Do you watch sports on TV that involves athletes jumping fairly high? I am not only talking about track and field sports, but also ball games like basketball or volleyball. Isn’t it amazing how high some athletes can jump? Why are modern high jumpers hitting the stratosphere near the eight foot mark? How can a basketballer jump high, twist and turn between opponents that are trying to steal the ball from him and then slam the ball into the basket and make it look so easy?
For one these athletes have a certain talent for what they do. But there is also a tremendous amount of work behind these successes. Much more than we would expect actually. Shooting your body up into the air for vertical height requires some serious amount of leg muscles. But pure muscle will not do it alone and so you need to consider proper training techniques that allow you to jump high as if you would be shot into the air by a rocket.
I consider 3 items as the most important parts that build the foundation for successful Plyometrics.
1) Warm Up
2) Squat Jumps
3) Box Jumps
Let’s discuss these 3 parts of a Plyometric Exercise Program real quick.
Warming up is a give for any kind of physical exercise. Warm up to prevent injury. It’s simple, it’s easy, however it is definitely mandatory for a Plyometric Exercise session because you are generating forces that put a lot of stress on your body. Without proper warm up there is an increased risk of injury.
Squat Jumps are one of the most effective exercises that is considered Plyometric.You can easily increase the effectiveness of this exercise by adding weights. I am going to make the assumption you know how to do a Squat Jump (go here if you do not know). When jumping up out of the Squat position any extra weight that you push up will increase the muscle power that you are looking for. This exercise therefore allows for so many adjustments, it makes it extremely easy to do and extremely efficient at the same time. Even if you do not have any weights to use, you can find many household items that make up for it. You do not need to be at a gym to do Squat Jumps either.
Box jumps require some kind of device or container to be able to do this exercise. Usually you would use what is called a Plyometric box set. Most gyms have them available, but you can also order them and use them at your home. The cost varies, but you can assume a price between $100 and $200. The idea of a box jump is to maintain a certain body posure while jumping onto a box and then to jump off the same box and onto another one. This exercise is extremely efficient and helps you build up the right amount of muscle power to generate those explosive jumps described in the very first paragraph of this article.
Take a look at the Jump Manual as another great resource for your jump training. The Jump Manual is one of the best jump training programs currently available. It is a low cost program that comes in form of an eBook, training videos, and available one on one coaching with the trainer who developed this jump training. Well worth the small investment in my opinion. Click here to visit the Jump Manual Website.
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