How CNS Affects Jumping Higher
You have something that’s probably more responsible for your level of athleticism than every muscle fiber and tendon in your body put together but few trainers address it. In fact everyone is so busy focusing on muscle strength and fiber type that they tend to forget about what’s causing muscle contraction in the first place.
It’s your CNS – Central Nervous System.
In simplest terms your CNS is basically your brain and your nerve channels. Lets take raising your arm for instance. Your brain thinks of the action to take. Sends impulses down the nerve channels to the muscles and tendons and the action is carried out. In a lot of cases the action is so ingrained that the thought is instantaneous and you are not even aware of it. Now if we are talking about ordinary physical tasks like raising your arm there’s no need to optimize or improve the process. It’s when we get into performance based athletic activity that the CNS starts to play a very important role in training and results.
Here’s why.
When you need to improve on an explosive physical skill ie… running, jumping etc… the speed with which your muscle fiber receives the signal to contract makes all the difference. Not only the speed but the intensity of that signal is huge. We’ve all experienced what’s it like to be running in a fear state. Maybe a dog is chasing you or the neighborhood bully is after your lunch money. Either way your adrenalin is at full throttle, your heart rate is through the roof and you are running as fast as you possibly can because the signal being sent to your muscle fiber is URGENT! It’s an EMERGENCY! Your SURVIVAL is at stake.
So now that we know the CNS can improve physical performance, how can we incorporate it into vertical jump training without kicking the neighbors dog and trying to jump the fence?
Reaction training is one way.
By reacting to an external or internal signal as fast as possible and with as much intensity as possible, the channels get greased. The neural pathways become faster and more responsive. The muscle fiber acclimates to the hyper reaction state. It learns to react faster and more explosive.
Reaction Training Drill External Signal-
Sit on a chair in a relaxed position.
Have someone randomly say out load… GO!
As soon as you hear the word go, spring to your feet as fast as possible.
Reaction Training Drill Internal Signal-
Sit on a chair in a relaxed position.
At any random time think the word GO!
As soon as you hear the word go in your head, spring to your feet as fast as possible.
The external drill will be easier to perform simply because you can focus only on the action and not generating the signal.
This drill can be applied to virtually anything. Jumping, acceleration dills, lateral movement drills.
The key to success is improving the intensity with which you generate the impulse in reaction to the signal. It’s important to start in a relaxed state both mentally and physically before unleashing the impulse and exploding into the action phase.
So instead of mindlessly throwing some weight around or causally going through your next plyometric set, start developing the engine that makes it all happen. Tap into the very thing that makes it all possible. Your CNS or in simpler terms. Your intention!
Work Hard – Train Hard!
Scott Bias
