One of the fundamental measures of a great athlete in almost any team sport these days is the height of their vertical jump. In some sports, it’s an obvious necessity - basketball, volleyball, or the high jump. But in many other sports, the vertical jump of a competitor is measured and often relates directly to their success in the sport. In football for instance, the vertical of a player is often considered a real indicator of a players true athleticism and willingness to work. Increasing your vertical can be a huge advantage in any sport, but how do you do it? Here are a couple ideas to get you started.
At the highest level of volleyball (and I’m sure this may be true in sports like basketball as well), an athlete may not receive a personal tryout or even a close look unless they can touch 12 feet. Regardless of a person’s height, 12 feet is a long ways away, often requiring a vertical of 40+ inches. If you’re not familiar with an average vertical leap, it ranges from 20 to 25 inches, so getting to the mid-40s or even close to 50 is a pipe dream for a lot of people and certainly there is some genetics involved, but if you want to increase yours, even a little, you can start in the weight room, plyometrics (jump training), and with your nutrition.
As is true with any skill, you get better at jumping the more you jump. That may sound silly to say, but what encapsulates most jump training programs is a saturation of jumping. This often includes jumping on high boxes or sprinting stairs. Frequently this training will also include activities that emphasize the growth of what are known as “fast-twitch muscle fibers.” These are the muscle fibers in your calves and legs that fire quickly for greater explosion in sports, one of the defining characteristics of a high jumper - explosive. Jump training combined with strength training in the weight room can offer you a balanced and very productive workout if you have a goal of jumping higher. Squats, dead lifts, clean and jerks, calf raises, and leg curls will all help strengthen your legs and in combination with other training activities will greatly increase your vertical.
In the middle of all this work though, don’t forget your nutrition. If your diet is lacking in any nutrients or vitamins, very often items like protein and calcium, your goals may be on the hard track of being reached. Supplementing your diet with whey protein in a shake or multivitamins in a pill is common practice for most elite athletes. A balanced diet that emphasizes a healthy nutrition is often improved as more attention is placed on things like essential fatty acids, multivitamins,, protein, and other minerals. Great athletes understand that the time they spend in the gym is only half the work they need to do to realize their goals. What happens with your nutrition is often the make or break in determining how far you go.
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