What if you were able to increase your four inches within a three month period? There are many athletes that would want to increase their vertical at least 3-5 inches in a three month period. With athletes wanting to perform at their peak in all levels of competition they tend to seek guidance to help with their athletic performance. There are three areas that you need to increase to gain the ability to get your vertical up and they are increased Power Development, Lower Body Strength and Lower Body Stability. Now without addressing any of these areas in your vertical jump program, there would be a limited amount of height gained in your vertical. The components needed to increase you vertical are simple and need to be apart of a successful jump training program.
Everyone would understand that increasing you power development will ultimately effect your force production in each plane of movement. When you focus on learning and training to master Olympic lifts, this will give you the ability to increase you force production in the shortest amount of time allowed. The Olympic lifts should be the core exercises of your training program and every athlete must learn the movement patterns before attempting to go a maximum lift in each of the lifts (Deadlift, Power Clean, Snatch & Jerk). Each one of these movements can be separate from other core exercises (beginner/novice) or done with with other core exercises (intermediate/advanced). There are some times in a training cycle for advanced athletes primarily focus on only Olympic lifts. This might be when they are in their competition phase of training and want to produce as much power/force as possible. Know when to move from the novice stage of the learning the movement pattern to increasing the weight in the lifts should be based on form and age of the athlete.
Incorporating lower body exercises in your jump training program is a must for anyone that truly wants to increase their vertical. Now these exercises can be done along with the Olympic lifts or they can be separate from the lifts. Other core exercises should include but not limited to Squats (all variations), Step-ups (all angles), RDLs, Good Mornings, and Calf Raises. There are many variations to these exercises and understanding the your body along with know when to incorporate each of these in your program is curtail to gaining the height you desire with your vertical. Being able to understand the movement of the hip hinge in one of the most important parts of the majority of these exercises. When you are able to decrease the time to complete full triple extension of the hip, knee and ankles is the most important aspect of gain maximum force production of your body.
The third and somewhat forgotten area to focus on during your jump training is increasing the stability of your lower body. There are tons of exercises that can help promote stability in the ankles and lower leg, knowing which exercise and when to add it into your training has the greatest effect to the outcome of your training. Having exercises that focus on improving your Static Balance, Reactive Balance, Reaction Time and Deceleration Strength will all work to help you increase the vertical you desire. Many athletes fail to add these types of exercises into their training program and only having the first two areas in their program which causes them to only have small increases in their vertical jump. The most important issue that athlete may have when trying to complete any of these exercises is maintaining correct form during the movement. Learning the movements and being able to complete them in a controlled and effective manor is critical on working to help you gain stability.
Using each of these areas to help you gain vertical is not only needed but should be administered by a trained and qualified professional that understands the movements and knows when to start each phase of training is key to your success. Being able to use each area will allow you to increase you vertical to a level that will build your athleticism and make you the ultimate athlete.
If you need the training and guidance with you vertical jump training, please give us a call and we can start your path to success today!
Article By, COACH DERRICK CAMPBELL, USTF-L1
