Vertical Jump Improvement Tips by Thomas Kurz
Excerpts from the book "Science of Sports Training"
"To decide where to start work, this question has to be answered: Is the athlete's maximal strength much lower than that of leading athletes who display adequate explosive strength in the given sport and in the athlete's weight class? If yes, then the athlete may have to first increase his or her maximal strength"
"Poor results in a reach jump done from standing still indicate low explosive strength, especially if the athlete's maximal strength in a squat is high. Short sets of squats and half squats performed very fast develop explosive strength of the legs."
"If the athlete has good results in a reach jump done from standing still but exhibits a long support phase during takeoff in the sports technique, this call for plyometrics."
"Practicing jumps from a landing increases the height of a jump from standing much more than the other way around."
"Fast squats and half squats are less intensive efforts and put less stress on the body than full force jumps and depth jumps and therefore should constitute the bulk of an athlete's work on developing explosive strength. The exception to this is when his or her explosive strength as measured by the reach jump is fine but the takeoffs are too long."
"The amount and intensity of plyometrics should be gradually increased at the expense of other resistance exercises as the competitive season approaches."
"Plyometrics should be introduced into training gradually, starting with such low-intensity exercises as jumping rope, hops-in-place and clap push-ups, and then progressing through more intensive bounds, jumps and medicine ball catches to high-intensity plyometric exercises such as depth jumps, reactive jumps, and swinging suspending heavy weights with the arms."
Submitted by Joe Trinsey, August 18, 2008
References:
Kurz, T. (2001). Science of Sports Training. How to Plan and Control Training for Peak Performance (2nd edition). Island Pond, VT: Stadion Publishing Co., Inc.