Quad Strength is Important to Jumping Higher
With all of the vertical jump training advice and information out there pointing toward the glutes and posterior chain (your back side) as being most critical when it comes to athletic power and jumping higher, the quads seem to be taking a back seat these days. This is a mistake. There’s really no point in debating which part of the musculature is more important than the other because you really need balanced strength throughout the body for optimal athletic performance.
So, with that said, it’s time to get off the glutes (that’s your booty) and show some love to the quads (your thigh muscles) with arguably one of the best and most explosive quad exercises you can do.
Hill Sprints!
Hill sprints offer so many advantages it’s hard to know where to start. The inclined position your body is placed in adds serious resistance (from our friend gravity) to the workout. As you place your forward foot down, the raised foot and leg position compromises all of the leg muscles but especially the quads. This means they are in weaker position leverage wise and must work much harder to move the body up the hill. The result is a much bigger strength gain.
A quick test of a few sprints on flat ground compared to a few on a steep hill will show you instantly the difference in load and muscle fiber recruitment your quads will go through.
You will feel it!
Another advantage is low impact. Actually almost no impact if you are on a grass hill. Since the front foot comes down at an elevated position a lot of your body weight is still on your back foot or over your center of gravity. This means there’s a lot less stress placed on the reaching leg, knee and foot compared to sprinting on flat ground.
Other benefits to doing hill sprints include improved Dorsi Flexion (your foots range of motion when toes point up) and incredible cardiovascular conditioning. Hill sprints fall into the category of HIIT (High Intesity Interval Training) which is the best method of endurance training for explosive athletes because it doesn’t develop slow twitch muscle fiber like jogging and slower cardio can. HIIT is also by far the most effective way to lose weight. About 9 times more effective than traditional cardio exercises.
Advanced Tip -
For even more resistance on the quads try turning around. that’s right, run uphill backwards. When you do this all of your weight multiplied by gravity is loaded on the quad of the driving (lower) leg as you back pedal up the hill. Alternating forward and backward hill sprints will take your quad workout to another level.
Hill Sprint advantages -
- Low impact!
- Increased resistance without using weights!
- Explosive cardio conditioning!
- Improves quickness & speed!
- Serious quad & hip flexor isolation!
Work Hard – Train Hard!
Scott Bias
