BIG VERTICAL VIDEO: BETTER HOPS IN HIGH SCHOOL

The video that follows illustrates how much building a big vertical jump can pay off in high school.  It shows a 5-11 player driving to the basket and dunking over a 6-6 defender in a state championship game played this month.  Note when it is said he dunks over his opponent, that is to be taken literally.

Not every high school athlete will get such an opportunity but each and every athlete can vastly improve their vertical jump reach should they choose to do so.  Big hops are not just for those born that way.  Most athletes can work their way into that category as well.

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COMPARE YOUR VERTICAL TO THE PROS

Ever wonder how your vertical jump stacks up against some of the best athletes around? At least a partial answer is provided herein.

This is not a comparison with older, well established professional athletes but instead with aspiring pros in one sport, basketball, most all of whom are well established major college hoop stars.

The numbers are taken from the June 2009 NBA Combine that is comprised of mostly college juniors and seniors who are considered legitimate pro prospects. Not all of them will make it into the NBA but the fact is that they are being seriously considered as possible draftees.

So here is where your comparison can begin. Rather than provide the entire list of prospects, for the purposes of this article a range will be identified in two categories. Make note of the following.

NO STEP VERTICAL JUMP:

Low: 24.5 inches- Greivis Vasquez, Maryland

High: 34 inches- Jermaine Taylor, Central Florida

MAXIMUM VERTICAL JUMP:

Low: 28 inches- Greivis Vasquez, Maryland

Austin Daye, Gonzaga

High: 40 inches- Jonny Flynn, Syracuse

When you see teams like Maryland, Gonzaga and Syracuse listed, it is clear that these are well established athletes from schools consistently ranked in the Top 25. If an athlete starts on those teams, they are certainly good players and if they are invited to the NBA Combine based upon their intercollegiate performance, they are very good players.

Consider the low end measures. Greivis Vasquez, a well established ACC star who is currently leading Maryland into the NCAA Tournament, has a 24.5 inch standing vertical and a 28 inch maximum vertical. That is the perfect place to start your comparison. How does your jump reach measure up to that of a major college star and probable pro hooper?

The truth is you either may not be all that far behind, you may already be in the same range or your numbers may be better. And should you already be feeling a little bit more pleased about your vertical jump, consider the following as well.

If your current standing vertical jump is at:

16 inches- it could be at 26 inches

18 inches- it could be at 28 inches

20 inches- it could be at 30 inches

24 inches- it could be at 34 inches

28 inches- it could be at 38 inches

and so on up the ladder.

Although it may see like an unbelievable stretch, adding ten or more inches to your vertical jump reach can be done by the vast majority of athletes. But that requires that you know exactly what to do and how to do it.

Vertical jump development is a comprehensive, multi-faceted science based task. Without the proper knowledge those big increases cannot be achieved but with an established and proved training program, ten inches or more is doable.

Of course, a strong work ethic is also required. Once you know exactly how to train the most important factor becomes the training itself. As is the case with literally everything else, there is no free lunch when it comes to getting yourself into the NBA Combine jump measurement category. Sweat equity is fundamental to this particular level of achievement.

The truth is that 24.5 inches is a number that almost any competent and dedicated athlete can reach. Frankly, so is 28 inches.

What holds you back from that kind of greatness? More than anything else it is proper training information. The link below is provided so that you can review one of the most successful comprehensive vertical jump training programs available. If you take the time to read about it you will get an excellent idea of what is required.

More to the point, if you train in the fashion that is outlined there, others will end up comparing their vertical measurement to yours. Not a bad turn of events.

CLICK HERE:   JUMP LIKE THE PROS


   

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JUMP TRAINING IGNORANCE LEADS TO INJURY

Most athletes want to be able to jump high. Some do so based upon inborn talent. They were just put together right from the very start. They can leap and really do not know why. It just happens.

The majority of us, on the other hand, are not so gifted. We probably qualify in the range of average. Some of us a little above average, some of us a little below the norm. The bad news for all of those in this category is that we learn to accept our reality and move on to other things.

That is a huge mistake. Athletes who jump in the normal range can easily move up into the well above average category via a simple formula that entails the combination of proper training knowledge and a strong work ethic. In other words, smarts and determination.

What is important to note here is that the role of being well informed relative to the details of training cannot be over emphasized. When an athlete knows exactly what to do, and of course does it, the results can be spectacular.

But that requires proper knowledge. Without it we too often see the well intended blind leading the well intended athlete. Getting the right information absolutely requires that the jump trainee consult only the experts. There are far fewer of those than most might assume.

For instance, there are very few coaches anywhere who do not have enough confidence in themselves to believe that they have all the answers. Coaches in fact are notorious for such beliefs. In fairness, we all need to recognize that such behavior is common to human nature. We all tend to be victims to such thought processes. Therein lies the problem for athletes who really want to become leapers.

The far greater percentage of coaches were at one time competitive athletes. As such, they know by experience how things go and therefore often do not bother to consult the experts. After all, not all the experts were athletes let alone successful athletes. Why listen to them?

Because expertise only comes from deep research which may or may not include personal experience. Increasing jump reach has developed over time into a science. In order to grow a leap beyond just two to four inches, one must have a comprehensive training program that addresses all of the factors involved in the science of jumping.

Worse yet for both trainer and trainee is the reality that improper training, no matter how well intended, can and more often than not does lead to injury. In fact, far too often that turns out to be serious injury that becomes a major set back to the competitive careers of athletes.

Ignorance does, in the everyday world of sports, lead to injury. And as every athlete knows, injury is not a desired or helpful outcome.

Unfortunately, far too many coaches rely on their personal experiential knowledge to train their athletes. Even more significant is the reality that far too many athletes depend upon the limited expertise of other more successful athletes on how to become more of a leaper.

Thus competitors end up training in ways that create physical and nutritional imbalances that lead to injury and physical breakdowns. No doubt that everyone involved has all the right intentions. What is lacking is the proper training expertise.

The choice for athletes is clear. Proceed with partially informed training and hope for the best but face high odds for injury. Or be smart. Seek out experts, particularly those who have done the research, know the science and have done the first person experiential work to prove the validity of their program. In the end, being smart trumps just plain sheer effort. More to the point, those two factors are a powerful combination when put together.

The formula is simple. To avoid injury and the accompanying set backs that entails, get properly informed. To develop a better understanding of what is required, follow the link below to get an idea of what a proved and valid training system entails. It is a very useful introduction into the world of what the science of jumping requires.

CLICK HERE: THE SCIENCE OF JUMP TRAINING

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VIDEO: EVEN NFL & MLB PROS TRAIN FOR BETTER HOPS

There really can be little doubt about the value of training for a higher vertical jump regardless of your sport or your level of competition. As the accompanying video below portrays, pro baseball and football athletes include vertical training in their regimen in preparation for their sport. Why? Because having an advantage in vertical jump reach provides a competitive edge in almost every sport.

As you watch the video, note how high these elite athletes can jump. Developing better hops is part of the reason they have reached the pinnacle of their sport. How about you? Regardless of your current level of competition, the same lessons apply. How much will a competitive edge benefit you?

Clearly the pros in the video have a strong work ethic and are willing to do the work that is required to be a premiere performer when it counts. To what degree are you will to work to become a leaper?

Understanding how to model yourself after those who achieve the highest levels of athletic competition is a very smart thing to do. So ask yourself, how good do you want to be and how smart are you going to be?



CLICK HERE: BE SMART TO BE GREAT

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IS ABDOMINAL STRENGTH CRITICAL TO INCREASING VERTICAL JUMP?

Lately, it seems that any type of athletic performance development requires a very focused routine that strengthens abdominal muscles. Strong abs, it appears, hold the key to almost every possible advancement involved with the improvement of physical movement.

This trend raises an important question relative to the development of a major vertical jump reach. It is critical to know just how much time and effort must be devoted to abdominal strength increase in order to gain ten inches or more on a vertical jump.

Are overpowering abs required to be an amazing leaper?

The short answer is good news. No. That is not to say however that abdominals do not have a role to play in growing better hops. But they are not the major force behind explosive jumping power.

The fact is that the abs play a key role in body balance which, in turn, is an essential ingredient in vertical jump or just about any other body movement associated with sports. Without body balance and body control, an athlete will fail every time. Playing a sport with quickness, speed and power absolutely requires balance and control.

The movement involved in a vertical leap includes propelling the upper torso backwards during the process of gathering the body and projecting it with upward momentum. If the abs cannot effectively put the brakes on that backward movement, jumpers will simply project themselves onto their backs and lose all control of their balance. So yes, abdominals have a notable role to play in the leaping process.

However it is essential to understand that abs are not one of the prime movers of jumping skyward. They do not create any upward propulsion. The role played by the ab set of muscles is all about balance and control. Beyond that, which is obviously important to the eventual outcome, abdominal strength has no role in leaping.

Thus ab strength development has a role to play in an overall program to grow better hops but not a central role. The focus to increase power must remain primarily on the lower body as well as to a lesser degree on the shoulders. Do some ab work but do not obsess on it or diminish the time spent on the major factors.

Taking this matter one step further, know that it is essential to make sure to develop core strength. That would include not only abs but obliques, lower back and glutes as well. These are the muscles that surround and influence the area around your waist line or as it is more commonly called, your core. All these muscle groups play a role in body balance and control.

Core strength is important since it is the conduit to properly transfer the power that is released from the ground up in the jumping movement upward through the body. The more efficient that transfer, the higher the leap and the jump reach.

By way of an example, take a pencil and drop it on a hard surface, eraser first. Note the height of the bounce. Break that same pencil in half, tape it back together and again drop it eraser first. You will see a significant difference in the height of the bounce for the simple reason that the core of the pencil was weakened. Core strength helps vertical jump momentum.

The message here is that core strength should not be overlooked, although it should also not be the point of emphasis. More to the point, adding at least ten inches to a jump reach is a comprehensive task requiring a comprehensive development program. A link to one such program is provided below for your review. It will supply you with an idea of what is required to really grow your vertical.

Whatever path you follow, do not over emphasize ab strength in an effort to become a big time leaper. It plays a role but not a critical role in the process of growing better hops.

CLICK HERE: HOW TO BECOME A LEAPER

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