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Dirty Tricks for Higher Vertical Jumps
by Joe DeFranco
This article
originally appeared on www.T-mag.com
I've been called a wide variety of
names over the past couple of years. These names have
ranged from "guru" to "cheater." Frankly, I don't
give a damn what people call me. The bottom line is
that I get results with my athletes.
Some people admire this; others get
jealous and choose to ridicule my methods. Some of
my methods are mainstream and other times I have to
dig into my bag of "dirty tricks" to get the desired
result. Training athletes for the vertical jump test
is no exception. I get more questions each week regarding
the vertical jump than any other training topic. Most
athletes seem to be obsessed with their vertical jump.
This is where I come in.
Below you'll find some of my favorite
coaching "tricks" that I guarantee will improve your
vertical jump. These underground techniques have helped
over 2-dozen of my athletes jump over 35" on this
popular athletic test. Some may call these techniques
trickery; others may call them smart coaching. Call
them what you want, they work!
This dirty trick works so well it
gives me chills! Well, not really but it's damn effective.
Have you ever noticed that the day
after you've performed a lot of jumping that your
hip flexors were sore? I've personally pulled hip
flexor muscles while testing my vertical jump. What
I eventually figured out was that the rapid, full
body extension that followed the rapid descent into
the jump was tearing them up. After further analysis,
one could conclude that if these muscles were getting
torn up, that meant that they were probably resisting
the height of the jump.
Hopefully we're all well aware that
static stretching isn't recommended before any explosive
activity. Static stretching your hip flexors before
testing your vertical jump is the exception to the
rule! You see, since the hip flexors aren't prime
movers in jumping and they tend to resist our jump,
the goal is to weaken them and put them to
"sleep" before jumping. Static stretching accomplishes
these goals. Static stretching your hip flexors will
create less friction during your jump. Less hip flexor
friction during your jump equals higher vertical jump
heights!
Below is one of my favorite hip flexor
stretches, but go ahead and choose your favorite and
perform 2 sets of 20-30 seconds on each side.
NOTE: The hip flexor stretch pictured
below is a great stretch to perform before squatting
as well. It will help you get deeper into your squats
as well as prevent getting pulled forward during squatting.
Give it a try!
The flexor hallucis longus
is the least known of all the "jumping muscles." Don't
get me wrong, this muscle isn't going to improve your
vertical jump as much as well-developed hamstrings,
glutes, and spinal erectors; but this is an interesting
muscle that can make a noticeable improvement in your
jumping ability.
The flexor hallucis longus originates
on the lower two-thirds of the fibula and inserts
on the distal phalanx of the great toe. It plantar
flexes the foot and also flexes the great toe. These
muscle actions are an integral part of the vertical
jump as well as sprinting. Getting this often-overlooked
muscle stronger can be that added inch on your vertical
jump 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. (See pictures below.)
When performing this exercise, try to keep most of
your weight on the big toe of the working leg.
Crunching your toes in your sneakers/shoes
while at work or school is another "economical" way
of strengthening these muscles. Try 3-4 sets of 20
reps. No one will ever know!
Crunching a towel up in your toes
while watching TV or working on the computer is another
way to train these muscles without wasting any extra
time.
Most athletes focus so much on the
"jump" portion of jumping that they forget the importance
of the descent of the jump. Through extensive research
and observation, I've found that the speed of the
descent is the most important factor in an athlete's
vertical jump height.
The bottom line is that the faster
you can descend, the higher you will jump. Sir Isaac
Newton's 3rd Law of Motion supports this statement.
It states that for every action there is an equal
and opposite reaction. Knowing this, we can conclude
that the faster we can descend into our jump, the
faster we can take off. This translates into an explosive,
jaw-dropping jump. Unfortunately, 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 his/her jump. If you want to jump through the
roof, you must practice descending rapidly.
In order to perfect the descent,
you must set up in the perfect position. Your vertical
jump position should resemble that of an Olympic diver
standing on a diving board. Your arms should be fully
extended over your head, eyes looking upward to where
you'll be jumping, 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 explosive descent. Remember that an optimally
stretched muscle can contract faster/harder.
Start the descent by throwing your
arms down to your hips. As the arms fire downward,
your head/neck will flex forward as your trunk and
knees flex as well. In the bottom position, your hands
should be slightly behind your hips, trunk flexed
slightly forward and your knees bent at about 15-20
degrees. (Don't get too caught up with the angle of
your knees. Always remember that the angle of knee
flexion is NOT as important as the speed in which
you descend.) You are now ready to take off into a
record-setting jump!
This is one of the dirtiest, sneakiest,
and toughest exercises you'll ever perform. It's great
for training the elastic component of your muscles
along with the Achilles tendon.
I use 50-rep rhythm squats as a "peaking"
exercise. My athletes perform this exercise once a
week for 3 weeks before being tested in the vertical
jump. The last "rhythm-squat" workout would be completed
4-6 days before being tested in the vertical jump.
50-rep rhythm squats would always be the first exercise
of the workout. After a proper warm-up, you'll perform
one all-out set of this exercise. After this exercise
is completed, I usually like performing another explosive
exercise such as box jumps, push jerks, etc.
This exercise is done by performing
50 quarter-squats as fast as possible. Do the first
10 reps exploding onto your toes; then, on reps 11-20
keep your feet flat on the way up; explode onto your
toes again while performing reps 21-30; keep your
heels down for reps 31-40, and then finish the final
10 reps by exploding onto your toes again. It helps
to have a partner count out loud so you can perform
all 50 reps as fast as possible without breaking momentum.
I also like using a green Jump-Stretch
band around the bar (see 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. Secondly, due to the explosive nature of
the exercise, the bar has a tendency to bounce up
and down on your cervical spine. This doesn't tickle!
The bands help to hold and stabilize the bar on your
neck.
*Reps
1-10, 21-30 & 41-50. Athlete explodes onto his
toes at the top of the movement.
*Reps
11-20 & 31-40. Athlete keeps his heels down at
the top of the movement.
Proper shoe wear just might be the
most overlooked component of the vertical jump. DO
NOT wear an old pair of running sneakers because you
feel that they're "broken in" and comfortable. This
type of sneaker is the worst thing you can
put on your feet when jumping! 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. Picture that as you rapidly
descend into your jump, the foot collapses slightly
and absorbs force. This dissipation of force can reduce
the height of the jump.
I have my athletes wear light sneakers
with a rigid sole and maximal arch support. This type
of sneaker supports the first metatarsal, which is
crucial to your jumping performance. I have found
that track waffles are the best shoes for vertical
jumping. Waffles are firm and very light. This allows
for a rapid descent and take-off with maximal support.
I also recommend that my athletes purchase waffles
that are half a size too small. This prevents their
feet from moving around in the shoe. Remember that
these shoes aren't meant for comfort; they're meant
for a world-class vertical jump!
Hopefully, this combination of training
methods and "tricks" will have you jumping so high
that you can grab a dollar bill off the top of the
backboard and make change before descending. Okay,
maybe that's a little too ambitious a goal. Still,
using these time-tested methods should have you jumping
considerably higher than your current best.
Joe DeFranco has coached
over 2-dozen college and professional athletes who
have vertical jumped over 35". This is only one of
the reasons that Joe is one of the country's most
highly sought-after performance enhancement specialists.
Professional athletes from all over the country flock
to New Jersey to train with Joe. This is due to his
uncanny ability to improve all aspects of athletic
performance. Joe trains countless NFL football players,
major league baseball players, Olympic athletes and
hundreds of college and high school athletes from
all sports. For more information on Joe DeFranco check
out his website at http://www.defrancostraining.com/.
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