Increasing Your Vertical This Off Season

For many athletes the vertical jump can be an indicator of success within their sport. What many athletes don’t realize is the vertical jump is a good indicator of athleticism and power output. For this reason, there are many “Vertical Jump” programs out there. Some of these programs are beneficial, however, I would argue that the vast majority of them are ineffective. One of the major reasons is due to the fact that online training programs do not take into account the athlete, their needs, or their previous training. These factors play a large role in creating a training program to help you attain your goals. When you beginning a program to help increase your vertical jump the program must take into account:

1.      Movement Proficiency

2.      Jump/ Landing Strategies

3.      Strength Capacities

4.      Power Capacities

In this article I will dive into these four areas and the reasons why they are so crucial for developing your vertical jump height.

Movement Proficiency

I have written many times about the importance of a good movement screening or evaluation prior to beginning any type of training program (HERE and HERE).  This type of screening is just as crucial here as any other time. Based on the information in this screening I will have better insight into the movement capacities of the ankle, knees and hips. I will also have a better idea of the movement strategies that the athletes recruit. For example, if an athlete tends to squat with a vertical shin and their torso leans forward then we know they will use this same strategy in the jump making their jump more low back and hamstring dominant. This is not optimal for jumping for maximum height.

Based on the information we collect from the screening process we can then prescribe specific flexibility and mobility exercises to improve the movement quality of these athletes. Until the movement quality improves it will be very difficult to improve the jumping and landing strategies with any sort of consistency.

Jumping and Landing Strategies

From the movement screening we will then go through a jump profile where the athlete completes a series of jumps from different positions and different approaches. The idea here is to understand how they prefer to load for jumps, and if the loading strategies change based on set up.

When I take athletes through a jump evaluation it is important to note a few things:

·        Are their feet under their hips?

·        Do they load the hips, knees, and ankles well?

·        Do they use a consistent loading strategy? (i.e. Does the countermovement look the same?)

·        Do they achieve full extension of the ankles, knees, and hips?

·        Do they load appropriately in the landing?

·        Are all landings consistent?

·        Do they jump higher off of one foot or two feet?

·        How does their static jump compare to a counter movement jump and depth jump?

Based on the information I receive from these questions and the observation of these jumps; I will have a better idea of the strategy moving forward. The human body is a master of self-preservation. If the body recognizes a faulty or potentially dangerous movement then it will govern the forces applied in pattern. So, if the jumping or landing strategy is less than optimal then the body will reduce the force applied and ultimately display a lower vertical jump than what is attainable. For this reason, it is imperative to have a proper jumping and landing strategy prior to focusing on other pieces of jumping.

Strength Capacities

Jumping, like any movement, requires force application and direction. The direction piece is trained and corrected through the first two points in the article. Through the third and fourth point we will discuss the force application. Force, by definition is a combination of mass and acceleration. As each of these two properties increase then the force increases. A greater force means a greater jump height.

Now that we have the physics out of the way, here is how we train this. To improve our ability to move our body weight faster we must make our body weight “seem” easier to move. We can do this by moving a heavier weight and doing it frequently. When we perform bilateral (two legs) strength training movements, like squats and deadlifts, while using load we cause a stimulus for strength to increase. As the strength increases and the muscle contraction creates a higher output in order to lift the heavy weights, that higher output, when used on the same body weight, creates a higher jumping effect.

Power Capacities

In tandem with increasing strength capacities is the concept of improving power capacities. Power comes down to the ability to do the same amount or more work in a shorter amount of time. As this pertains to the training process, we now want to do the work of our strength movements quicker. At this point we are now lifting heavier weights at a faster rate. We then unload the athlete to perform the jumping exercises with the new ability to apply additional force, quickly.

As you can see, increasing your vertical is a multi-faceted exploration that takes insight into your current abilities prior to beginning a program. The program that you begin should be tailored to your needs and ability level. In order to make the most of your time and ability find a coach who can assist you in achieving your goals.