Free Vertical Jump Training

Taken From a post here:

http://www.theverticalsummit.com/viewtopic.php?t=1102

In the upward phase of the VJ, we have:

A. Lower body
hip extention
knee extention
plantar flexion.

B. Back:
Retroflexion

C. Shoulders:
anteflexion

Before i start, might be usefull for some people:
* glutes = gluteus maximus + gluteus minimus + gluteus medius
* hamstrings = semitendinosus + semimembranosus + biceps femoris
* quads = musculi vasti + rectus femoris
musculi vasti are the part that only do knee extention, while rectus femoris can do a hip flexion too
* Calves = gastrocnemius. There are other muscles that also do a plantar flexion though, but no muscles that do both knee flexion and planter flexion

Muscles involved in each movement: (quoted from my book of anatomy, not making it up)
(according to Van Lanz)

A.1 hip extention
- Gluteus maximus : 45%
- Gluteus medius : 8%

- Semitendinosus : 4%
- Semimembranosus : 13%
- Biceps femoris (caput longum) : 4%

- Adductor magnus : 16%

A.2 knee extention
- Rectus femoris : 16%
- Musculi vasti : 83%

A.3 Plantar flexion
- Tibialis posterior : 2%
- Flexor digitorum longus : 2%
- Flexor hallucis longis : 5%

- Gastrocnemius : 48%
- Soleus : 39%
- Plantaris : (no number added)

- Peroneus longus : 2%
- Peroneus brevis : 2%

B. Back retroflexion
Unfortunately this is not in my book.
I have the muscles involved in the movement though:

- serratus posterior superior
- serratus posterior inferior
- splenius capitis and cervicis
- erector spinae
- spinalis
- semispinalis
- multifidus
- rotares
- intertransversii
- interspinales

C. Shoulders anteflexion:
- deltoideus (front fibers: 41%
- pectoralis major : 16.2 %
- biceps (caput breve) : 12.7 %
- supraspinatus : 4.4 %
- coracobrachialis : 8.4 %
- infraspinatus : 4.4 %
- subscapularis : 3 %

OVERALL RESULTS:

first of all i define a posterior chain as the muscles that are on the backside of your body, this meaning the upper back, lower back, glutes, hams and lower legs.

in the upward phase only:

hip extention :
PC : 84%, AC : 0% (adductor magnus : 14%)

knee extention:
PC : 0%, AC : 100%

plantar flexion:
PC : 100%, AC: 0%

back retroflexion :
PC : 100%, AC : 0%

shoulders anteflexion :
PC : 8.8%, AC : 91.2 %

OVERALL CONCLUSION AND NOTES

- These numbers dont say a lot since they are relative. What im trying to say is that i dont have any numbers on e.g. how important knee extention is compared to hip extention.
- Also, it is important that a strong antagonist is needed, so that the muscle can contract to its full potential.
- this is all voluntary contraction. Not taken into account is unvoluntary contraction = reactive ability.
_________________
current stats/goals by end of summer:
6ft
around 160 lbs / 170
almost 19
SV : 28-29 / 30-31
RV 2 : 30-32 / 33-34
RV 1 : 33-34 / 37-38

Believe in yourself

The following is an excerpt from: http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/plyometrics.html

Please visit the site for more information….

“Plyometrics refers to exercise that enables a muscle to reach maximum force in the shortest possible time (3). The muscle is loaded with an eccentric (lengthening) action, followed immediately by a concentric (shortening) action.

This article outlines the physiology behind how and why plyometrics works. It also examines the research that demonstrates why, as a form of power training, plyometric training is very effective.

Practical guidelines for designing a plyometric training program along with animated drills can be found in the main plyometric training section

How Plyometric Exercises Work

A muscle that is stretched before a concentric contraction, will contract more forcefully and more rapidly (4,5). A classic example is a “dip” just prior to a vertical jump. By lowering the center of gravity quickly, the muscles involved in the jump are momentarily stretched producing a more powerful movement. But why does this occur?  Two models have been proposed to explain this phenomenon. The first is the…

Mechanical Model
In this model, elastic energy is created in the muscles and tendons and stored as a result of a rapid stretch (6,7,8). This stored energy is then released when the stretch is followed immediately by a concentric muscle action. According to Hill (9) the effect is like that of stretching a spring, which wants to return to its natural length. The spring is this case a component of the muscles and tendons called the series elastic component. The second model is the…

Neurophysical Model
When a quick stretch is detected in the muscles, an involuntary, protective response occurs to prevent overstretching and injury. This response is known as the stretch reflex. The stretch reflex increases the activity in the muscles undergoing the stretch or eccentric muscle action, allowing it to act much more forcefully. The result is a powerful braking effect and the potential for a powerful concentric muscle action (10,11,12).

If the concentric muscle action does not occur immediately after the pre-stretch, the potential energy produced by the stretch reflex response is lost. (i.e. if there is a delay between dipping down and then jumping up, the effect of the counter-dip is lost).

It is thought that both the mechanical model (series elastic component) and the neurophysical model (stretch reflex) increase the rate of force production during plyometrics exercises (6,7,8,10,11,12).

The Stretch-Shortening Cycle

All plyometric movements involve three phases. The first phase is the pre-stretch or eccentric muscle action. Here, elastic energy is generated and stored.

The second phase is the time between the end of the pre-stretch and the start of the concentric muscle action. This brief transition period from stretching to contracting is known as the amortization phase. The shorter this phase is, the more powerful the subsequent muscle contraction will be.

The third and final phase is the actual muscle contraction. In practice, this is the movement the athlete desires – the powerful jump or throw.

This sequence of three phases is called the stretch-shortening cycle. In fact, plyometrics could also be called stretch-shortening cycle exercises (1).

How to Increase Your Vertical Jump

One very quick and simple way to demonstrate the effect of the stretch-shortening cycle is to perform two vertical jumps. During the first vertical jump the athlete bends the knees and hips (eccentric muscle action or pre-stretch) and holds the semi-squat position for 3-5 seconds before jumping up vertically (concentric contraction) as high as possible. The 3-5 second delay increases the amortization phase.

On the second jump the athlete bends the knees and hips to the same degree but immediately jumps up without a delay. This keeps the amortization phase to a minimum and makes best use of the stored elastic energy. The second jum will be higher.

Is Plyometric Training Really That Effective?

By making use of the stretch-shortening cycle, movements can be made more powerful and explosive. Plyometrics is simply a set of drills designed to stimulate the series elastic component over and over again – preferably during movements that mimic those is the athlete’s sport. But what long-term effect does practising plyometrics have on the body and performance?

A wide variety of training studies shows that plyometrics can improve performance in vertical jumping, long jumping, sprinting and sprint cycling. It appears also that a relatively small amount of plyometric training is required to improve performance in these tasks. Just one or two types of plyometric exercise completed 1-3 times a week for 6-12 weeks can significantly improve motor performance (13,14,15,16,17,18,19). Additionally, only a small amount of volume is required to bring about these positive changes i.e. 2-4 sets of 10 repetitions per session (14,16) or 4 sets of 8 repetitions (15).

While upper body plyometrics has received less attention, three sessions of plyometric push ups a week has been shown to increase upper body power as measured by medicine ball throws (20).

Using a variety of plyometric exercises such as depth jumps, counter-movement jumps, leg bounding and hopping etc., can improve motor performance (13,22,23,24,25,26,27,28). While the majority of studies have focused on untrained subjects, trained athletes such as soccer and basketball players have improved their performance with plyometrics (16,23,28).

Plyometrics & Concurrent Strength Training

A conditioning program consisting of both plyometric training and resistance training can improve power performance in the vertical jump (13,14,29,30,31,32) and 40yard sprint time (33).

It appears that concurrent resistance and plyometrics training can actually improve power to a greater extent than either one alone (13,29,30,33). However, the overall program should be carefully planned as heavy weight training and plyometric training are not recommended on the same day (3). One way around this is to alternate upper body and lower body exercises as follows:

Plyometrics & Injury

Strength and conditioning specialists are often cautious in their prescription of plyometrics due to what they believe is an inherent risk of injury. However, there is limited data to either confirm or reject this claim.

Several researchers have explicitly stated that no injuries occurred during their plyometric studies (13,33,34). Most do not mention whether injuries occurred or not or to what extent.

As a precaution it has been suggested that athletes have a substantial strength training background. The criteria often cited is that the athlete should be able to back squat 1.5-2x bodyweight (2,3,35) for lower body plyometrics and bench press 1x bodyweight for upper body plyometrics (3,35).

If injuries are more likely to occur with this form of training it may be due to improper landing, landing surface or depth jumps from too great a height (1). Several studies have measured the height of depth jumps on vertical jump performance. Depth jumps from both 50cm (19.7) and 80cm (31.5in) both improved power to the same extent (13). The same results were found between jumps of 75cm and 110cm (31) and between jumps of 50cm and 100cm (16). This suggests that there may be little or no added benefits of jumping from heights above 50cm (19.7in) even though the risk of injury is likely to rise.

Finally, landing surface is an important component of the plyometrics session. It should posses adequate shock absorbing properties such as grass, rubber mats and a suspended floor. Concrete, tiles, hardwood and crash mats are not suitable (35).

We’ve developed a wide range of comprehensive plyometrics programs for numerous sports. Click here to see the full range available…”

WARNING!! The principle and practices of this system are extreme and should be undertaken with extreme caution. A spotter is advised when using heavy resistance. The author takes no responsibility for any injury that the user may incur.

DON’T JUMP AHEAD TO THE DRILLS! THE DRILLS ALONE ARE NOT YOUR KEY TO JUMPING SUCCESS!

The 10 aspects of a jump training program:

During my training, research, and education as a personal trainer I have concluded that there are 10 aspects involved in a vertical jump. Your improvement is dependent upon your capabilities in these 10 aspects, and therefore the flight training program is based on their improvement. When each of these qualities is increased there is a synergistic affect; which means that they all work together toward one goal: explosion. The following is intended as a brief introduction to help you understand what you need to accomplish.

1. Strength: Your ability to jump is directly related to your ability to create force (AKA your strength). We are working on developing you jumping muscle fibers (AKA Fast Twitch Fibers).

2. Neurological Recruitment: Your ability to jump is directly related to how your nervous system recruits muscle fibers in order to create force.

3. Quickness: You may be strong but how fast can you generate it. QUICKNESS + STRENGTH = EXPLOSION. Some people have great amounts of strength, yet they do not have the quickness to create the explosion.

4. Fuel: Are you providing your body with the nutrients that you need in order to 1. Build muscle and 2. Use that muscle? It is not necessary to adopt a complicated diet. Vitamins and supplements are not neccessary only if you are not obtaining nutrients for you regular diet (”www.mypramid.gov” provides you with basic dietary guidelines). Overdosing on protein does not increase muscle mass. Creatine could be of assistance to provide more intense workouts and performances (Your body uses a chemical called ATP to contract muscles. Creatine is naturally created by the body to to be used for high intensity activities. The theory behind a creatine supplement is to provide you with more of the fuel needed for high intensity workouts; which means more efficient training and performance.) I have never used a creatine supplement, and it is not required that you do so. You are advised to consult your doctor before making any dietary alterations.

5. Balance: A lack of balance jeopardizes your ability to harness your strength and quickness. Efficient balance promotes an efficient use of strength and quickness. Better balance results in more graceful jumping ability.

6. Form: Many different muscles are used to promote upward motion ie. quads, hamstrings, calves, abdominal, arms etc. Forward momentum may also be converted into upward motion. Proper form synergizes all muscles and momentum to create a rush of upward propulsion. To demonstrate, try to jump without using your arms or without thrusting your knee in the air.

7. Stability: Each muscle employs stabilizer muscles that hold other joints and muscles in place to facilitate the intended action. If there is a lack of stability other parts of the body may absorb, or hinder the force generate for jumping.

8. Flexibility: Flexibility is defined as the Range of Motion about a joint. Sufficient flexibility allows your limbs the leverage and momentum they need to create maximum force. Can you imagine how the tin man would jump? Flexibility acts as a “lubricant” for our jumping movements.

9. Body Composition: Excess weight hinders upward motion. Do not attempt to lose weight excessively fast. When you starve yourself to lose weight, your body automatically lowers it’s metabolism as a security measure. Which means that you will be susceptible to gaining all that weight back and more. The best way to lose weight is to have a diet centered around the food guide pyramid, and to be conscient of the energy balance principle. The energy balance principle means that if you expend more calories than you intake you will lose weight; if you intake more calories than you expend you will gain weight; and if you intake and expend the same amount of calories, your weight will remain static. Eating well and doing the workout will result in a healthier body composition. If you are a little over weight think of it this way: while you are training that extra weight will serve to increase your muscle size, and when the fat goes away your muscles will be all the more stronger for having carried it. If you are extremely overweight you may want to postpone the workout until you have reached an appropriate body composition for these workouts; consult your medical professional.

10. Hereditary Factors: Each individual inherits a certain amount of slow twitch and fast twitch muscle fiber. Slow twitch fibers cannot yet be converted to fast twitch muscle fibers. What we can do is increase the fiber size and strength of the muscles that we have been given. Women’s muscle just as efficient as men’s muscles; however, men are generally endowed with more amounts of muscle fiber than women.

How to jump higher? Increasing our vertical leap can give us an edge in our sport of choice. In addition to the advantage of a higher vertical, the same muscles involved in increasing our vertical will also give us better overall quickness. So how is it done? Why are there so many programs and products that seem to have differing methods? When you are out doing your searching for the next training program or the next product you are going to test to increase your vertical there are a few things I recommend that you keep in mind. These few principles can help you understand the underlying principles behind an increased vertical and give you better insight as to what YOU need to do next in order to answer the question… How do I jump higher?

# 1

Is the question how to jump higher or how to increase my jumping endurance?

Probably none of you really ever think about this question… but if you did you would realize that often you are training your jumping endurance and not your jumping explosion. For example.. if you were training to run the 100 yard dash would you train by running 2 miles every day? NO! Why? Because distance running optimizes the muscle fibers that provide endurance.. NOT the muscles that provide speed and power. THIS PRINCIPLE ALONE WILL SAVE COUNTLESS ATHLETES UNTHINKABLE HOURS OF UNAFFECTIVE TRAINING! Just because you are tired, and sweaty, and your legs are sore does not mean you are training correctly. In fact, training your explosive power can be quite counter intuitive. You would be better of doing 3 - 4 sets of 8 very explosive reps that you would doing 3 - 4 sets of 20 - 30 less explosive reps.

Here is another example to illustrate this idea. If your vertical is currently 19 inches and all your training involves repetitious exercises requiring you to jump within the 6 - 12 inch range you will not be working to train your explosion.

How do you jump higher?

BY EMPHASAZING EXPLOSION AND GOING BEYOND OR YOUR CURRENT EXPLOSION CAPABILITIES IN EVERY TRAINING EXCERCIZE.

Absolutely guaranteed. If you train with that kind of intensity, you will notice exposion gains, and vertical increases faster than you ever have before. Does this make sense? I hope it does because it will make the difference between results and excitement about your training and potential burnout because of slow results.

More on principle #2 coming soon…

I have heard of supplements that make you jump higher or vitamins that target the jumping muscles. Here’s the downlow. Every muscle involved in jumping is a muscle just like any other. It requires the typical elements to function correctly and to grow stronger. It may seem ridiculous for me to say this… but I just want to make it clear that supplements that help a muscle grow and function are “jumping foods.” I am not by any means downplaying the role of nutrition in developing an outstanding vertical jump. It is very important… Here’s what needs to happen.

I recommend a protein whey supplement that includes necessary amino acids, and carbs to effectively build muscles. THIS WILL MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE. Many people workout very hard anc lack results becuase their muscles lack the maximum capacity to create and repair msucle tissue. My specific recommendation is Cytogainer. This is an affordable product that provides plenty of extra protein, amino acids, carbs, and even some creatine. You can find the link to the prodcut in the Jump Manual.

I also recommend a regular dosage of a creatine. A creatine monhydrate powder s fine. More creatine means more muscle fule for workouts. You will notice you can work out a bit harder and for a longer period of time. You will not need to worry about losing that muscle when you stop taking creatine. You will only lose muscle if you stop using that muscle.

A multivitamin supplement is also appropriate if you are not getting all the fruits and vegetables that are neccessary for your diet, which unfortunately includes almost everyone. A multivitamin will help you ina variety of ways to be efficient at a functional level.

WATER! Drink plenty of water always to “oil” your entire system. Water helps everything to run smoothly. My general rule is that your urine should always be clear. If it is not, you need more water.

A Glucosamine supplement. Athletes can incur minor or major tissue damage during workouts. Glucosamine is involved with repairing joint and supporting tissue. Taking Glucosamine is a good precaution for overuse injuries.

Lastly. ice any soreness. I hate icing because it takes so long, so I found wraps that you can just throw in the freezer and stick them on when you get done with a workout. It takes no time and makes a HUGE difference.

Hoper this is useful in aiding your efforts to increase your vertical jump.

Jacob