Posts Tagged ‘how to jump higher’

Drills to Improve Your Vertical Jump

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

People playing sports, particularly basketball, volleyball, soccer, and football, are often looking for a way to increase their vertical jump. There are many exercises and programs existing that are specially intended for improving a person’s vertical leap. Before starting any of these programs though, you ought to at least be in good overall physical condition. Here we list a few exercises that someone could start with before undertaking a training program. These will help get you started.

Warm Ups
Prior to beginning any exercises, you should warm up your muscles. Try jogging around for ten minutes or run up and down the stairs for a while. It is also a good idea to stretch your muscles prior to exercising. Warming up before doing exercises helps you improve muscle fibers that are utilized for jumping.

Skipping Rope
Skipping rope is an exercise that should not be overlooked, as it will contribute to increasing the strength of your legs. Moreover, it promotes maintaining excellent overall physical condition. Perform this exercise for 15 to 30 minutes regularly.

Knee Raises
Grab an overhead bar firmly, with your arms about shoulder-width apart. Hang from the overhead bar, with your arms fully extended and knees bent slightly. Hold this position and slowly raise your knees up to your chest. Concentrate on contracting your stomach muscles during this process. Hold this position for a few seconds, before lowering your legs towards the floor. Repeat this 5 times.

Knee Bends
One of the top ways to increase the strength of your legs is with knee bends (also know as squats). Stand in an upright position – straight, with chest out and keeping your back tight. Proceed to bend your knees slowly, keeping the back straight. Crouch, in a slow action, to the maximum possible extent. Repeat this process 20 times.

Toe Touches
Stand upright. Bend at the waist while keeping your knees locked. Lower yourself down as far as you can go and try to touch your toes with your fingers. Maintain this position for a couple seconds. Do this exercise slowly and avoid “bouncing” while trying to reach your toes. Repeat this thirty times.

Sit-Ups
Sit-ups can help improve your vertical jump. Begin with with your back against the floor, with your legs bent at the knees, and your feet flat on the floor. Place you hands behind your head. Now, curl your shoulders off the floor, in a slow movement. Continue to sit up. Try to not “pull” on your head with your hands. Focus on your stomach doing the work. Exercises for your midsection are crucial for all physical activity as it is the “core” area of your body. Repeat this 10-20 times.

To get the most out of your vertical jumping exercises, you ought to think about a vertical jump training program. Check out these Vertical Jump Program Reviews to check which are rated the best and to get more information on How To Jump Higher.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

Top 5 Things To Look For In A Vertical Jump Program

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

If you’re looking for a way to improve your basketball skills and want to jump higher or even dunk, vertical jump programs can give you the boost you need. Which of the programs really deliver on what they promise though? There are quite a few different ones available, and some of them make claims that may not be achievable. If adding big increases to your vertical jump was really as easy as some programs make you think, wouldn’t everyone be able to dunk by now? So how can you find a really good vertical program?

Here are the 5 things to watch for in a vertical jump program.

1. Easy to follow information
It’s important that you be able to take in what the author of the program is talking about. It shouldn’t matter if you’re a beginner or a professional, the program should be easy for anyone to use without a glossary of complicated terms.

2. Plyometrics and weighlifting workout routines
Programs that have plyo and weight workouts produce better results. If a product doesn’t have these things, there’s no way it can help you get the optimal outcome. Plyometrics is all about explosive movements, which is something you will need when you try and dunk.

3. Workouts you can customize
All athletes are at different stages, and what might work for one person might not work for somebody else. That is the reason it’s extremely essential that a vertical leap program has enough workouts for beginners, intermediate and advanced players. That way, if you’re really good at plyometrics workouts, but you’re a beginner to lifting weights, you can alter you workout to the precise exercises that are most needed.

4. Improves overall strength and speed
The program should not only help you improve your vertical jump, it ought to enable you to become stronger and quicker as well. So, if your vertical jump only improves by a couple inches, the workout system you have is probably not helping you get stronger or faster.

5. Be Reasonably priced
You should not have to spend an arm and a leg just to jump high! (After all, how high can you jump with just one leg (ha ha)? Some workouts are worth more money, but none of them are worth five times what the others are charging.

If you can find all five of these things in the program you are considering, it is most likely a good one, and one that ought to produce results.

To get the most out of your vertical jumping exercises, you ought to consider a vertical jump training program. Check out these Vertical Jump Program Reviews to see which are rated the best and to get more information on How To Jump Higher.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

Improve Your Vertical Jump By Working out Less

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Are you serious about your vertical leap training?

Correct practices to improve your vertical jump is very COUNTER INTUITIVE.

The vertical jump is an explosion caused by the intense contraction of fast twitch muscle fibers.  Because of this, training to improve jumping is “anaerobic.”  Too many athletes are training in a way that that is mostly “aerobic”.

How should the training be different?

Athletes looking to improve have been told that running cross country would increase their vertical. This is huge mistake. Training with the cross country team can cause your vertical jump to plummet.

Sprinting, like jumping is a much less aerobic exercise.  Do you see [a sprinter distance running as part of their training for sprinting? NEVER! Then why do so many vertical jump programs have us PACING ourselves during our vertical leap training workouts?

NEVER NEVER NEVER PACE YOURSELF FOR] TRAINING YOUR VERTICAL JUMP!

You have seen it before. Athletes “running the stairs” or dog tired from doing speed ladder drills. Or perhaps you jump rope for 20 minutes and you are worn out.. you are going to say to yourself, “Now that was a hard workout, surely that will increase my vertical.”

These are not examples of training explosively, so they are NOT going to see results in explosive moves. I assure you, they will not be satisfied. You have to train for explosion and not endurance to improve your jumping ability.

“Explosion” training will feel awkward to start with.  You don’t end up with the same burn as training aerobically.  In some ways explosion traing is easier, although it requires a good deal more focus and short term effort.

Your vertical jump training can improve incredibly soley by decreasing repetition and increasing intensity.

Doesn’t doing less to get more results sound like the best of both worlds?

To get the most out of your vertical jumping exercises, you should think about a vertical jump training program. Check out these Vertical Jump Program Reviews to check which are rated the best and to get more information on Improving Your Vertical Jump.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

How To Jump Higher – Exercises To Get Started

Monday, December 28th, 2009

Do you need to know which exercises to start with that will help your vertical leap? There are several to choose from. Here are some basic ones that are an excellent place to start your training. Ensure that you follow the movements properly. Many people perform the correct exercises, but they don’t do them correctly. Start with the exercises we outline below and you will have a good groundwork for improving you vertical jump.

Whereas most people may believe that just the leg muscles need development to help you jump higher, this is not true. Your lower back and erector muscles need to be strong too. Many of the back muscles are heavily involved and require strengthening as well. Vertical jumping exercises should include working on this area. Which brings us to our initial exercise.

Dead Lifts

A good exercise to start with is the dead lift. To begin the exercise, clench the barbell, bend your knees, and arch your back. Bring the barbell up until you are standing upright with the barbell hanging across your thighs. Gradually return the barbell back to the initial location on the ground. Complete three sets of 6-8 repetitions. To avoid injury, do not jerk the bar, but carry out the exercise quickly and steadily. Take a brief rest after these first 3 sets. Execute one additional set taking your time and being more deliberate.

Leg Presses

A second exercise that can help increase your vertical leap is leg presses. Pick a weight on the leg press machine that is toward the higher end of your range, but not the maximum you can lift. Set your feet about shoulder breadth apart. Drop the weight until your thighs almost contact your chest. Then thrust the weight back up in an explosive way. It’s not about the slow and steady here. Jumping is an explosive move, so you need to do this exercise in an explosive manner. Do 5 sets of 6 reps. Let muscles to relax between sets.

Medicine Ball

For our final exercise we will make use of a medicine ball instead of a basketball. Pretending that you are doing a dunk, hold the medicine ball and jump up as high as you can. Make certain to stretch your reach and try to get the ball as high as you can. Practicing this exercise helps all the muscles necessary for this movement to become strong. As with the leg presses, make sure to be explosive when you perform this exercise.

While these are simply three exercises, they can be a good beginning to improving your vertical jump. As you move forward, insert additional exercises to your schedule. Don’t fail to remember to use the correct form while doing these exercises. It can help you evade injury.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace

Add Ten Inches To Your Vertical With The Jump Manual

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

The Jump Manual takes a scientific approach to “vertical explosion” training. Recent studies have revealed that effectively training every aspect of the vertical jump is the only way to maximize your vertical jump explosion.

According to the author there are nine different improvable aspects by which you can improve your vertical explosion and quickness. Would you rather target one or two–or all nine? This may seem like a rhetorical question, but unfortunately most programs simply aim at a small percentage of these nine aspects. The Jump Manual is the lone program to target all of the aspects of vertical jump explosion and quickness. Targeting every individual part permits the quickest possible results. The combined effect of training each aspect produces far superior results.

With “The Jump Manual”, you will learn the exercises used to increase your vertical jump. But that’s not all – you will also be taught how this combination of exercise, proper form, diet, and additional areas will COMPOUND the result of only doing exercises to award you the largest increases in your vertical jump.

How quick will I see results?

Of course results depend on various factors and individual circumstances beyond the control of the author. Many athletes state gains of one inch per week or more. Gains will be different from person to person.

It’s important to maintain reasonable expectations of progress. Results often come while you least anticipate them, but when correct principles are followed, they WILL come. Frequently gains of 1 inch per week are reported.  The greatest results quite often come as you first start and you begin to stimulate muscles and techniques that have never been used.  This beginning period will in time settle in to a steady climb of increased explosion and speed.

The Jump Manual promises that you will gain 10 inches in your vertical jump in just 12 weeks or they will refund your entire purchase price. They state that they have NEVER had one individual that has completed the 12 week program that has not been satisfied. THAT IS 100% CUSTOMER SATISFACTION! They must be producing the outcome that they are promising. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT NOW! In just 2-3 months you could have the vertical jump you have always wanted!

To get the most out of your vertical jumping exercises, you should consider a vertical jump training program. Check out these Vertical Jump Program Reviews to see which are rated the best and to get more information on How To Improve Your Vertical.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace