Jumping higher

[cutepsychotic33]

ok, I have quite a bit of muscle in my legs from taking martial arts for 13 years but for some reason I just can not jump high... which is discouraging me from future sports in college. is there any way to train yourself to jump higher without building more muscle?

[Christopheel]

Squat
and actually Jumping ...

Tell us what is your current workout and how far/high can you already jump. And I will be able to help you.

[Boss Man]

Please don't think this rude of me, but I happened to just be browsing your info, and found you noted Hoodia as a favourite supplement.

You might find this useful or not, but I did a write-up on Hoodia, from my own research, which you can find by clicking my link at the bottom of my message.

You don't have to go there and read it, and you don't have to contribute there either, unless you want to, but if you do the option is there for you.

Take care.

P.S. welcome aboard, and best wishes .

[swanso5]

cutepsychotic...well i like the cute part, not so fond of the 2nd part though...

to jump higher you need to get stronger...nothing fancy just deadlifts mostly over squats, and plenty of posterior chain (glutes, hamstring) work

what sport/s do you need it for?

[Christopheel]

cutepsychotic...well i like the cute part, not so fond of the 2nd part though...

to jump higher you need to get stronger...nothing fancy just deadlifts mostly over squats, and plenty of posterior chain (glutes, hamstring) work

what sport/s do you need it for?

wait wait, dead over squat for higher jumps ? hum ...

[swanso5]

oh shit yeah...rate of force development..the more force you can put in fro m a dead stop the more you can put out...think your bench presses with a pause

[cutepsychotic33]

thanks guys. but im just really worried about building more muscle. that's the last thing i need. and as corny as it is I want to jump higher for cheerleading.

[swanso5]

bigger muscles don't make you jump higher, it's completely different...it's all about plyometric energy like a rubber band, the more force you can put into the ground (pulling the rubber band back), the more force you can put out (leting it go)...getting muscular will have you jumper lower if your strength doesnlt increase with your bodyweight (relative strength)

[cutepsychotic33]

that makes a lot of sense...

thanks =]

[cheergirl]

In cheerleading we have to jump high to do all our herkies, toe touches, pikes, ect. but i have noticed that if you squat as low as you can then jump, and repeat many times it will help you a lot.

[luke101]

try googling air alert. it's a program you can do at home by working all the muscles that go into your jumping. some say it can lead to knee injuries, some disagree. personally i tried it and had gains in my vertical with no injury. everyones different though so see for yourself

[swanso5]

far too much vol in AA, i would not recommend it...vertical jumop bible by kelly bagget got me 6 - 8"

[Packard]

One of the basic principles of exercise training is:

Train your muscles the way you intend to use them.

So, jumping would be the natural way to improve your jumps. A trampoline might be useful. But slow, heavy training would not be training your muscles the way you would use them in jumping.

Swanso5 uses the current terminology "plyometrics", but the basic underlying principle is the same: train your muscles the way you intend to use them, explosively with just your body weight.

I think I would place a bar up high and jump to try to touch it. When I could touch it reliably, I'd raise it an inch or two and work at jumping to the new height until I could reach it reliably, etc.

I Googled "improving jumping ability" and got a lot of hits, many instructional.

See: http://www.google.com/search?q=improvin ... f8&oe=utf8

[Boss Man]

Swanso5 uses the current terminology "plyometrics", but the basic underlying principle is the same: train your muscles the way you intend to use them, explosively with just your body weight.

Not ot sound snotty, but I prefer the term Plyometrics, rather than Train muscles how you'd use them, as things like Burpees and Star Jumps can be classed as plyometics, but I've never heard of a sporting or real world use for such techniques

[Packard]

Swanso5 uses the current terminology "plyometrics", but the basic underlying principle is the same: train your muscles the way you intend to use them, explosively with just your body weight.

Not ot sound snotty, but I prefer the term Plyometrics, rather than Train muscles how you'd use them, as things like Burpees and Star Jumps can be classed as plyometics, but I've never heard of a sporting or real world use for such techniques

"Train your muscles the way you intend to use them" was the concept I came up with before they invented the thought of "Plyometrics".

The word "Plyometrics" in itself does not convey much information. " Train your muscles the way you intend to use them" does provide information in a way most people can understand and gives a wider understanding of training.

"Plyometrics" applies only to explosive training techniques. "Train your muscles the way you intend to use them." will help guide people who are training for other events.