Vertical Leap training thread

Thought I'd start a thread dedicated to vertical leaping, training and all related things. Seems to be a common goal of many ahletes and Basketball players

It goes without saying explosive squats should be the cornerstone of your training aiming for a 3 times bodyweight squat strength. Then you need power movements like the power clean and snatch and plyometrics to get the speed back.

Feel free to contribute to this thread with your own progress and training etc

Found this good variation of the power exercises for training your vert explosiveness. Much better than jump squats since you train your upperbody explosiveness along side your legs for a total body upward power.

http://www.ironmag.com/ct_olympic_lifts_part6_03.html


The jump snatch

This is my favorite exercise to develop lower body power. It is a modified version of the power snatch from the hang. It is modified so that there is maximum emphasis on the jumping muscles and motion.

Starting position:
Standing up
Holding the barbell with a wide grip
Feet are shoulder width
Back is tight arms are relaxed

Eccentric phase (under control, 1-2 seconds)
Lower the bar to 1-2" above your knees
Do so first by bending the knees
Bend the trunk slightly forward but do not exceed 300 or so, the less the better
Basically simulate a dipping phase for a vertical jump

Concentric phase (explosive, jump!)
Jump upward emphasizing full leg extension and ankle extension
The back should not hyperextend, it should be aligned with the knees and ankles when you jump upward
Try to jump as high as possible, imagine doing a vertical jump with a barbell in you hands

Finish position
Hold the bar overhead
The bar should be snatched directly overhead, no press-out with the arms




The key, or coaching point as I call it, is to really focus on exerting maximum force with your legs. This is similar to a jump squat but with the bar in your hands.

How heavy can you go? Pretty close to what you can snatch normally, maybe 10-15kg less (22-33lbs). Those who don't have any experience snatching should start very light and slowly increase the load as long as jumping height can be maintained. In this fashion I have managed an easy lift of 115kg (253lbs) while my best "regular" power snatch is 127,5kg (280.5lbs), both were done in the same training cycle so they can be compared. As you can see there is a slight difference, illustrating how "competitive" Olympic lifting technique is developed to permit the lifting of max loads and not necessarily to develop solely lower body power.

Just to give you a hint on what you should aim for in this lift, Pascal Caron is a world class athlete (Canadian Bobsled team, sprinter) with a 4.17 / 40, a 500lbs full squat and a 425lbs bench press. In this movement (jump snatch) he has a best of 100kg ... it is hard to call it a best because he could manage more but he would not jump as much, 100kg is the best he has done while jumping high and maintaining a lot of explosion. And most of the football players using this movement right now hover around 60-80kg for their sets. I have a figure skater doing 45-50kg (100lbs) doing sets of 5 in that fashion. The key however is not how much weight is lifted, but rather how fast it is moved and how high you are jumping with the load. Never sacrifice too much height for a bit more weight.

Other exercises

Is it possible to do a jump clean? Yes, it is. However it is not as effective as the jump snatch and the timing is harder to develop. That's why I recommend a regular power clean along with the jump snatch. That way you'll get the best out of both worlds: you'll develop maximum lower body power and your vertical jump with the jump snatch and you'll lift heavier loads with the power clean.

One variation that I like to use is the jump split snatch which is the same as the jump snatch I explained earlier except that you land with one leg forward and one leg backward (like in the jerk). An athlete should train by splitting both sides (one rep = left leg forward, one rep = right leg forward...).

Here are the specific parameters for the training of the modified Olympic lifts:

Parameter

Frequency: 2 times per week
Sets: 4-6
Reps: 2-6
Load: 75-85% (judge the load according to bar speed)
Rest intervals: 2-3 minutes

I had a chat to a guy who runs a vertical leap training site.
He's called ANT, he's 5'9" and runs a 41" vertical leap.

This is what he can do a White boy too!


ANT

170lbs bodyweight

400lbsx4reps squat (to just below parallel)

Fred Hatfield Vert training article

http://www.drsquat.com/index.cfm?action=viewarticle&articleID=24


21 week Vert program from Fred Hatfield's son
----------------------------------------------

Here is a program for increasing your vertical jump. It is NOT a complete program for athletes... Even those athletes who need great jumping ability will have to engage in conditioning, sport specific skill training, speed training and even other exercises in the weight room. The sole purpose of this program is to increase your vertical jump, but if you are an athlete, don’t fall into the trap of believing that this program is the only one you need! Instead, look for other programs that will be specifically designed for your sport. Those programs will also improve your vertical jump, but will also give you the tools you need to achieve athletic excellence!

The program is set over quite a long period of time. To do things right, you must acquire a certain level of fitness to use the upper levels of this program... Rome wasn’t built in a day, man must crawl before he can walk, and walk before he can run.... The same can be said about plyometrics -- which is the best way to increase your vertical jump! Do not skip workouts or cycles! Otherwise, "The Profits of Doom" who say plyometric training is dangerous may indeed be correct!

So if this program is to increase your vertical jump, why are upper body exercises included? Doesn’t a great vertical involve the legs? True, the legs and hips are the main movers, but research suggests that the arm swing can involve as much as 5% of your velocity while jumping. Have doubts about this? Try this simple experiment: Stand still and swing your arms up hard. Did you feel yourself lift upward at all? Perhaps you didn’t get off the ground, but you should’ve felt some upward movement. Perhaps even some of your body parts jiggled a bit!

That brings up another point: If too much jiggled, perhaps losing some bodyfat is in order! No matter how strong you are or how explosive you are, your vertical jump will always be terrible if you are overweight! Why carry the excess luggage? If this is the case, follow the zig zag diet program and get rid of that excess luggage!

Many of the exercises will not have assigned percentages or weights. Even if they do, please remember the almighty rule of THE LAW OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES! Numbers aren’t Holy, neither are percentages... What is important is that you are progressing upwards. As a general rule, increase the weight of the exercises which aren’t assigned percentages 5 lbs every 3rd week.

OF URGENT IMPORTANCE!!!! See a doctor before engaging in any exercise program! I know you’ve heard that before, but it is with good reason! EVERY athletic team in the nation has physicals before they allow any athlete to engage in team training. If it’s good enough for those folks, it’s good enough for you! Furthermore, if you are an athlete and have a strength coach, I strongly advise you to follow his or her program. They have a plan, and for a plan to work it must be followed. I invite you to show them this program, but your strength coach will have a program suited for you as an individual which must be followed.

MESOCYCLE 1: SET YOUR FOUNDATION!

Before you are ready to start training with Plyometrics, you must gain a foundation of strength! Conventional wisdom states that you should be able to squat 1.5 times your body weight before you engage in plyometrics. While this is true, it may NOT be taken for granted that you are ready even if you can squat this weight. The muscles may be strong enough, but the bones, tendons, ligaments and joints may still not be ready. Mesocycle 1 is designed to prepare you for such training -- in other words, to give you the necessary tools for further training! THIS MUST BE DONE FIRST!

Before you begin, establish your 1RM’s for the lifts that require such as well as noting your present vertical jump.


-------------------------------

see the above link for the full schedules and exercise descriptions

Volley ball players

Volley players need good vert, and I have a few Volleyball mags with articles and programs for vert training.

Anyway there aren't too many females under 6 feet that can dunk the Basketball... but there is one Cuban female Volleyball player that can!

Don't know if she is still playing, but Mireya Luis is a powerhouse!
She's 175cm or 5'9" weighs 69kg and has a 335cm jump reach - a basketball ring is 300cm...
She's she said to be able to dunk a basketball very easily - I guess when you can get your finger tips 14 inches above the ring from a one step 2 legged jump, it shouldn't be too hard !

That means she can touch the top of the black square, I can't think of many guys who can do that under 6 feet!
And this is after having had 2 children and one knee reconstruction!!

Another good article

----------------------
By Josh Henkin

There are a million products that make promises on increasing one's vertical leap. Everything from jumping shoes to programs that simply use bodyweight exercises. In many sports, athletes wish to jump higher in hope that they will improve their performance in their chosen sport. While this may be the case, it is equally important to remember that there are far more important aspects to sports performance than just how high you jump. However, understanding what makes for a good vertical jump can help many young athletes save a lot of money and see great progress from their work.

FLEXIBILITY!

This is the least exciting of all the principles that I could possibly name. However, if you do not have proper range of motion in your hips, shoulders, and low back you are not going to reach your potential. Since the dominant amount of force production in a vertical leap is accomplished in the hips, you will see that optimal range of motion is very necessary. If your hips are tight you will not be able to translate force through the hip musculature properly and you are setting yourself up for injuries, primarily in the low back and sacroiliac joint.

Simply stretching though in the traditional sense will not be the solution to your problems. In flexibility training there are two main types, static and dynamic. Static is the what most traditionally think when flexibility is mentioned. Holding a particular stretch for 20-60 seconds. Dynamic flexibility involves certain types of movement that will help increase the range of motion in certain joints. My preferred examples might be stepping over hurdles for the hips. The importance of the distinction relates to how you structure your program. There is a very poor correlation between these two types of flexibility. Meaning if you are bad in static stretching you can still be very good in dynamic. It is important to use both. Usually we will use dynamic methods prior to a workout, as it will provide proper range of motion and assist in increased force production. Static flexibility has been shown to reduce force production so usually it is saved for after the workout as a recovery method and additional flexibility training.

Sport Stretch by Michael J. Alter provides some great ideas for static stretches. Many of my dynamic stretches use basic tumbling, hurdles, and full range of motion lifts. By using all these methods the athlete can increase many aspects of their performance including their vertical jump.

Olympic Lifts and Hybrids

The Olympic lifts are terrific to incorporate into any serious sports performance program. My only concern is when athletes are unsure how to perform them correctly still try to utilize these lifts. This is really where injuries may occur. If one is taught these lifts properly they are far from dangerous and can provide numerous benefits. I would suggest if someone were interested in learning the lifts to find an USA Weightlifting Coach in their area.

Ok, so how do the Olympic lifts and their variations help the vertical jump? As I mentioned earlier the hips are primarily responsible for the success in a vertical jump. What the Olympic lifts do is teach the lifter how to use their hips explosively. This ability to translate force will allow one to utilize the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) more efficiently leading to a better jump. A good example of the power of the SSC is the following. Try to jump, but before you explode up hold the bottom position for four seconds. Measure how high you jump. Next, dip down as fast as possible and come back up as fast as possible. See a difference? Chances are you saw significance between your two efforts, the second jump being much higher.

The other benefit from the Olympic lifts is if you use their full movements you can greatly increase the flexibility in major joints such as the hips and shoulder girdle. The Overhead squat, Drop Snatch, and others are great exercises to develop overall body strength and power. However, they will still increase range of motion in all important areas.

If you would like a stronger example of the impact of the lifts let us look at the following. I would like to thank my colleague Chad Ikei for the following information. This excerpt is from his article "Pulling To Jump Higher."

"Nicu Vlad of Romania, World Record holder and Two time Olympic Medallist, came to the United States back in 1990, with now current U.S. National and Olympic Team Coach Dragomir Cioroslan, for a training camp. It was here at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, that this 100-kg (220 lbs) weightlifter recorded a 42" vertical jump. Not to mention he was in weightlifting shoes, which weighs a lot more than tennis shoes and no formal warm-up. (Snatch 200 kg, Clean and Jerk 232.5 kg)

Wesley Barnett of Team USA, 3-time Olympian and Silver Medallist @ 1997 World Championships, have legs (especially hamstrings) and ass like a thoroughbred on him that most body builders would like to have. He has recorded vertical jumps of over 39" @ a height of 6'1" and 105 kg (231 lbs). I've even witnessed him dunking a basketball while jumping over my head, and I do mean literally jumping over my head which of course only stands a mere 5'2" but he straddle jumped directly over my head and dunked. (Snatch 175 kg, Clean and Jerk 220 kg)

Mark Henry, 1996 Olympic Team Member, now known as "Sexual Chocolate" on the WWF scene, had quite a vertical jump. At 6'3" tall he could dunk a basketball, not to mention that he could squat over 1000 lbs and deadlift over 900 lbs. Now dunking a basketball at 6'3" doesn't sound that hard, but take in to account that he weighed at that time 175 kg (385 lbs). Now that's impressive for a big guy. (Snatch 180 kg, Clean and Jerk 220 kg)

Shane Hamman, 2000 Olympic Team Member and current National Super heavyweight Champion, another big man weighing in @ 163 kg (358 lbs) but only at a height of 5'9" tall, can jump onto boxes @ a height over 42" high. Of course Shane was also known for his squatting ability of over 1000 lbs. (Snatch 195 kg, Clean and Jerk 230 kg)."

This is amazing considering the average vertical jump of a Division I men's basketball player is 28 inches!

Plyometrics

Plyometrics are one of the most poorly understood training methods in our toolbox. This method is also known as shock training. The purpose of plyometrics is not to be a conditioning technique, but rather improve the utilization of the SSC. However, one must posses a descent level of strength to benefit from such training as the joints and musculature will be able to translate force optimally. The first two methods may act as preparation for plyometric training.

Everyone must establish a baseline before they begin a plyometric program. Using basic foot contact drills and general physical preparation drills are terrific. This would include exercises like jumping jack, split shuffles, slalom jumps, mountain climbers, jump rope, as well as many others. From here additional bounding drills such, as skips can be included. One should not really train with plyometrics more than twice a week and this will vary greatly on the phase of the cycle. Plyometrics should also mostly involve several sets of low repetition training as we are aiming for quality of jumps than the number.

It is very important to remember this type of training has a great impact upon the body. Recovery will be crucial as well as the type of surface you use. Sandpits are my personal favorite as they offer a great deal of benefits to plyometric and sport-specific training. Just like any other training method if you do not understand how to use or implement this method you are better off not using it.

After reading the above ideas hopefully it is clearer that fancy equipment or "high-tech" methods are not necessary to have an incredible vertical jump. I would highly suggest that if you were interested in using any of the above methods but are unfamiliar with them to seek out a highly qualified strength and conditioning coach in your area. Most coaches will have a certification from National Strength & Conditioning Association and/or USA Weightlifting. Remember anything is possible with smart and well-organized training.

EMail me at [email protected] with questions or comments.

http://www.infinityfitness.com/memsam/articles/pull_01.htm


Part I: Pull more to jump higher

February 3, 2002
By CHAD IKEI


Time and time again you hear athletes inquiring on how to improve their jumping ability. The most common response among coaches would be “let’s focus on plyometrics.” When I speak of “plyometrics,” I am reffering to jumping exercises both unilateral and bilateral. In effect, the stretch shortening cycle or SSC is the primary focus in plyometric training. I will not go into details here because it would bore you and besides, there are ton of books on plyometric training. Also, plyometric training is the last thing most athletes need to improve their jumping ability.

It is my experience that most elite athletes already have great jumping abilities, ground contact times or SSC response. Having these athletes perform tons of jumps and ground contacts can lead to diminishing training effects. However, there is an appropriate time for plyometric training that is necessary for most athletes. Here are some guidelines I like to use when determining how to approach an athlete's training cycle for improving jumping ability.

1) Athletes heatlh history
2) Athletes sports specific position
3) Total playing time
4) Total season length
5) Total off-season length
6) Athletes bodycomposition (bodyfat/ht/wt)
7) Postural assesment
8) Functional muscle assesment
9) Maximal strength assesment
10) Structural balance assesment
11) Range-of-motion / flexibility assesment
12) Days available for training
13) Hours availble for training
14) Power / jumping assesment

After a full analysis of an athlete is performed the coach must sit down and analyze what is the “weakest link” in the athlete’s structure. This is the toughest part of the coach’s position. Determining the weakest links are easy, but applying them to a training program that has only a limited time is tough. But the hardest part of training the weakest link is explaining to the athlete why he will be performing such silly and seemingly boring exercises like external rotation or unilateral step-ups instead of performing power cleans and squats. But after execution of such exercises an athlete will notice the benefit from a much more balanced physiological system.

In Part I of this training article I will focus on one of the more common weak links: hip extension. Hip extension in this term will be considered the firing of the gluteus maximus, hamstrings and erector spinae.

If after a thorough analysis the weak link is the hip extensors, then priority must be given to this area. Depending on the time allotted for training (length of off-season preparation), a specific program geared toward improving hip extension strength and power must be developed. The approach I like to take if given the adequate training time is to improve an athlete’s hip extensor strength first and then work toward improving power. What this means in training terms is start out with deadlifts and it’s derivatives and work toward explosive hip extension movements like the Olympic lifts. If you don’t have a strong base, you will be less likely to develop adequate power in the next training cycles.

Since the emphasis of Part I of this article is on the benefits of training the hip extensors, I would like to use some examples of athletes with great vertical jump heights whom train the hip extensors 4-6 times a week. These athletes would be Olympic Weightlifters. In fact, from past training experience at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, we would train our hip extensors as much as 8-12 times per week. Now this is an extreme case, but when you look at the results of vertical jumps of these atheltes, you might want to consider training your athletes with hip extension exercises.
Nicu Vlad of Romania, World Record holder and Two time Olympic Medallist, came to the United States back in 1990, with now current U.S. National and Olympic Team Coach Dragomir Cioroslan, for a training camp. It was here at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, that this 100-kg (220 lbs) weightlifter recorded a 42” vertical jump. Not to mention he was in weightlifting shoes, which weighs a lot more than tennis shoes and no formal warm-up. (Snatch 200 kg, Clean and Jerk 232.5 kg)

Wesley Barnett of Team USA, 3-time Olympian and Silver Medallist @ 1997 World Championships, have legs (especially hamstrings) and ass like a thoroughbread on him that most body builders would like to have. He has recorded vertical jumps of over 39” @ a height of 6’1” and 105 kg (231 lbs). I’ve even witnessed him dunking a basketball while jumping over my head, and I do mean literally jumping over my head which of course only stands a mere 5’2” but he straddle jumped directly over my head and dunked. (Snatch 175 kg, Clean and Jerk 220 kg)

James Carter, probably one of the strongest legs pound for pound, could dunk a volleyball on a regulation basketball court. He couldn’t dunk a basketball because his hands were too small; he only stood 5’5” tall and weighed about 64 kg (140 lbs). I’ve witnessed him squatting 245 kg (540 lbs), and that’s with no belt and no knee wraps and ass to the floor…A REAL SQUAT. He has also pulled over 500 lbs off the floor like no tomorrow. (Snatch 120 kg, Clean and Jerk 160 kg)

Mark Henry, 1996 Olympic Team Member, now known as “Sexual Chocolate” on the WWF scene, had quite a vertical jump. At 6’3” tall he could dunk a basketball, not to mention that he could squat over 1000 lbs and deadlift over 900 lbs. Now dunking a basketball at 6’3” doesn’t sound that hard, but take in to account that he weighed at that time 175 kg (385 lbs). Now that’s impressive for a big guy. (Snatch 180 kg, Clean and Jerk 220 kg)

Shane Hamman, 2000 Olympic Team Member and current National Superheavyweight Champion, another big man weighing in @ 163 kg (358 lbs) but only at a height of 5’9” tall, can jump onto boxes @ a height over 42” high. Of course Shane was also known for his squatting ability of over 1000 lbs. (Snatch 195 kg, Clean and Jerk 230 kg)

So, as you can see both leg and hip extension strength plays a major role in vertical jumping and explosive power. Considering that Mark and Shane both could squat over 1000 and cleaned over 500#. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to squat a 1000# and clean 500# to jump high, but it does mean that you have to improve your leg strength as much as your pulling strength. Do note that these athletes listed above were elite weightlifters and the development of both the hip and knee extensors were extremely strong. But the point I wanted to make was that their capabilities of training the hip extensors contributed to their great vertical displacements, considering that none of these athletes were involved in a structured jumping program or sport.

By training the hip extensors with the appropriate exercises an athlete can improve his or her jumping abilities without actually performing tons of plyometric training. Once a foundation is laid and explosive hip extension movements are introduced, then and only then should we focus our attention to plyometric training. But don’t get me wrong, if an athlete has a different weak link such as weak legs or poor ground contact time (usually due to weak legs) then another approach would need to be taken. The same thing goes for a very stong athlete that needs more emphasis in speed, here an athlete would tend to benefit from more plyometric training. There is no one answer for improving jumping abilities, but there is a process on how to improve an individual athlete’s performance.

Olympic lifting demos - show you how's it done

by Chad Ikei

Shows you how to do the PowerSnatch and Powerclean among other things

Part1 - 2megs
http://www.infinityfitness.com/videos/nl/chad01.asf

Part2- 32megs
http://www.infinityfitness.com/videos/nl/chado2.asf

right click and save as


Quote from Coach Chad I found

"Another very common mistake with using the Olympic lifts is the improper cycling of leg training, primarily the Squat, Deadlift, Snatch and Clean movements. If you are not mixing and cycling the movements correctly, you will not develop the optimal strength of the legs. It has been said that Olympic Lifters have the best Vertical Jumps (especially for non-jumping sport). The reason for these high vertical jumps of elite weightlifters is the fact of the loading system used in their training system. All Olympic Weightlifters have utilized HEAVY squats, pulls, and the Olympic Lifts. As the saying goes..."GO HEAVY OR GO HOME."

various articles from The Renegade, Coach Davies

http://www.intensitymagazine.com/01-08-02/renegade_thoughts.html/

http://www.intensitymagazine.com/01-15-02/renegade_thoughts.html

http://www.intensitymagazine.com/01-22-02/renegade_thoughts.html

http://www.intensitymagazine.com/01-29-02/renegade_thoughts.html

AirAlert

Ever heard of it?

What you think of it? I'm gonna try it... PRomises 8-12 inches increase on vert....

Its not worth getting, its good for getting shin splints, since you train everyday just about! Don't botehr buying it, I've seen it on a website. My friend has a copy, and its a scam at best.

You don't have to pay to increase your vertical, all the info is here and on the web.

Really you have to squat and do weights if you wanna get serious about maximising your vertical.