Saturday, October 10, 2009

Are You Ready To Take Your Vertical Jumping To The Next Level?

By Amit Rosman

You know you need to exercise and practice to increase your vertical jumping. But do you know which exercises make a difference? Do you know how to exercise smarter so that you actually see results? Do you know how not to get burned out, or at least not too soon? Read on for some helpful tips on how to do vertical jumping exercises correctly.

Do Your Warm Ups. Rather than jumping right into your exercise routine, you should always do some stretches to warm up your legs first. Many of the warm up stretches swimmers do are also perfect for jumpers. You can also run up and down stairs or jump rope for several minutes to get your muscles warmed up. These are also effective for inclusion in your regular training regime.

Do some leg strength training. Some exercises need to be done slowly, each rep taking about nine counts. Deep knee bends, jumps and toe raises with and without weights definitely have more effect on your vertical jumping if done slowly. This helps build muscles, too.

Beef Up Those Muscles. While you don't necessarily have to have a sculpted Mr. America body to be a great jumper, you do need strong, toned muscles. Having a toned body that is in overall great shape also improves your metabolism, lowers body fat, strengthens muscles and bones, and helps your muscles and body burn calories even more effectively. And burning calories results in energy to power your jumps. So focus on exercises that will shape and tone your muscles.

There are a few rather routine exercises that can really increase your vertical jumping height. These are perfect additions to your vertical jumping training program. Many are quite simple and you can do them each day to build your strength and endurance in addition to training for higher jumps.

Spend Time Jumping Rope. Most of us learn to jump rope as kids, so this isn't difficult. But it can make a lot of difference in your vertical jumping training. Use good, tall posture and start out jumping rope on both feet. After a while, alternate feet. This is an easy exercise that requires little concentration, so you can often do this while watching television. Start out with 10-minute burst workouts with the jump rope and gradually increase the intensity of the routine, focusing on height, not speed.

Deep knee bends. Start out in a normal standing position with a nice straight back. Slowly bend your knees to lower your body down, maintaining that straight back. Stop short of getting deep far enough to where you would be in a relaxed low position so there is still tension on your leg muscles and then slowly raise your body back up again to resume the original standing position. Go down slowly and come up slowly, counting approximately four seconds on the way down and another four seconds on the way up. Do 15 reps like this each day and gradually increase the number of reps after a week or so of practice. In addition to building power and muscle in your legs, this exercise also tones your thighs.

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