Vertical Jump

[bigmike34]

How can I improve my vertical over a few month period. I would like to gain a couple of inches.

[LifterMike]

Hello Mike, I have a couple of suggestions to imrpove your vertical.

1) Lose weight, whats your Body fat % at?

2) Do calf raises, for the first week use your body weight, becuase you will be REAL SORE, then when your a little more use to the motion, add some weight.

3) If your pockets are overflowing with cash, invest your money in those goofy shoes with the big pad on the front, despite the silly advertising and appearance, they are REALLY effective( I know several people that have used them and it helped them alot).

Hope these tips help you a bit :

[SuperMatt]

have you ever heard of the jump soles?
They aren't just for basketball use and advertising.
Look into the junp sole programs and protocals hey can add a dramatic increase to your vertical and your foot quickness if used properly.

[kenyon21]

NO! DO NOT USE JUMPSOLES!

jumpsoles screw your knees up BIGTIME. if you want to increase your vertical do a search for "air alert 2" its the best plyometric program out there for upping your vertical. whatever you do, do NOT use jumpsoles.

[grandin]

Actually, I think you may have it the other way around...
I frequently cisit vertical jump forums, and people mostly whine and bitch about their knees when using AA2 or AA3, and praise JumpSoles because they don't seem to cause any pain. I did AA3 and got extreme, shooting pains in my knees during squat hops, and 6 months later, am still having problems with the same knee! My friends have experienced this as well from AA3, but I havent heard any injuries due to jumpsoles.

Of course, you could just be the lone exception...

Jumpsoles, and other jump related items

[abarlament]

Stretch your hip flexors before jumping. The hip flexor resists the jumping movement, and stretching it "puts it to sleep" so that it resists less. Other tricks are in this article:

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459426
Dirty Tricks for Higher Vertical Jumps
by Joe DeFranco

[cursor]

Lower the hoop. :

[DexMan]

The pain may not be from the program itself. If you have improper alignment in your legs/ankle/feet, that could be the cause of the pain. For example, if you have flat arches, I'm almost 100% sure that you will have "shin splints" when you run. (There is a whole explaination, but I won't go into that).

But to get back on topic, try some plyos like box jumps, depth jumps, etc... (Really focus on the explosive part when you jump you want your feet to touch the ground in as little time as possible) Also if you have access to a plyopress and/or multi-hip I'd suggest you use it. But if you are serious about your sport and you really want to do a really good program and you have the money, I can suggest one to you, so just PM me.

And I read that article about stretching your hip flexors and I have one problem with it. Hip flexion strength is VERY important in any sport and if you stretch it completely out you loose some of it's ability to complete contract. And in jumping, the uninvolved leg is used to "drive yourself". Think when you do a dynamic warm ups. One of the activities that you do is "High Knees"... You use the uninvolved knee to drive yourself up... With running, if you have poor hip flexor strength or have it completely stretched out, you will not be able to bring your leg up as effective as if you strengthen it and do a modified PNF stretch...

Plus the title of that section is, "STATIC STRETCH THE HIP FLEXORS BEFORE TESTING YOUR VERTICAL JUMP!" When you test your vertical jump both feet are planted prior to jumping, this doesn't mean you train that way. Just name a sport were you stand still and jump straight up in the air. but that is my quick 2 cents worth...

[rhino33]

i jump a 26" vertical ani am 5'7'' 212lbs.... is this a good vertical for my size

[DexMan]

Well... Does your vertical meet the requirement of your sport/position?

[rhino33]

i guess so....i play fullback, left gaurd, nose guard, deep snapper, and middle linebacker

[DexMan]

Just train your body for those positions... If they do not require you to have a big vertical, it's not worth worrying about...