Have you ever wished that you could increase your vertical jump? That you could get more of those precious, magnificent inches of air for spectacular sports moves like the high jump in track, the jump ball in basketball, the in-your-face volleyball spike, or the magnificent save in soccer? If so, then you have landed on the right page because this article will teach you how to jump higher and faster than you have ever done before.
The very first thing that you need to understand--if you really want to increase your vertical jump--is that your ability to jump is a result of your weight-to-power ratio. This means that you need to get light in order to reduce excess muscle mass and body fat percentage. Having spare bulk on your legs or waist won't do a thing to help you increase your vertical jump and catch some air.
The other half of the weight-to-power ration is the power. Muscular power is the "measurement of the force you can apply against the time that you need to apply it." The aspects of muscular power that you can dramatically improve are strength and speed. Better muscular power will directly benefit your leaping ability and increase your vertical jump.
Your speed can be greatly improved by training your central nervous system to respond to your brain's commands more quickly; this also benefits your physical coordination. This is the point where using plyometric exercises to increase your vertical jump comes into the picture. If the sport that you play involves different types of jump movements, you do not actually need to more types of jumping exercises--one size pretty much fits all.
Your strength is improved mainly through resistance training, typically using a series of heavy weight exercises. Getting stronger is very important when you want to increase your vertical jump, but jumping is not the best way to increase your strength.
When you start training to increase your vertical jump it is important to focus on the right muscle areas in your body. Most sports enthusiasts know that the quadriceps are very important to work, but you should also include your hamstrings, glutes, hips, core, and posterior chain in your training routine. It is also necessary to work on your shoulders, lats, and calves even though the majority of your jumping power will come from the larger muscle groups in your upper legs. A big part of your vertical jump training must focus on these specific areas if you want to see success.
It is also important to pay attention to improving your weaknesses. For example, if you have good hamstrings but weak quads you have an imbalance in your body. This condition results in less powerful muscle contractions which may reduce your jumping ability. By correcting and improving your weakness you will realize positive results more quickly than just enhancing the factors that are already in your strengths column.
Another effective way to increase your vertical jump is to evaluate how quick and explosive you are, versus how strong you are. For example, an athlete may have the ability to squat twice his body weight. However, if he is not able to apply that strength quickly he will not be able to leap lithely or jump very high.
There you go...now you have some of the basic information that you need to increase your vertical jump. Keep these points in mind when setting up your training regimen and you will surely see positive results in no time.
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I can add 10 inches to your jump in 2 weeks. Click here to learn exercises to increase your Vertical Jump
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