump Training Program Fundamental Principles

WARNING!! The principle and practices of this system are extreme and should be

undertaken with extreme caution. A spotter is advised when using heavy resistance. The

author takes no responsibility for any injury that the user may incur.

The 10 aspects of a jump training program: During my training, research, and education as

a personal trainer I have concluded that there are 10 aspects involved in a vertical jump.

Your improvement is dependent upon your capabilities in these 10 aspects, and therefore

the flight training program is based on their improvement. When each of these qualities is

increased there is a synergistic affect; which means that they all work together toward one

goal: explosion.

The following is intended as a brief introduction to help you understand what you need

to accomplish.

1. Strength: Your ability to jump is directly related to your ability to create force (AKA your

strength). We are working on developing you jumping muscle fibers (AKA Fast Twitch

Fibers).

2. Neurological Recruitment: Your ability to jump is directly related to how your nervous

system recruits muscle fibers in order to create force.

3. Quickness: You may be strong but how fast can you generate it. QUICKNESS +

STRENGTH = EXPLOSION. Some people have great amounts of strength, yet they do not

have the quickness to create the explosion.

4. Fuel: Are you providing your body with the nutrients that you need in order to 1. Build

muscle and 2. Use that muscle? It is not necessary to adopt a complicated diet. Vitamins

and supplements are not neccessary only if you are not obtaining nutrients for you regular

diet (“www.mypramid.gov” provides you with basic dietary guidelines). Overdosing on

protein does not increase muscle mass. Creatine could be of assistance to provide more

intense workouts and performances (Your body uses a chemical called ATP to contract

muscles. Creatine is naturally created by the body to to be used for high intensity activities.

The theory behind a creatine supplement is to provide you with more of the fuel needed

for high intensity workouts; which means more efficient training and performance.) It is

not required that you try this supplement. You are advised to consult your doctor before

making any dietary alterations.

5. Balance: A lack of balance jeopardizes your ability to harness your strength and

quickness. Efficient balance promotes an efficient use of strength and quickness. Better

balance results in more graceful jumping ability.

6. Form: Many different muscles are used to promote upward motion ie. quads,

hamstrings, calves, abdominal, arms etc. Forward momentum may also be converted into

upward motion. Proper form synergizes all muscles and momentum to create a rush of

upward propulsion. To demonstrate, try to jump without using your arms or without

thrusting your knee in the air.

7. Stability: Each muscle employs stabilizer muscles that hold other joints and muscles in

place to facilitate the intended action. If there is a lack of stability other parts of the body

may absorb, or hinder the force generate for jumping.

8. Flexibility: Flexibility is defined as the Range of Motion about a joint. Sufficient flexibility

allows your limbs the leverage and momentum they need to create maximum force. Can

you imagine how the tin man would jump? Flexibility acts as a “lubricant” for our jumping

movements.

9. Body Composition: Excess weight hinders upward motion. Do not attempt to lose

weight excessively fast. When you starve yourself to lose weight, your body automatically

lowers it’s metabolism as a security measure. Which means that you will be susceptible to

gaining all that weight back and more. The best way to lose weight is to have a diet

centered around the food guide pyramid, and to be conscient of the energy balance

principle.

The energy balance principle means that if you expend more calories than you intake you

will lose weight; if you intake more calories than you expend you will gain weight; and if

you intake and expend the same amount of calories, your weight will remain static. Eating

well and doing the workout will result in a healthier body composition. If you are a little

over weight think of it this way: while you are training that extra weight will serve to

increase your muscle size, and when the fat goes away your muscles will be all the more

stronger for having carried it. If you are extremely overweight you may want to postpone

the workout until you have reached an appropriate body composition for these workouts;

consult your medical professional.

10. Hereditary Factors: Each individual inherits a certain amount of slow twitch and fast

twitch muscle fiber. Slow twitch fibers cannot yet be converted to fast twitch muscle fibers.

What we can do is increase the fiber size and strength of the muscles that we have been

given. Women’s muscle just as efficient as men’s muscles; however, men are generally

endowed with more amounts of muscle fiber than women

#3. Starting strength and vertical jump training

Starting strength is your ability to begin a movement with high levels of strength, and thus

high levels of velocity.

Understand that the greater strength you have during a movement, the greater speed you

will overcome the resistance of your own body weight and gravity, which results in a

higher vertical jump.

A vertical jump is executed in a bout 1/4 of a second. This short period of time limits the

amount of strength you are able to “recruit” during the movement. This means simply

that you are only able to use a small percentage of your potential strength during a vertical

jump movement. I call this “explosive strength.”

Limit strength is the total amount of strength you have available to you. You can only

recruit a percentage of your limit strength during a vertical jump (explosive strength). So

we arrive at tip #1 for increasing starting strength:

Increase your limit strength, and explosive strength

The greater your limit strength the larger a percentage of that strength will be. For example

if you can squat 200 pounds and are able to use 50% of your strength in the short period

of time that a vertical jump takes place, the you are able to use 100 pounds of

strength. However, if you increased your limit strength to 400 and are still only able to

use 50% than you are able to use 200 pounds of strength.

When you train your muscle you strengthen muscle fibers through a certain range of

motion. To improve your starting strength you want to make sure your strength levels at

the exact joint angle of the beginning of the movement are improved.

Increase strength at the joint angle where a movement begins

Record your vertical jump. Pause the video at the beginning portion of your movement

and remark the angles of the ankle, knee, and calf. It is important that you strengthen the

muscles at these particular joint angles. Maximal or supra-maximal isometric holds at these

joint angles in compliment with full range of motion resistance training will ensure that

this joint angle is properly strengthened.

Perform the vertical jump from the starting position with no starting counter movement

Practice the movement by placing your body in the starting joint angles, pausing (to

eliminate plyometric aid), and exploding at maximum effort.

Upon landing bring your butt to the ground and then move back into the starting angles

and pause. We don’t want to train the CNS (central nervous system) to pause at the starting

movement, so we go down further, and come back into the movement.

Perform this movement daily to “grease the groove” which allows synaptic facilitation to

take place and the movement to be performed using a greater percentage of your limit

strength.

During the same training session perform counter-movement jumps to avoid retraining the

plyometric stretch reflex.

Contrast training from starting position to increase muscle recruitment patterns

This is very similar to the above, however you will first perform the movement with

dumbells (10 – 20% of 1RM) followed by the same movement without the dumbbells.

WHY? – Additional accommodating resistance during the jump signals to your body to

recruit more muscle fiber, then when you eliminate the additional resistance you gradually

retrain your CNS to recruit more muscle fiber and consequently move with greater velocity.

A note on vertical jump program design:

Starting strength may interfere with the plyometric stretch reflex. This is why we want to

go all the way down after each repetition, combine counter movement jumps, and follow

a starting strength phase with a plyometric phase.

CONCLUSION

While this list is by no means exhaustive, and there are other ballistic training techniques

to improve your starting strength, the few techniques above will allow you to recruit more

muscle strength, at the proper joint angles, and with improved movement efficiency. The

added power and velocity at the beginning of the movement will result in a greater ending

velocity and height for your vertical jump

#4. Jump higher by choosing the right shoe. Fact or fiction?

Can the right shoe really make you jump higher?

Let’s start by saying, that the right shoe can make a difference in your performance.

However, the benefits of the correct shoe are very limited, so don’t get your hope too

high.

A shoe is not going to allow you to jump higher or run faster than your muscles are capable.

The idea of enhancing performance with the right shoe, is better put in perspective by

trying not to impair performance with the wrong shoe!

The shoe definitely does not make the player. We have all seen pitiful athletes sporting

Jordan’s shoes. The following benefits can be considered when purchasing a pair of shoes.

1. How they feel and how they make you feel.

If it ain’t comfortable just forget about it. A comfortable shoe is probably the most

important consideration when purchasing a shoe. If the shoe is uncomfortable and not

shaped to your foot, or even the wrong size it is going to be nothing but a distraction.

You want the shoe to be tight fitting, but not smothering and constraining. The shoe should

feel like just an extension of the foot.

Also consider how a shoe makes you feel. This is definitely an “intangible” but if the shoe

makes you feel like an all start, the placebo effect (which is very real) is is going to give

you a confidence boost. If you feel like a dope in the shoe, it’s certainly not going to help.

TIP: Insoles can go a long way to add comfort to the shoe. I would recommend a firm but

padded insole, preferable one that you can customize to form your foot. Stay away form

the super cushy insoles made of gel. They will just make your shoe slide all around. Some

soles you can heat in the oven and form fit to your foot.

2. High tops for ankle stability?

If you like high tops fine, but don’t choose them for the “stability.” A high top is not going

to prevent your ankle from rolling. If you have ankle problems get an ankle brace like this

one:

You should also strengthen your ankle, as well as retrain with unstable surface training. A

strong and reactive ankle is your best bet at ankle health… not high tops. Which will only

give you a false sense of security.

3. Will a light shoe make you run faster or jump higher?

Most shoes are 11 – 20 oz. (.6 – 1.2 pounds). Frankly the weight here is not going to make

a significant difference on your performance. You lose more weight if you go to the

bathroom before you play!

The new Koby 5 is 11 oz and the lightest shoe available. You may be able to feel the slight

difference in weight, which may make you feel lighter and induce a nice placebo effect,

but as far as physics are concerned, the additional few ounces is not going to make any

significant difference. But if the shoe make’s you feel light and fluffy I say go for it!

4. Springs, special insoles, rubber, lunar foam etc…

This type of feature in a shoe has gotten a lot of athletes pretty excited for “instant” results.

Obviously it doesn’t deliver or we would all be seeing the results.

The reactivity of a jumper or sprinter does not come from their shoe. It comes through the

entire muscle/tendon complex of the involved muscles which most definitely can be

improved through proper training. Even if a shoe were capable (which they are not), if

your body is not capable of support the extra boost it won’t do you any good anyways.

There is no shoe that will turn you into a bouncy ball.

5. Carbon fiber shank plate in the sole

Some companies tote a fiber plate in the sole so that your “toe off” isn’t weak. This

supposedly allows you to push with your entire foot and not have to worry about your

toes.

This is a great concept, but shoes already have a large slab of padding and support on the

bottom. The idea of additional support aside from the soles that all shoes have, is a

marketing tactic.

Conclusion:

I don’t mean to sound negative here. I love a great pair of shoes. But I have also seen

hundreds of gimmicks come and go as far as shoes are concerned. We should realize that

the benefits from shoes are very limited, and turn to a sound training program to make

serious improvements.

A shoes ability to “inspire” a player, as well as the comfort, and fit of a shoe are most

important.

Let me know what you like to see in a shoe

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