Prerequisites For Any Vertical Jump Training Program

In order to jump higher and increase your vertical jump training, you must do the right exercises and know what you are doing. Some athletes are not ready to enter an intense program until they have achieved some basic fitness levels.

You should have some cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, muscle endurance, good nutritious diet, along with flexibility. After that, you can now challenge your body with more advanced fitness exercises to improve your vertical. Fitness can only improve if we overload the body. Overloading means pushing your body to do more than it is already doing. However the overload must be appropriate to the person’s fitness level. If you’re reasonably fit, you can overload more than an obese, sedentary person. It all depends on your body. After attaining an adequate fitness level, you will be ready for an intense vertical jump training program.

Training Exercises That Increase Your Fitness Level

1) Aerobic (or Cardiovascular) Exercises

Cardiovascular endurance is an achieved thorough regular aerobic exercise, which is a repetitive movement of large muscle groups over an extended period of time. Examples of aerobic exercises include jogging, swimming, rope jumping, and… of course playing basketball.

2) Improve Muscle Strength

Muscle strength is improved by applying resistance to a muscle group. Lifting weights is a good way of improving muscle strength. Calf exercises, squats, lunges, are some examples in increasing strength for jumping higher.

3) Improve Muscle Endurance

When the muscle repeats movement over a period of time, muscle endurance is created. Muscle endurance increases in conjunction with muscle strength. With regular exercise, your muscles burn energy more efficiently and endure overloading for longer time. Running long distance for a long period of time is an example for building endurance.

4) Improve Joint Flexibility

Joint flexibility refers to the range of motions (ROM) the joint can undergo as limited by the joint’s structure and surrounding connective tissues. Warming up and then stretching your calves, hamstring and quad muscles are important activity in preventing injuries and increasing your fitness level. Joint flexibility can also give dramatic increases in vertical leap height.

5) Proper Nutritious Diet

First, you need to have a good diet and avoid junk food. Get plenty of protein; whey protein drinks are my favorite. Chicken or turkey is a good substitute. Also, get plenty of water and don’t cut out carbohydrates. They’re good for energy. Take a multivitamins and a supplement to protect your joints. A healthy diet means faster recovery time. Your body needs a chance to repair itself after going through the workouts.

6) Reduce Your Body Fat

Concentrating on building muscle if you are overweight. You must be as lean (less than 10%) as possible to dunk. You may have to limit your daily caloric intake to 2000, 1500, or even just 1000 calories a day. It is safe as long as those are calories from healthy foods. Speak to a doctor or nutritionalist for more information on that. Running is good for losing weight, as is any vigorous aerobic activity. You lose weight and at the same time condition your lungs.

Remember, obtaining a good fitness level is the start of your jumping higher program. After that, you can begin to do exercises to increase your vertical explosion. Plyometric exercises, along with the previous steps, will help you jump higher. Plyometric training develop quick twitch muscle fibers needed to increase your vertical. Many athletes omit these exercises, resulting in them not drastically increasing their vertical jump.