How To Double Your Vertical Leap

Have you ever dreamed of running faster and jumping higher? If you are like most athletes, you know how much increased explosiveness is worth on the field or court. Especially amongst basketball and volleyball, a huge vertical jump is considered pure gold amongst athletic attributes.

The question is, how can you increase your vertical jump efficiently and effectively in the least amount of time possible? While the answer requires the understanding of a number of factors, once you understand what a vertical jump consists of you will be more capable of effectively addressing the quest for gravity defying leaping power.

So, what does it take to leave the ground behind and slam down dunk after dunk over your hapless opponents? It is really a question of three factors. The first is speed strength. Speed strength is your ability to utilize as much of your muscular force in as short a time as possible. This means that when you throw or kick or jump, your body will utilize as much of the given muscle as possible during the time you are accelerating your body.

The average contact time for a vertical jump is 200 milliseconds. This means that even if you can squat twice your bodyweight, if you cannot tap into these muscles in under half a second, you will not benefit too much! You can train speed strength by olympic lifts.

Limit strength is the second factor that determines how well you can defy gravity. A more correct term would be absolute relative strength. This is essentially your power to weight ratio. If you are small but super strong for your size you are more likely to have a monster vertical jump than a 300 lb power lifter who can squat 600 pounds. It is all about relative strength. The best way to increase relative strength in your jumping muscles are squats and dead lifts, bar none!

The third aspect that will send you flying higher than ever before is something which is known as reactive strength. Reactive strength is the ability of your muscles and tendons to store energy then release it suddenly. This is why you cock your arm back before throwing, and why people jump higher after a short run up.

The way to increase your reactive strength is through plyometrics. Plyometrics is a term used to refer to specific exercises that were developed to increase your bodys efficiency at storing and releasing energy at will.

If you can find a way to balance and increase these three aspects of strength, you will find yourself flying high faster than you ever though possible. Only through the proper application of scientific principles to training will you be able to maximize your results.