Volleyball and basketball jumping requires a tremendous amount basketball power to explode off of the ground. It may seem to you that you will never be able to jump higher for various different reasons. You may feel that there are so many jump training programs available that you are fearful of committing to one and then finding that it didn't contain all of the right information you needed. You wasted your time and money for nothing. basketball you just flat out don't know what to look for. My goal in this article is to give you the foundation of what it takes to increase your vertical leap and know how basketball style jumping exercises will help you.
What it takes to jump higher basically comes down to your ability to produce power. In order to propel yourself off of the floor and into the air you need to generate a sufficient amount of force to overcome the force that gravity acts upon you. For example, if you weigh 180 pounds, then theoretically you need to generate at minimum 181 pounds of force to get you off of the ground and into the air. Of course that is easier said than done.
So what does it take to generate power? Power is simply a combination of strength and speed. The greater amount of force that can be produced rapidly, then the higher you will be able to jump and explode off of the ground. The same holds true for lateral agility and changing directions rapidly. The only difference is where you transfer the energy, up or out. Your ability to train and increase the amount of strength that you can produce rapidly will determine your improvements in jumping ability. How do you improve your power?
If your goal is specifically to jump higher then your training should consist in increasing your strength at high speeds. Exercises such as squats and lunges are some of the best strength building exercises, in my opinion. However, the speed at which you perform these exercises will determine your ability to increase your power output. Our body adapts very specifically to the stresses that are placed on it. If you train slowly you will get stronger at slow motion. However, if you perform a squat with a rapid acceleration or a lunge into a rapid jump, you will get stronger at high speeds. You may not win a contest with the amount of weight you can squat. But, who cares?
This is why basketball jumping exercises are so effective for increasing your vertical leap. By design, jumping exercises generate strength at high speeds and tap in to your body's natural ability to quickly change directions whether it is from side to side or from a forward motion to off the ground. If you want to jump higher then your training program needs to incorporate these jumping exercises in a structured and organized manner.
Learning the best way to jump higher can be tricky. Good professionals have spent many years of research and testing to figure what works for most athletes. I hope that the information in this article has helped you know how to judge the quality of a good jump higher or vertical jumping program.
As a Strength and Conditioning Specialist, I have spent a lot of time evaluating programs and comparing them to the principles and characteristics that I feel a good program should have. Those that include these principles will pretty much guarantee that you are successful with the program that you choose.
It is now up to you to take the steps to improve your vertical leaping ability. Go to the Increase Vertical website and find the 6 principles that I think are most important in a program. You will also find reviews of some of the top jump training programs. Go to http://www.IncreaseVertical.net and get started now!
