The World's first ever magazine dedicated to the urban sport/art/discipline of Parkour and Freerunning. Powered by www.urbanfreeflow.com the magazine was established on 10th of Feb 2010 and …Full description
Dirty Tricks for Higher Vertical Jumps by Joe DeFranco This article originally originally appeared appeared on www.T-mag.com
I!e been called a wide !ariety of names o!er the past couple of years. These names ha!e ranged from "guru" to "cheater." Frankly# I dont gi!e a damn what people call me. The bottom line is that I get results with my athletes.
$ome people admire this% others get &ealous and choose to ridicule my methods. $ome of my methods are mainstream mainstream and other times I ha!e to dig into my bag of "dirty tricks" to get the desired result. Training athletes for the !ertical &ump test is no e'ception. I get more (uestions each week regarding the !ertical &ump than any other training topic. )ost athletes seem to be obsessed with their !ertical &ump. This is where I come in.
*elow youll +nd some of my fa!orite coaching "tricks" that I guarantee will impro!e your !ertical &ump. These underground techni(ues ha!e helped o!er ,-doen of my athletes &ump o!er /" on this popular athletic test. $ome may call these techni(ues trickery% others may call them smart coaching. 0all them what you want# they work1
This dirty trick trick works so well it gi!es me me chills1 Aell# Aell# not really really but its damn damn eBecti!e.
Ha!e you e!er noticed that the day after you!e performed a lot of &umping
that your hip Ce'ors were sore I!e personally pulled hip Ce'or muscles while testing my !ertical &ump. Ahat I e!entually +gured out was that the rapid# full body e'tension that followed the rapid descent into the &ump was tearing them up. 8fter further analysis# one could conclude that if these muscles were getting torn up# that meant that they were probably resisting the height of the &ump.
Hopefully were all well aware that static stretching isnt recommended before any e'plosi!e acti!ity. $tatic stretching your hip Ce'ors before testing your !ertical &ump is the e'ception to the rule1 4ou see# since the hip Ce'ors arent prime mo!ers in &umping and they tend to resist our &ump# the goal is to weaken them and put them to "sleep" before &umping. $tatic stretching accomplishes these goals. $tatic stretching your hip Ce'ors will create less friction during your &ump. ;ess hip Ce'or friction during your &ump e(uals higher !ertical &ump heights1
*elow is one of my fa!orite hip Ce'or stretches# but go ahead and choose your fa!orite and perform , sets of ,E-E seconds on each side.
>=T9 The hip Ce'or stretch pictured below is a great stretch to perform before s(uatting as well. It will help you get deeper into your s(uats as well as pre!ent getting pulled forward during s(uatting. ?i!e it a try1
$T8TI0 $T39T0H TH9 HI: F;9<=3$
2222222 DI3T4 T3I05 6, 222222
$T39>?TH9> 4=@3 F;9<=3 H8;;@0I$ ;=>?@$1
The Ce'or hallucis longus is the least known of all the "&umping muscles." Dont get me wrong# this muscle isnt going to impro!e your !ertical &ump as much as well-de!eloped hamstrings# glutes# and spinal erectors% but this is an interesting muscle that can make a noticeable impro!ement in your &umping
ability.
The Ce'or hallucis longus originates on the lower two-thirds of the +bula and inserts on the distal phalan' of the great toe. It plantar Ce'es the foot and also Ce'es the great toe. These muscle actions are an integral part of the !ertical &ump as well as sprinting. ?etting this often-o!erlooked muscle stronger can be that added inch on your !ertical &ump that you thought was impossible.
The best way to train this muscle in the weight room is by performing single leg calf raises while holding a dumbell. G$ee pictures below. Ahen performing this e'ercise# try to keep most of your weight on the big toe of the working leg.
0runching your toes in your sneakersshoes while at work or school is another "economical" way of strengthening these muscles. Try - sets of ,E reps. >o one will e!er know1
0runching a towel up in your toes while watching TV or working on the computer is another way to train these muscles without wasting any e'tra time.
222222 DI3T4 T3I05 6 222222
F=0@$ => 38:ID;4 D9$09>DI>? I>T= 4=@3 J@):1
)ost athletes focus so much on the "&ump" portion of &umping that they forget the importance of the descent of the &ump. Through e'tensi!e research and obser!ation# I!e found that the speed of the descent is the most important factor in an athletes !ertical &ump height .
The bottom line is that the faster you can descend# the higher you will &ump. $ir Isaac >ewtons rd ;aw of )otion supports this statement. It states that for e!ery action there is an e(ual and opposite reaction . 5nowing this# we can conclude that the faster we can descend into our &ump# the faster we can take oB. This translates into an e'plosi!e# &aw-dropping &ump. @nfortunately# time and time again# I feel like I can go out to lunch and come back in the amount of time it takes an athlete to descend into hisher &ump. If you want to &ump through the roof# you must practice descending rapidly.
In order to perfect the descent# you must set up in the perfect position. 4our !ertical &ump position should resemble that of an =lympic di!er standing on a di!ing board. 4our arms should be fully e'tended o!er your head# eyes looking upward to where youll be &umping# your back should be slightly arched and you should be standing on your toes. This position puts all of your muscles on stretch and sets you up for an e'plosi!e descent. 3emember that an optimally stretched muscle can contract fasterharder.
$tart the descent by throwing your arms down to your hips. 8s the arms +re downward# your headneck will Ce' forward as your trunk and knees Ce' as well. In the bottom position# your hands should be slightly behind your hips# trunk Ce'ed slightly forward and your knees bent at about 7/-,E degrees. GDont get too caught up with the angle of your knees. 8lways remember that the angle of knee Ce'ion is >=T as important as the speed in which you descend. 4ou are now ready to take oB into a record-setting &ump1
This is one of the dirtiest# sneakiest# and toughest e'ercises youll e!er perform. Its great for training the elastic component of your muscles along with the 8chilles tendon.
I use /E-rep rhythm s(uats as a "peaking" e'ercise. )y athletes perform this e'ercise once a week for weeks before being tested in the !ertical &ump. The last "rhythm-s(uat" workout would be completed -L days before being tested in the !ertical &ump. /E-rep rhythm s(uats would always be the +rst e'ercise of the workout. 8fter a proper warm-up# youll perform one all-out set of this e'ercise. 8fter this e'ercise is completed# I usually like performing another e'plosi!e e'ercise such as bo' &umps# push &erks# etc.
This e'ercise is done by performing /E (uarter-s(uats as fast as possible. Do the +rst 7E reps e'ploding onto your toes% then# on reps 77-,E keep your feet Cat on the way up% e'plode onto your toes again while performing reps ,7-E% keep your heels down for reps 7-E# and then +nish the +nal 7E reps by e'ploding onto your toes again. It helps to ha!e a partner count out loud so you can perform all /E reps as fast as possible without breaking momentum.
I also like using a green Jump-$tretch band around the bar Gsee pics below for two reasons First of all# the band helps to accelerate the eccentric portion of the lift. This will further work the elastic component of your muscles and train your body to rapidly descend. $econdly# due to the e'plosi!e nature of the e'ercise# the bar has a tendency to bounce up and down on your cer!ical spine. This doesnt tickle1 The bands help to hold and stabilie the bar on your neck.
/E-39: 3H4TH) $K@8T$ 7
/E-39: 3H4TH) $K@8T$ ,
M3eps 7-7E# ,7-E N 7-/E. 8thlete e'plodes onto his toes at the top of the mo!ement.
/E-39: 3H4TH) $K@8T$
/E-39: 3H4TH) $K@8T$
M3eps 77-,E N 7-E. 8thlete keeps his heels down at the top of the mo!ement.
222222 DI3T4 T3I05 6/ 222222
A983 T3805 A8FF;9$ AH9> T9$TI>? 4=@3 V93TI08;1
:roper shoe wear &ust might be the most o!erlooked component of the !ertical &ump. D= >=T wear an old pair of running sneakers because you feel that theyre "broken in" and comfortable. This type of sneaker is the worst thing you can put on your feet when &umping1 These "comfortable" sneakers actually dampen the forces that you put into the ground. This# in turn# lengthens the time that you spend on the ground. :icture that as you rapidly descend into your &ump# the foot collapses slightly and absorbs force. This dissipation of force can reduce the height of the &ump.
I ha!e my athletes wear light sneakers with a rigid sole and ma'imal arch support. This type of sneaker supports the +rst metatarsal# which is crucial to your &umping performance. I ha!e found that track waOes are the best shoes for !ertical &umping. AaOes are +rm and !ery light. This allows for a rapid descent and take-oB with ma'imal support. I also recommend that my athletes purchase waOes that are half a sie too small. This pre!ents their feet from mo!ing around in the shoe. 3emember that these shoes arent meant for comfort% theyre meant for a world-class !ertical &ump1
Hopefully# this combination of training methods and "tricks" will ha!e you &umping so high that you can grab a dollar bill oB the top of the backboard and make change before descending. =kay# maybe thats a little too ambitious a goal. $till# using these time-tested methods should ha!e you &umping considerably higher than your current best.
