Developing your Vertical Leap
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Developing your Vertical Leap
In basketball today, players want to run fast, play strong, and most importantly, jump high. How does one improve the height of his or her vertical leap, you ask? There's a simple answer. Weight training.
The two most important muscles for jumping "out of the gym" are the calf and quadriceps muscles. The power in your jump will come from the quad muscle in the front of your thigh. The explosion that lifts you off of the floor to begin with? That starts with having strong calf muscles.
There are different ways to strengthen those muscles. For your quads, it is smart to perform the leg press workout on a leg press machine, pushing weight outwards or upwards while controlling your body. Leg extensions, where one sits flat and lifts weight upward with both legs, is another way to strengthen the quads. A favorite is the wall sit. This requires less equipment and uses the weight of your own body to build strength. Sit on a wall, dropping your rear end until you quads are at a 90 degree angle and parallel to the ground. Sit there for a while, even adding a weight to your lap, until the muscle starts to burn.
As for the calf muscles, there are a few things one can do to strengthen them. Toe raises are effective. Stand against a wall to keep your balance. Then, on one foot, push your body up and down, keeping the weight on the front balls of your feet. Repeat this any number of times until there is a nice burn in the muscle. Running sprints will also help to develop the calf muscle.
If you can use weight training to strengthen these muscles, you will be well on your way to jumping higher and even running faster. The world's best athletes win their championships in the weight room. There's no reason why you can't join them!
Comments
3/9/2007 12:11:07 PMkwez said:
it helps. it really increases your vertical leaps and really helps you iut to get up their with the big boys.
3/13/2007 7:19:13 AM
xavier said:
thanks for the tips on my abilty to jump higher and run faster my coach he said doing squats will increase my abilty to dunk faster is this true holla back
4/4/2007 7:10:17 PM
CySniper said:
Thanks so much
4/16/2007 6:37:39 AM
James said:
Thanks great help i am 5'9" and can touch the rim with little effort
6/10/2007 4:57:58 PM
Samie said:
Thank You very much this helped me alot
6/6/2008 11:02:22 PM
Bararith lach said:
That a good idea! I also think running and skipping helps out your vertical to.
8/20/2008 8:18:51 PM
jean said:
the wall sit is torture
3/10/2009 10:04:32 PM
************ said:
You should also strengthen your hamstrings, otherwise ur knees will get messed up cuz ur thighs are out of porportion. (Front of thigh is bigger than back of thigh)
3/21/2009 8:52:00 PM
ryan said:
try using a leg press machine and just pushing it out with your toes...this is a ridiculous calf exercise which starts to burn after about 2 reps because of the weight on them
8/2/2009 9:23:50 PM
Seth said:
These are good exercises that target the correct muscle groups, but keep in mind that resistance training alone is not enough. This type of training will make you stronger, but not faster. Plyometrics are absolutely essential to build the fast twitch muscle fibers required to jump higher. Wikipedia gives an excellent explanation of this under plyometrics. Or ask any professional kinesiologist, and they will tell you the same thing.
3/22/2010 2:05:05 PM
jake said:
these are great workouts, i am 6'2 and could already dunk, and can easily do a 360 dunk now after a couple weeks of these
4/19/2010 10:03:20 AM
Steve said:
Sprints in deep sand help also!!!
7/16/2010 11:49:21 PM
Rick Kartes said:
Squats are a must. Do deep squats (top of thigh at least parallel to the floor). Those who do squats without also working the hamstrings end up pulling the hamstring. The calves are very trainable, be sure to work them - no secret - do one and two leg calf raises. After making some reasonable strength gain, add plyometrics. The combo of strength training and plyometrics is the key. Be realistic. You will not increase your jump by 10". Oh, and by the way the funny shoes that make you stay on the balls of your feet, don't work.
2/21/2011 7:55:19 AM
marquis said:
i just started so i hope it helps like everyone else said
Good Luck. Hard work pays off
~Coach Lok
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