Increase your vertical jump

Guest Post by Dre Baldwin

I’ve been asked a lot over the years why I work out as much as I do; what motivates me to train so hard.

   

The question puzzles me because it’s not really work to me.

   

Basketball is fun for me; working out on the court is a pleasure. Any time I’m on the floor, I never have a thought that I wish I was somewhere else or doing something else. Every person reading this has an interest that gives them this kind of feeling. I consider myself lucky to have found mine.

   

Basketball is not for everyone. Are you excited to go and practice your skills? Is there something else you’d rather be doing when you’re on the court?

   

*Be truthful with yourself*. Are you playing because you want to, or because you feel like you’re supposed to or have to? Remember that this is a game, not a job. Many people with jobs go to work every day because they have to; there are people and things they are responsible for and their job allows them to address those responsibilities. Basketball can become your job, but for most people that play the game, it’s for fun, not for a check. By the time the checks are coming, you are playing because you *want* to.  If you’re not having fun, you should not be out there.

   

If you plan on playing ball on a high level (read: college or professional), accept and embrace everything that comes with it. This means conditioning, strength training, classes and studying, dealing with coaches… All of this is part of the package for a serious basketball player.

   

If you’re not ready to make that commitment, you can still have fun playing the game. But a life as a Basketball Player (note the capital letters) may not be for you.

 

Guest Post by Scott Bias

Every muscle group has an opposing muscle group.

Quads & hamstrings – biceps & triceps – calves (Gastrocnemius) & shins (Tibialis Anterior).

Neglecting the opposing muscle can lead to an imbalance when training to increase your vertical jump. What this means is, you can do all the calve raises you want but if you neglect Tibialis Anterior you are limiting the entire contribution the lower leg makes when you jump.

So now that we know we need to balance things out and work the shins (Tibialis Anterior), lets go to work.

An easy and effective exercise to use is the heel walk. Simply raise your toes and start walking on your heels. In no time you will feel your shins start to burn. A good starting point is to do 3 sets of 30 seconds and work up from there. Do these every time you train your calves.

When you want to take it to the next level, check out a D.A.R.D aka Dynamic Radial Resistance Device. Basically it’s a weight bar for your feet that allows you to add resistance to work your ankles and shins.

You can purchase one of these for around $90.00 or GO here to see plans for building your own D.A.R.D.

One great side benefit to strengthening your Tibialis Anterior is that it usually completely cures shin splints.

What Do Shin Splints Feel Like?

Shin splints cause dull, aching pain in the front of the lower leg. Some people feel it only during exercise and others when they’ve stopped exercising. Sometimes, the pain is constant. Depending on the exact cause, the pain may be located along either side of the shinbone or in the muscles. The area may be painful to the touch.

Use Dorsi Flexion to jump higher!

Dosi Flexion simply means pointing your toes upward. Try this for instantly adding a few inches to your vertical jump. On your approach to a jump, Dorsi flex your ankles. Point your toes up on each step as you approach and plant one or both legs for the vertical jump. This will load the lower legs with tension like a spring and when you plant your feet and explode off the ground you will have a little more leverage applied to the ground resulting in a higher jump.

High jumpers are taught this technique all the time but for some reason it gets forgotten about for Basketball. This also works amazingly well for sprinting and running in general. This doesn’t mean you should extend your leg forward and land on your heel. Always land on the ball of your foot or your mid foot.

Work Hard – Train Hard!

Scott Bias

BallinUSA.com

Guest Post by Scott Bias

If you really want to improve your vertical jump, stay aware of your alcohol intake!

One of the key ways to improve your vertical jump and overall athletic performance is by keeping body fat off. It’s a pretty simple equation. The less you weigh relative to your strength, the higher you will jump and the faster you will run. I say relative because gaining muscle may increase what you weigh but that’s a good thing because the increased strength is easily enough to compensate. What you want to avoid obviously is gaining fat.

This is where Alcohol consumption can become a problem. Not only because alcohol can be high in calories but because of the affects it has on your body.

Alcohol will reduce the number of fat calories you burn, it can increase appetite and lower testosterone levels up to 24 hours after you finish drinking.

In the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition eight men were given two drinks of vodka and sugar-free lemonade. Each drink contained about 90 calories. Metabolism of fat was measured before and after consumption of the drinks. For several hours after drinking the vodka, whole body lipid oxidation (a measure of how much fat your body is burning) dropped by a massive 73%.

Instead of getting stored as fat, alcohol is converted into a substance called acetate. In fact, blood levels of acetate after drinking the vodka were 2.5 times higher than normal. And it appears this sharp rise in acetate can dramatically slow fat loss. This is because your body will burn acetate as fuel and not fat.

In addition to alcohol putting the brakes on fat loss, it’s one of the most effective ways to lower your testosterone levels. And if you’re trying to build muscle, that’s a bad thing. Just a single bout of heavy drinking can raise levels of the muscle-wasting hormone cortisol and increase the breakdown of testosterone for up to 24 hours. The negative effects of alcohol on testosterone are even worse if you exercise before drinking.

The alcohol – testosterone effect could be one reason that people who drink a lot have less muscle. In fact, a 1993 study shows that alcoholic men have bigger guts and smaller muscles on average.

Alcohol Related Affects on the Athlete-

Hunger and cravings increase.

 

Judgement is impaired making it easier to chose the wrong foods.

 

Your liver converts most of the alcohol into acetate.

 

Acetate is released into your bloodstream replacing fat as a source of fuel.

 

Alcohol consumption lowers testosterone levels.

Alcohol is not recommended in an athlete’s diet. When competing at an elite level, you cannot afford to impair your performance and give your opponent any advantage.

Alcohol impairs performance by:

Decreased reaction time.

Problems with movement, balance, coordination, accuracy, concentration and effective decision making.

Blurry vision.

Changes in attitude.

Dehydration.

Early fatigue.

Impaired temperature control.

Interference with glycogen synthesis post-exercise.

Weight gain.

Delayed healing of soft tissue injuries.

The Bottom Line is

Alcohol brings with it far more negatives than positives for any competitive athlete.

While the occasional drink isn’t going to do major damage, Alcohol and a stronger, leaner body do not mix. If your goal is to become an elite athlete, do yourself a favor and leave the drinking to the fans!

Work Hard – Train Hard!

Scott Bias

BallinUSA.com

Guest Posts by Scott Bias

It’s not da shoes. Could it be da feet?

Quads, hamies, calves, gluteus maximus. These are the areas you’re told over and over again to train. The prime movers. Where all the power is generated. No dispute there. Get them as strong as you possibly can.

Now lets think about this for a minute. Where does the energy generated by the quads or any of the larger muscles actually go?

Eventually it gets applied against the ground in order to propel you upward.

Check. So far so good.

   

But how does it get there?

Does it fly magically out into the air and then down to the ground?

No. It travels down your leg, through your feet and only then is it applied to the ground creating enough force to hopefully send you into the atmosphere.

Muscles and bones act together to form levers. A lever is a rigid rod (usually a length of bone) that turns about a pivot (usually a joint). Levers can be used so that a small force can move a much bigger force. This is called mechanical advantage.

So the final lever in this sequence before all of your force is released is the ankle/foot. Are you with me?

Now what happens to some of that force if your ankle & foot aren’t strong enough to transfer most or all of it against the ground? Yep… It’s lost. Just like when your core is week and you go to plant from a running approach to launch into a jump, a certain amount of your energy (force = mass x velocity/time) will be lost because a week core can’t stabilize well enough to transfer all of your forward momentum upward.

A chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link.

Because the ankle & foot get very little training focus, it makes sense that this could easily be the weakest link in the power chain as you attempt to improve your vertical and jump higher.

So how do we strengthen the ankles & feet?

First of all take a look at the shoes you’re wearing. Huge padded heel, arch support etc… They’re protecting your feet well. A little too well. Your shoes are actually making your feet weaker. That’s right. And on top of that they are the main cause of running related injuries because they promote landing on your heel which sends a shock wave up your knee and skeletal system instead of letting your muscles act as shock absorbers When you land on the pad or ball of the foot. To test this just run barefoot for about 20 seconds. You will notice you automatically will use proper running (shock absorbing) form because if you don’t you will have heel pain immediately.

In addition, an arch is structurally designed to get stronger as you push down on it. When you apply pressure from underneath the arch (arch support in shoes) you actually weaken it.

So now that we know shoes are actually hurting & not helping in the effort to gain ankle and foot strength what can you do?

Bingo… Take them off.

 

Not during the game, practice or when you go out to eat (cuz they wont let you in the restaurant and you’ll starve to death) but just enough to allow your feet to start regaining their natural strength they had before Nike decided to start the multi billion dollar shoe wars a few decades ago.

Activities for natural ankle/foot strength – perform these barefoot!

Walking & running.

Ankle hops.

Weight lifting – work up to heavy lifting gradually.

Jumping – make sure you have a semi soft area to Land on.

Calf raise or toe raises.

Single leg hops.

Active foot release ie.. Foam rolling the feet.

Is Cardio Bad for Increasing Your Vertical Jump?

Guest Post by Scott Bias

It’s very well accepted at this point that when you are training to jump higher, what you need to develop and maximize is fast twitch muscle fiber. These are the muscle fibers responsible for explosive quick movements like jumping, sprinting and changing direction quickly. The most effective training methods for this is also very well know at this point. Intense weight training and plyometric exercises are the core of every jump program out there.

Even though there are some general conditioning benefits to training explosively, it can still leave a lot of athletes with a gap in conditioning. Over the course of a 40 to 48 minute basketball game you are going to have to run up and down the court a bunch of times, no doubt about it. This will require a certain amount of stamina and cardio vascular conditioning that you aren’t going to get from your vertical jump workout.

The key is finding a cardio workout that won’t actually reduce your quickness and vertical jump.

First let’s look at how cardio training might negatively affect your vertical jumping ability so we know what to avoid.

Your body responds to what you put it through. It adapts. So if you lift some heavy weight your body will get the message. It will adapt and add muscle fiber in anticipation of needing to do that task again. The same is true for any slow movement patterns you put it through. If you go out and run long distances at a very slow relaxed pace your body will adapt your muscle fiber (and central nervous system reaction time) to that activity in anticipation of needing to do that same task again in the future. In other words it gets good at what it thinks it will need to be ready for in the future.

If you are not using your fast twitch muscle fiber and quick reflexive actions from the brain, (that’s your cns or central nervous system) down the nerve channels to the muscles, why would it need to keep that ability for future use?

It won’t. It’s the age old use it or lose it principle at work here.

So we know that we need some type of cardio conditioning to go with the explosive strength & plyo training but we don’t want something that’s going to hinder or slow down our progress when it comes to increasing vertical jump and quickness right?

The answer here is simple. Avoid slow movement training over long periods. The solution for this is interval or HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training).

HIIT – Basically you want alternating periods of intense exercise followed by an active rest phase.

Why the active rest?

Because you need to accumulate enough actual time doing the intense parts, and if you weren’t resting along the way you would be exhausted before you actually started to receive the Aerobic conditioning benefits.

HIIT can be any number of combination’s of exercises and slow/fast timed sets. It’s best to keep the activity as sports specific as possible to better fit your situation.

Below are some examples of HIIT for Basketball players.

Suicides or seventeens – Sprint back & fourth between two or more lines. Alternate each lap or phase between sprinting and a recovery jog.

Speed intervals – If you are running a mile alternate every 1/8, 1/4 or 1/2 mile between 80% max speed and a recovery jog.

Run in place as fast as you can for 20 seconds – slowly jog in place for 40 seconds. Repeat until 6 to 8 minutes are up.

The great thing is HIIT can be done with weights, medicine balls, weighted vests. Anything you can come up with that maximizes your cardio vascular system for a period of time followed by an active rest period qualifies as HIIT.

Use HIIT along with your current vertical jump training program to get the game conditioning you need without slowing your progress toward becoming an unstobable explosive athlete.

LETS GO!!!

You got this!

Scott Bias

BallinUSA.com

Visit http://freeverticaljumptraining.com/ to view more articles and videos on how to jump higher. You can also find helpful tips from other users on how to increase your vertical jump. (more…)

Don’t Over Train if You Want to Jump Higher.

We’ve all heard the sports cliche’s.

No pain no gain – You get out of it what you put in – Go hard or go home – Give it 110%.

So when wanting to learn how to jump higher and get the most from your ability you may have realized that you are going to have to push yourself. I mean really dig down deep and find stamina and determination you never knew you had right?

Absolutely.

To get to a 40 inch plus vertical jump, it’s going to take much more than just coasting into the gym and throwing a few weights around, getting some reps in and heading home. You have to go until your body fails and then go some more. Hit the plyos like it’s your last chance at making the Olympic team and do that last set of sprints even when you feel like you will never run again.

So now you have the right mind set and you’re putting in the hard work. Results are starting to show up and you realize that this is actually going to work. You get so excited you start thinking, if I’ve gained 6 inches so far, how much will my vertical improve if I train longer and do more, more, more. Maybe you even try to incorporate a second vertical jump program into your training.

BOOM!… Big mistake!

Over training is the single biggest mistake vertical jump athletes make. They want to be able to dunk so bad, they are willing to do almost any amount of work to reach that goal. What they don’t realize is, they are not getting stronger or faster by doing plyometrics, sprints and weights, they are breaking down muscle. Only with enough rest and recovery is the new muscle added and the actual gains made.

What we have here is a classic case of over training. What usually follows is actually a slight drop in ability. Your vertical goes down a few inches. Your 40 times are a little slower and you can’t get the squat reps in that you could last week.

The only things causing this performance dip besides over training are poor diet or illness and these are fairly easy to rule out. You generally know if you are sick and you certainly know what you’ve had to eat in the last 72 hours.

So if you have determined that you are over training or if you just want to guard against over training in the future, here are some warning signs to look for and some training tips for staying on track toward your goal of jumping higher and hanging out above the rim.

Signs you might be over training:

• A general tired feeling in your legs or all over your body.
• A lack of explosiveness when you try to jump.
• Your vertical has dropped by a few inches or more.
• Your sprint times are off by a little.
• You’re not able to do the same number of reps as before when lifting weights.

Tips to help you avoid over training:

• If you’re not sure if you feel like working out, rest.
• When lifting weights if you feel like you are slowing down (becoming less explosive), stop and wait for the next set.
• If you’re out of breath when doing plyometrics, stop and wait for the next set.
• Actually rest on a scheduled rest day. Don’t do anything physically strenuous.
• Recovery has everything to do with diet and sleep. Make sure you are getting good nutrition and 8 hours of good sleep.

So by all means go all out with maximum intensity every time you hit a training session. Just be aware of how you are feeling during each exercise, in between sets and recovery days.

Work hard, Train hard.

Scott Bias

So your goal is to improve your vertical jumping ability so you can start throwing down some nasty dunks right?

You’ve looked all over the internet and found the best vertical jump program available, The Jump Manual.

Or maybe you bought another one that’s almost as good. Either way, like a lot of athletes involved in this extremely intense and physically demanding form of training, it’s very hard on muscles, joints and tendons. you keep having set backs do to injuries and not only is it frustrating but it’s actually preventing you from making progress.

You tweak your hamstring and boom, you’re out for at least a few weeks.

You strain your quad or sprain your ankle and that’s another set back of possibly an entire month.

After being forced to start your training over a few times you start thinking to your self, If I could just stay healthy and avoid all of these nagging injuries I might start to get somewhere.

That was exactly how I used to feel until I came across some simple exercises that can not only improve your vertical, but strengthen muscles and tendons at the same time helping to prevent injuries. These exercises are plyometric by nature. This means they involve the myotatic reflex. As you land, force is absorbed by the muscles and quickly released causing the overloaded muscles to do more work. This is accomplished by minimum ground contact time.

Once such vertical jump exercise and one of my favorites is the ankle hop.

Ankle hops are very simple and easy to do anywhere. I like to do 3 minutes of these per day, about 4 to 5 times a week. I incorporate the warm up as well as single and double leg hops into one 3 minute set.

The Ankle Hop Drill

• The warm up – 30 seconds.Stand on both feet and begin bouncing lightly onto your toes.
• Double leg ankle hops – 1 minute.Begin bouncing on the ball of the foot getting some separation from the ground. Keep legs relatively straight. Bounce, do not jump.
• Alternating single leg Ankle hops – 1 1/2 minutes.Hop on the right leg starting low and slowly increasing the height of each hop. Typically I will do 12 to 16 ankle hops per leg and then switch until time is up.

Ankle hops are fast, easy to do and will strengthen the feet, ankles, Achilles tendon and even the calf muscles and Shin (Tibialis Anterior).

This exercise can not only improve your vertical but will go a long way toward preventing lower leg injuries allowing you to stay on track toward jumping higher and reaching your vertical jump training goals.

Work hard – Train hard.

Peace, Scott Bias BallinUSA.com

Dunk Training for Young Athletes

Learning how to dunk at a young age can be very beneficial to a young athlete. Learning how to dunk should be taught at an early age to give the athlete the chance to grow into the best player they can possibly be without over training.

These steps to learning how to dunk may seem simple or even childish, but if you start simple, you will be less likely to get frustrated and quit. Plus there’s an old saying, “Sometimes you’ve got start at the bottom and work your way to the top.”

Step One: Palm the Ball

You need to learn how to use inertia to control the basketball. Sometimes, even people who can palm the ball may lose it. A helpful tip is to try starting out with a smaller ball, like a baseball and then working your way through ball sizes. This can help get a person get comfortable with the movement of making a dunk without getting frustrated by losing the ball every time.

Step Two: Dribble the Ball

Now, dribble toward the basket, then take the allowed two steps while palming the ball in your dunking hand. On the second step, jump as high as you possibly can, extend your arm to the rim and drive the ball through the net. Now, some people feel more comfortable and successful driving off one foot (opposite foot that you are using to dunk), but some people feel that they can get more by driving off of both feet. Practice both and see what feels more comfortable and seems more successful to you.

Step Three: Get a Hoop That You Can Adjust

Okay, now you have your steps down and you have been practicing holding the ball, you want to put steps one and two into play. Again, try and start simple so that you don’t get frustrated. Having a hoop that you can adjust will give you early success and allow you to progress at your own rate. The first few times you will attempt to dunk with a tennis ball and the hoop just higher than you, this way you’re getting the feel for dunking without failure. Soon, you will be able to dunk a basketball on a 10′ hoop. Practice does make perfect.

Step Four: Start Your Vertical Jump Training

Now that you are able to dunk and you started from the beginning, but you want to do a two-handed dunk or a 360 dunk, but are not sure how. This is where using a vertical jump training program can help you to learn how to jump higher and how to dunk harder. You can start a vertical jump training program anytime, but it makes it less frustrating and easier to use if you can already dunk. Most training programs include plyometric exercises, which are great because finding healthy habits at a young age will help when you are older.

Knowing how to dunk and having a great vertical jump can help you really catch the coach’s eye when you finally walk onto the basketball court for tryouts. So be patient, start with the basics, and work your way up – and you will be dunking sooner and harder than most young athletes.

For more information on this topic, click here: How to Dunk where you will find the latest science and resources about Vertical Jump Training.

For more information on increasing your vertical, click here: The Jump Manual.

Article Written By: Michel Warner

Guest Post by Scott Bias

When attempting to increase your vertical jump, it really comes down to simple physics. You must apply significantly more force against the ground then you currently produce.

The only 2 real ways to accomplish this are -

• Increase power output (amount of strength and how fast it can be applied)
• Improve jumping form which will improve power output efficiency

In this article we will focus on the first one, training to improve power output.

The most effective training in use today is a combination of Olympic weight lifts ie… squats, deadlifts and plyometric exercises. Plyometrics are jumping exercises where you spend as short a time on the ground as possible. Weight training is used to increase strength and plyometrics are used to convert strength to power output. Strength alone isn’t that beneficial. You MUST be able to apply that strength quickly and explosively enough to generate significant power output.

(more…)