Weight Training
|
|
|
| I am 16 years old, and play basketball. Last time I measured my vertical it was about 20 inches. I realize it takes a lot of work to raise a vertical, but I would like to get it up to around 30 inches. I have access to a full gym, and am looking for a program that will help me gain those extra inches.
Question expanded by another reader.
Hi, I am only 12 and I have about a 12 inch vertical already. I was wanting about a 30 inch or something around that. Do you know something that could help me?
|
I was also a basketball player when I was younger. I was a high jumper at Wisconsin for a while in college and here are some of the things we did that seemed to work: stand on both feet and squat about 1/4 of the way down and then burst up as high as you can as many times as you can, lunges where each time you come out of them you try to explode as high as you can, a type of calf raise where you also try to jump as high as you can each time and some basic squats with no weight. We would go through each of these exercises in kind of a circuit and then repeat this circuit about 4 times or as many times as you feel is needed. Out of everything we did this seemed to be the most effective from a vertical jump standpoint.
|
Find something with weight (but not too much) that you can put on your shoulders. Once it's up (on your shoulders), do step-ups on a bench (chair, stool, etc.). Make sure that when you put your foot on the bench, your leg doesn't make more than a 90-degree angle, because it could be bad for your knees.
|
| What you need to do to increase your vertical involves a well planned workout program. It should start with 8 to 16 weeks spent on increasing basic strength in the legs as well as the back and shoulders. Also, during this time, you should try to lose any excess body weight you might carry.
After this phase, spend 6 to 12 weeks working out as follows. Do 20 minutes to an hour of plyometrics, search for plyometrics to get a good description. After the plyometrics, rest at least 30 minutes then head to gym and perform 2-3 sets of exercises for all the jumping muscles listed above. this workout should be 3 times a week at first. As you increase the time spent on plyometrics cut back to 2 workouts a week.
The last step is to work on power and explosion. This should be done 3 times a week and should combine lots of plyometrics and jumping as well as some resisted jumping as described in answer #1.
This three step procedure will optimally increase your vertical over a set amount of time. If it sounds like too much work then the best advice I can give is to jump as much as possible along with lifting weights. On every jump shot elevate as high as you can and on every rebound and lay up try to (mentally) hit your head on the rim when you jump.
Good Luck
|
To the 12 year old boy: My name is Abando and I have about a 35 inch vertical leap. If you want to jump higher, some tips are to walk on your toes all through the day at school and at home. You will feel a burning pain in your calf but don't worry. The more you feel it, the more you'll be able to jump. Also, go out and buy ankle weights. They cost about $14.95. When you have them, run up the stairs about thirty times a day then take the ankle weight off and you will see improvement by the day. None of this can be done without stretching. Take it from someone your age. It takes a while to increase your vertical so be patient and GOOD LUCK. It will work!
|
My advice is to learn to jump off one foot. While running, put your body low as you can to the ground and when you jump, spring your weight up first then use your legs. Works for me.
|
| OK, you drop, yes drop your pants to your ankles, making it hard to move and jump till your head kills. Try it!
DR. Jump
|
Listen to the first answer. It is obviously the best. It's not in "strength," it's all in "explosion." The best exercise BY FAR is to jump off a box about a foot tall or so, land, absorb the shock by 1/4 squatting and then EXPLODE back to the top of the box. Take this from me. I'm a football player. I'm 6'1 245 lbs and I have almost a 50' vertical. LISTEN to my advise. It will take you to the top.
|
There is no way you have a 50'' vertical. You would almost be able to dunk on a 12 foot goal. You have to measure the distance from the top of your stretched hand above your head to where you jump. Try again pal.
|
I think you mean 50" inches not 50' feet. You should do an exercise where you hold two dumbbells with not too much weight on them and jump up onto and off a platform. This will increase explosion. It's not really strength. I have a friend who can squat 350lbs and he can only jump around 12 inches. I currently have a vertical of 36" and seems to be working already. Any suggestion on this page will probably do fine.
|
| To increase your vertical jump, I suggest:
1. Ankle weights work excellent. Put on a heavy weight and do everything in them. When it comes to game time, take them off and you will notice the difference.
2. Calf Raises. Do lots of them.
|
I am currently in 8th grade, 6'4" and 210 lbs. I have a vertical leap of about 20 inches. If you are tall like I am, all you need to do for basketball is to daily go out and practice jumping. TRUST me, it really works for me!
|
To increase your vertical, I think you should get Air Alert 2. It has worked great for a lot of people, and I am on my second week of it. You go Monday through Friday, and every week you check your vertical. They will send you a video and a measurement chart. It has nothing to do with weights, you just use your body weight. It will increase your vertical to 8 to 15 inches in 12 weeks. I know it takes a while, but it works. Also, all of these exercises above will help you.
|
Forget about buying Air Alert 2. It's not as good as it claims. If you want to do it anyway, just go to this page: http://www.nutritionalsupplements.org/routine19.html. It has nearly the same exercises as Air Alert 2.
|
| My tips are:
1. Run lot sprints from 20m to 400m.
2. Do squats and calf raises at the gym.
3. Take a chair, which is about as high as your knees, and try to jump on it without bending your knees, 10 times per set.
|
| If you really want to quickly increase your vertical jump, one of the best things that you can do is jumping rope. I did this a lot a few years ago and I put down my first dunk a age 14 at a height of 5'11. Start out with two feet and then work your way up to explosive one foot jumping. Another thing that works really good once you are a jump roping master is to do lots of cleans from the floor and high pulls, which are exercises involving bringing up a loaded barbell from the floor to your shoulders. Also, stretch every day and make sure you eat good or else your training will almost go to waste.
Finally, I hated Air Alert II. It only put on about two inches on my vertical after 6 weeks. I quit because of a headache during one of the exercises. It is also a very scientifically unsound program. The methods that I described really helped me. I am 6'0" and have about a 40" vertical off of one foot.
|
Interesting responses as to how people attain their vertical jumps. I am not a basketball player, but a volleyball player (I stopped playing basketball when I was deliberately roughed up and injured in my left knee and lower back during a simple park pick-up game in which I was out-rebounding and blocking shots of my 6'3" opponent). I am 5'9" tall with shoes on. I am now over 38 years old...my vertical had regressed to 35"; 40" on a good day, and I am VERY frustrated at this point. I injured my left knee (in which 5 doctors, including 2 very good orthopedic surgeons, could not figure out the cause of the pain) because of a bad lower back (thus I favored the back and caused the knee to die on me), which I foolishly injured from playing a hard championship game WITHOUT warming up. After my injury 3 years ago, the docs didn't find anything in 2 x-rays and and MRI. I went through exploratory arthroscopic surgery last year...the doc didn't find anything. I was on my own! It wasn't "just in my head" because there was sharp pain when I planted...and there were some fluids built up in the knee. So I'm on my own again. I've fought through the pain and frustration...from zero vertical now to 35" and I'm not getting any younger.
It's true...work out with weights...a general body work out. I achieved my maximum vertical jump (which I will mention later) with no supplementation, no fancy and expensive gadgets they advertise for jumping...just plain old weight training, jumping training...and the last critical factor: proper technique. There are many ways to jump, as you may already have known. The guy who says he weighs 145 pounds and jumps about 50 inches...I'm sorry, I must agree with the other one who said you should re-check your jumping stats properly. I know what it's like to jump that high. I am 5'9" and I had a standing vertical of 44" up until I was 27 years old (before I hurt my lower back). With an approach, I used to get the top of my head to an inch above a standard basketball hoop. You do the math.
Anyway, when I find someone who can jump better than that, I will listen, too...I'm always open to ideas and techniques that work. I hope I'd get back to 44" or 46" because playing volleyball at 5'9" without a vertical...I get abused by the tall guys. I'm sure basketball players can use a good jump, too (just don't let them injure you).
I have trained others with me...one had a 24" vertical at 5'9". His dream was to jump 35". His buddy was a lanky 6'2" tall baseball pitcher. They both wanted to play better volleyball and jump higher. His dream was also to jump 35". I put them on a training routine and told them they should gain 6" in about 6 months...depending on their consistency in training. They worked hard and got their 6-inch increase in vertical in 2 months (like some responses said, it comes gradually). By the time I let them go (about a year and half), the 5'9" guy was jumping 35". The baseball pitcher, by then a good volleyball player, was jumping a true 42". I taught them never to fudge their own stats...there's no satisfaction in fake numbers. He later on told me that he ended up with 44". He wanted to get his head as high as the basketball hoop...but then we had to part ways as he moved out of state. I was confident that I could have had him at 46" to 48" if he stayed with me longer.
Anyway, this is getting to be too long a posting. Sorry. So before I part from this session, my advice, like some of the others, would be: lose the dead weight (fat) if you have any; work-out your whole body with weights; increase your power-to-weight ratio; jump to the max a lot; and "figure" out the best TECHNIQUE that will get you higher and highest (sorry, I've omitted some fine details). You'll get a feel for what works and what doesn't through numerous repetitions...pay attention to details. These bits of advice might not get you all to hit the 40s, but it will definitely help your vertical. Good luck.
Oh, and this is for the skeptics who might read this posting. Remember when Yoda (Star Wars) pulled the X-wing from the swamp using the force, and Luke's astonished comment was "I don't believe it"? Yoda's answer was, "That is why you failed." If you don't believe, then you will always be jumping what your mind tells you what you should be able to jump. Learn all you can...think outside the box...exceed yourself.
Cheers!
|
| I'm am a 42 year old athlete who has loved to jump since I was 8 or 9. At the age of 24, I touched 10'11" to give me a vertical (running) of 42". My standing jump was at 33 1/2" at the same time. I only mention this as background for my training tips, as one who has been there, not talking only from books. I have observed jumpers for the last 25 years and compared their claimed jumps with the actual jump that they did have. Only twice in that time have I seen people jump above 40"(running). Claims of 50" can be true, but are extremely rare and must be taken with a ton of salt.
These jumps were done at a height of 5'8 1/2" and weight of 168 pounds. I followed a self-taught program of all-over weight training combined with a heavy lower body power program. To get my best jump, I concentrated on two main pieces: 1. Set a bar at 43" above the ground and work up to a heavy single squat with it. 2. Using free weights, not machines, go extremely heavy on toe raises while standing on a 1/2" or 1" board. I used the 43" bar height so that I could not cheat on the depth of my squats. It does not allow you to go an inch higher the next day and get 10 more pounds on your squat. On the toe raises I took a heavy bar off of the rack, stepped-back about a foot and did 5-10 reps on a small board. I would almost never use high reps, as I was after duplicating a jump-type explosion. I would go as high as possible on my toes, not using a low partial rep to get more weight on the bar. In addition to the 2 exercises above, I did a full-body power workout along with the lower body work. I combined all of them together on the same day and did them three times a week, resting totally on the other days. During the winter months, I went much more for the weight lifting and little on the jumping, but switched around in the warmer months to concentrate on jumping first, and less on the weights.
As a way of looking at my best numbers while jumping 42" running, I could do the following: 43" squat - 460 lbs from a dead stop and then going up toe raise - 775 lbs 2 reps (not machine - free weights only!) bench press - 285 lbs (contest - pause, clap, go) clean and jerk - 250 lbs strict curl - 135 lbs.
I believe that an all-over body system gives you a better chance at a high jump and makes it easier to control the game with the extra power during a game. I do not claim to have the highest jump or the best weights lifted, but I put these numbers up for comparison to let others know that you can lift and play at the same time - and jump very high.
Happy Jumping!
|
I am a volleyball player...not a basketball player, but I think jumping will be jumping. I'll give you all some tips (only) on how to increase your vert. I see a lot of interesting methods here to help one increase his/her vertical jump. Most are fine and will help improve your vertical jump...to an extent. I like most the response of #3. Good job (although, I myself use yet a different training method). As for #7, I must agree with response #8...re-check your stats...please. Being 6'1" with a 50" vert, a normal basketball hoop must be at your nose area when you jump and you can see inside the hoop. I seriously doubt that, even more so with your weight. Michael Jordan's vert at 6'6", I estimate, was at 44"...no more than 46".
I have these tips for jumping high. Be consistent with your training. You EARN your vert, not wish for it:
1. Weight train your whole body, but emphasize the legs, of course. Your legs need to get strong. I disagree with those who say you need not weight train your legs to max out on your jump. Increase your power-to-weight ratio regardless of your size and weight.
2. Jump training. You must, like what others have mentioned, train your legs to jump. If you squat hard and heavy, then your legs ultimately will be good for squatting hard and heavy. You need to train the leg muscles to jump with the strength and mass you gain from weight training. There are many ways to train for jumping; they will all help. I have my own way.
3. Technique. Jumping technique is critical. Jumping with brute force will eventually get you higher...but the one thing that will get you above and beyond your "regular" jumps is technique. For any sport, the one that excels adds technique to his strength.
I am over 38 years old now and weigh 135 pounds. I am very fit, despite my small frame. I jumped well not because of my small frame and low relative weight...there are many others my size that cannot jump as well. Remember the power to weight ratio.
I know how hard it is to even get to a 35-inch vert. My hat is off to those that get there. I myself am trying so hard to regain my lost vert. In the last 2 months, I've been training very hard again as some of my chronic pains have faded somewhat. My vert, although between 35" and 40" right now, is frustratingly disappointing, to say the least (because I'm still fighting through my 1997 back and knee injuries; there was acute pain in my lower back and left knee and now the knee has fluid build-up...yet I am fighting for my jump). In my pre-injury days up to age 27 (I first hurt my lower back in 1989 and then the pain translated to the left knee), my standing vert was a true 44". With a running approach, it was much higher and I was never intimidated by players a foot taller than me. By being short and without a good vert, the taller, six-foot-zillion volleyball players normally would abuse my height and reach...and the others around my height wouldn't give me any respect, either. It's a whole new world, though, when you get the hang time of a 44" vert. I would love to get to at least 46" or 48" again, but time is not on my side.
By the way, I am 5'9" tall with shoes on. My maximum vert was getting the top of my head to an inch above a normal basketball hoop. If you really want to know how high a vert that is, you can do the math. Good luck to you all. Happy jumping!
"The Human Tendon" - as my volleyball buddies used to call me; now I'm only human :-)
|
Just a little tip--size matters. The training that will work for one person will not work for another. This is because of the differences in heights and body structures. Shorter people have shorter limbs and their muscles are more compact than taller people, whose limbs are longer with elongated muscles. Shorter people can actually increase their vertical leap much easier than taller people since their muscles are more compact. Simple leg-intensive weight training is mainly what shorter people should focus on. Along with this, stretching is a key for shorter people to make their muscles and tendons more elastic. For taller people, almost an exact opposite training routine should be used. Weight training could help to a point, but adding bulk on a taller person will work against the gains in vertical leap. Instead, plyometrics and other exercises not involving weights should be used. Remember, Olympic high jumpers are tall and very skinny. They are not big and bulky. So tall guys, stay off the heavy weight training.
| Join the conversation by e-mailing your supplement review or question
to submit@nutritionalsupplements.org.
To maintain quality, we review each submission before posting.
|
|
|
