Q: Why is it important? It's not like you ever just jump straight up and down in any sport.
A: Good question. And it's true, for the most part, that you never actually just jump straight up, from a standstill, and come straight back down. Jumps usually take place off of a jog or sprint or cut, and sometimes off of one leg, not two (especially depending on the individual's physical qualities).
Q: What is the fastest way to improve my standing vertical jump?
A: Easy, get stronger. Kelly Baggett has a great example that anyone can understand to really comprehend this point. I'm not even going to try and recap it. Take a look:
"Go in the gym and grab 2 fifteen pound dumbells and lie on a bench and bench press them 100 times. Now stand up and do 100 half squats with your bodyweight. Which is harder? Probably the squats right? So that means it takes more strength to do a half squat with your bodyweight than it does to lie on your back and press 15 pounds.
Now realize a shotput also weighs about 15 pounds. What is a shotput? Basically a press where you throw the weight. What is a vertical jump? Basically a 1/2 squat where you "throw" your body into the air. The 15 pounds sounds really light until you think about throwing the weight. Now let's figure out how much strength it takes to be a good shotputter: Well, the routines of top shotputters contain a fair mix of both explosive and strength oriented training but on the strength end you won't find any that don't bench press over 400 pounds. The large majority of them will bench press over 500 pounds. So, through real world observation it has been established that there is no such thing as a top shotputtter who bench presses less than 400 pounds. We've also established that squatting and "throwing" your bodyweight into the air requires more strength relatively than does throwing a 15 pound shotput. So, if a shotputter benches a minimum of 400 pounds what does that tell you about how strong our legs should be for jumping? It tells me they need to be quite strong. Just as you will never see a good shotputter who can't bench press 400 pounds you will never see a good vertical jumper who isn't strong in the legs as well. In fact I have a $500 bounty for the first person who can show me someone with a legit 35 inch vertical jump who can't squat 1.5 BW within a week of learning the movement. I could probably crank that up to 2 x BW and I doubt I would ever lose.
Now, does that mean that just because someone can bench press 700 pounds that they will be able to throw the shotput a mile? Or does that mean that just becuase so and so has a 500 pound squat they'll be able to jump out of the gym? No. There is technique and movement efficiency involved in both shotputing and jumping. What it does tell me though is if you're weaker than a kitten you're completely wasting your time spending all your time with plyometric work until you've built a base of strength. Once you have your base of strength you'll get the best results in vertical jump practicing jumping related tasks."
Now realize a shotput also weighs about 15 pounds. What is a shotput? Basically a press where you throw the weight. What is a vertical jump? Basically a 1/2 squat where you "throw" your body into the air. The 15 pounds sounds really light until you think about throwing the weight. Now let's figure out how much strength it takes to be a good shotputter: Well, the routines of top shotputters contain a fair mix of both explosive and strength oriented training but on the strength end you won't find any that don't bench press over 400 pounds. The large majority of them will bench press over 500 pounds. So, through real world observation it has been established that there is no such thing as a top shotputtter who bench presses less than 400 pounds. We've also established that squatting and "throwing" your bodyweight into the air requires more strength relatively than does throwing a 15 pound shotput. So, if a shotputter benches a minimum of 400 pounds what does that tell you about how strong our legs should be for jumping? It tells me they need to be quite strong. Just as you will never see a good shotputter who can't bench press 400 pounds you will never see a good vertical jumper who isn't strong in the legs as well. In fact I have a $500 bounty for the first person who can show me someone with a legit 35 inch vertical jump who can't squat 1.5 BW within a week of learning the movement. I could probably crank that up to 2 x BW and I doubt I would ever lose.
Now, does that mean that just because someone can bench press 700 pounds that they will be able to throw the shotput a mile? Or does that mean that just becuase so and so has a 500 pound squat they'll be able to jump out of the gym? No. There is technique and movement efficiency involved in both shotputing and jumping. What it does tell me though is if you're weaker than a kitten you're completely wasting your time spending all your time with plyometric work until you've built a base of strength. Once you have your base of strength you'll get the best results in vertical jump practicing jumping related tasks."
To sum that up, to heave your body 30-40 inches in the air, it's going to take a lot of strength. There is no way around it.
Q: What about all the different drills, like plyometrics and other explosive exercises?
A: Plyometrics can be good in doses at certain times. Lower-intensity drills can be done all year long if you want. They'll help with certain athletic qualities, mostly related to your tendon's ability to absorb force, which in turn, will improve the amount of elastic contribution you'll be getting from them in your sporting activities. Things like stiffness and reactivity, and in a more general sense, footwork and coordination improvements.
The other explosive drills probably won't do much until you have that prerequisite strength base. And when I say strength base, I'm thinking at least a 2xbw FULL squat. And even then, you won't get much out of them, and if you do, it won't last for very long.
It 's not the path of least resistance (truthfully, there'll be a ton of resistance!), but the quickest path to jumping high will involve just two components: Getting really, really strong and practicing your jumping.
I believe the en vogue term nowadays is horsepower+movement efficiency=sick VJ.
Just a comment since I didn't see your email on your site. Good article on Elite. They are a great resource, plus when I started writing articles it really helped out my site popularity. You have some good stuff up, keep it up.
ReplyDeleteJoe Hashey, CSCS
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