Free Vertical Jump Training Manual
Free Vertical Jump Training Manual
Free Vertical Jump Training Manual
The Simplest and Most Effective Way to Increase Your Vertical Jump.
A high vertical jump is second only to speed as the most sought after athletic ability by athletes today. In basketball especially a high vertical jump is very important, it will improve your ability to finish, block shots and get your shot off. In this book Ill teach you the simplest, fastest and most effective way to increase your vertical jump. First Im going to explain exactly what goes behind a high vertical jump, then Ill explain how you can improve these qualities and to finish Ill give you a sample program you can start using now.
Table of Contents
The science behind vertical jump training: Page 4 The difference between 1 foot and 2 foot jumpers: Page 13
The benefits of depth drops and depth jumps for vertical jump training: Page 26
How to improve the other 6 aspects of a great vertical jump: Page 31 The importance of recovery: Page 38
Conclusion: Page 48
Player A weighs 150 pounds and generates 300 pounds off force when he jumps. Player B weighs 200 pounds and also generates 300 pounds of force when he jumps. Since they generate the same amount of force player A and Player B should jump the same height right? No!! You see its not about how much power you can generate but how much power you generate relative to your bodyweight. This is why player A will have a higher vertical jump then player B. Although they both generate 300 pounds of force; player B weighs a lot more then Player A and thus will need to generate a lot more force to match Players A Jumping ability. The more you weigh the more force youll need to jump high.
To increase the amount of force you apply to the ground you have to increase the amount of power you can generate. What is power? Power= strength x speed This means power is a measure of how quickly you apply the strength you have. Now remember, a vertical jump is a measure of relative power not just power. So think of it like this: Relative Power= Relative Strength x Speed Thats the formula for a great vertical jump. To increase your vertical jump you need a high level of relative strength (squat 2-2.5 times your weight) and then you need to be able use that strength efficiently (quickly).
3.Core Strength
Proper core training is essential for developing a great vertical jump. A strong core not only looks good but it increases balance, body control, overall strength, coordination and prevents injuries.
4. Mobile Feet
You can have great relative strength, rate of force development and reactiveness but if you have bad feet youre going to be stuck on the on the ground. Its your feet that transfer all the force to the ground. Having bad feet is like a car with flat tires, you can have the most powerful engine in the world but if your tires are flat youre not going anywhere.
5.Strong Glutes
The glutes are the most powerful muscles in the body so its vital for you as an athlete to have glutes that are strong and work properly. Because they perform too many exercises that isolate the quadriceps, a lot of athletes have glutes that are weak and/or not working properly. When your glutes are weak or dont work properly youre quadriceps and hamstrings have to perform movements that the glutes are suppose to be doing. This will result in bad all around athletic performance and will increase chances of injury.
6.Flexibility
Being flexible wont only increase your vertical jump but it will speed up recovery and greatly reduce the chance of injury. Now you dont need the flexibility of a gymnast but if you cant reach down and touch your toes or bring your heel to your ass, then you really need to work on your flexibility.
However, jumping off 2 feet requires more quadriceps strength while Jumping off 1 foot requires more strength in the glutes. On the speed side of things, 2 foot jumpers rely more on rate of force development to display their strength while 1 foot jumpers need more reactiveness to effectively use their strength.
To increase your vertical jump you need to increase how much relative power you have. Relative power means how much power you can generate relative to you bodyweight. Relative Power= Relative Strength x Speed So to increase your relative power you need to increase youre relative strength then you need to increase how quickly you can apply that strength. Relative strength is a measure of how strong you are relative to your bodyweight.
How quickly you generate your strength is determined by 2 things rate of force development and reactiveness. Rate of force development means how quickly you can access your strength to use it in a vertical jump. 2 foot jumpers rely more on this to display their strength. Reactiveness means how quickly youre tendons can absorb energy and release it. 1 foot jumpers rely more on this to display strenght. Along with increasing how much relative power you have you need 6 other things to maximize youre vertical jump height. These 6 things are coordination, low body fat%, flexibility, glute strength, core strength and mobile feet. Now if you want more details on this go back and read the first section if not turn the page and learn how you can improve all this.
The bigger the muscle the stronger the muscle so most people think the only way to get stronger is to get bigger muscles. The truth is most people are only using about 60% of their current muscle strength. With proper training you can force your body to recruit up to around 90%(that other 10% is for life or death situations only) of your available strength and get stronger without adding much weight. This is done by lifting very heavy weights. By lifting heavy weights you force your body to use more of the available strength you have in order to prevent injury. Now, at some point you will get as strong as you can with your current muscle size and youll have to get bigger muscles to increase your strength.
How do you figure out what % of your available strength youre not using?
Simply compare the maximum amount of weight you can lower in a controlled manner to the maximum amount of weight you can lift for a single rep.
For example, lets say your max squat is 300 pounds and you can lower 425 pounds in a controlled manner. This would mean your only using around 70% of your available strength and could still add about 70 pounds to your squat without gaining much weight. This is called your strength deficit, which basically means the amount of strength you have the potential to have with your current muscle size. Now lets say someone can squat 300 pounds and can lower 350 pounds in a controlled manner. This person is using about 85% of his available strength thus has no strength deficit because remember your body will never let you use more then around 90% of your available strength unless youre in a life or death situation. Someone like this needs to increase his muscle size to get stronger because hes already using his current muscles to their full potential. My point is at some point you will need to add weight (get bigger muscles) and thats fine. Calculating your strength deficit simply helps you figure if you currently need bigger muscles (more weight) or not.
Standing Vertical Jump Calculator using your Full Olympic Squat and Bodyweight is the one youre going to use.
What you do is put your max squat and bodyweight in the calculator and press calculate and the calculator will tell you what your standing vertical jump should be If you have good rate of force development. If your vertical jump is equal or higher to what the calculator says; you have good rate of force development. If your vertical is lower then what the calculator says then you need to improve your rate of force development. For example, if you weigh 200 pounds and can squat 400 pounds then your standing vertical jump should be around 33 inches if you have good rate of force development.
Full Olympic Squat (lbs): Bodyweight (lbs): Standing Vertical Jump (inches):
400 200 33.54
Once you use the calculator and figure out if you need to improve your rate of force development, include some of these exercises in your program to improve this.
Reactiveness
Determining if you need to work on your reactiveness is also very simple. By simply looking at the difference between your standing and running vertical jump youll know how much focus you should put on improving reactiveness. If the difference between your standing and running vertical jump is 6 inches or less then you have average reactiveness and you need to work on it. If the difference is between 7 and 10 inches then you have very good reactiveness but should still work on it. If the difference is 10 inches or more (I doubt this is you since you're reading this book) then you have great reactiveness and shoudnt worry about it anymore. If you figure out you need to improve your reactiveness here are some exercises you can include in your program to improve this.
Practicing Jumping: I did not include a video description for this exercise because its self explanatory. Just remember your goal is to jump higher so only practice maximum height jumps. Tuck Jump: http://cli.gs/TuckJump Single Leg Tuck Jumps: http://cli.gs/SingleLegTuckJumps Ankle Jumps: http://cli.gs/AnkleJumps Multi Hops: http://cli.gs/MultiHops Broad Jumps: http://cli.gs/BroadJumps Power Skipping: http://cli.gs/PowerSkipping
more time you spend in that squat position the more of that energy is lost. So you want to go from squatting down to jumping as fast as you can which will result in less energy being lost and a higher jump of course. This is why depth jumps are such a great exercise; they improve that whole process of absorbing and releasing energy.
How do you perform depth jumps? A depth jump is performed by stepping off the box and then jumping as high as possible as soon as your feet touch the ground. Jumping immediately when you touch the ground is critical to getting the most out of this exercise. Your heels should not touch the ground during this whole process. Go here for a video showing you proper depth jump form:
http://cli.gs/DepthJumps
5 rules to follow to assure you dont get injured while performing depth jumps.
#1. Do not perform depth jumps if you jump higher in a normal standing vertical jump then when you perform a depth jump. Ill explain this in more details in the next section on depth drops. #2. Only include depth jumps in your program 3-4 weeks at a time #3. Only include depth jumps in your vertical jump program 2-3 times a year. #4. Perform 3-6 reps per set and stay around 3-6 sets in a workout. Rest at least 3 min in between sets. #5. This isnt a must but I advice you dont use depth jumps in your program until you can squat at least 1.3 times your bodyweight.
How do I determine the proper box height for depth drops? Use a box height that allows you to stick the landing in a quiet and powerful manner. Usually this height is around the height of your max standing vertical jump.
http://cli.gs/LineHops
Diet
Changing the way you eat is the most important factor in loosing weight. Instead of giving you a complicated diet that Im sure you wouldnt follow here are 5 simple diet rules you should follow to loose body fat quickly. Rule#1: Eliminate sodas from your diet and replace then with water. Rule#2: Replace all chips with non-flavoured popcorn. Rule#3: Replace all cookies and chocolate with fruits you enjoy. Rule#4: Try to not visit any fast-food restaurant until your body fat% is under 13%. Rule#5: Break one of the 3 first rules once a week to keep yourself motivated.
3 Examples Of High Intensity Cardio Workouts You Can Use 7-10 Sprints with 30-60 seconds of rest in between sprint 30-60 seconds of jump roping with 60-90 seconds rest in between (do this around 10 times). 8-10 hill sprints (the hill must be between 20-30m long) with 1-2 min rest in between.
Recovery Methods
-Icing your knees and legs -Stretching your entire body especially your legs -Foam rolling your legs -Getting at least 8 hours of sleep -Drinking water throughout the day
Sample Program
This is the part youve probably been waiting for this whole book. This an 8 week program divided in 2 phases. The first phase is a 5 week strength phase designed to improve relative strength. Phase 2 is a speed phase to improve reactiveness and rate of force development. The strength phase is designed to be effective for both one foot and two foot jumpers. For the speed phase I included 2 different programs depending on which way you jump (1 or 2 foot). The program is designed to also improve flexibility, core strength, coordination and foot mobility. A full exercise library with videos of every exercise is also included at the end. The only thing this program doesnt include is specific training for body fat loss so if your body fat % is above 12, you should work on that first before starting this program. Take one week off after this program. Perform daily recovery methods during this and at the end of the week measure your vertical and you'll see your improvements.
Monday
Dynamic Warm up Tripod x 75 reps per leg Hip Cook Lift x 50 reps per leg 3x15 Ankle jumps 3x5 Depth Drops
Wednesday
Dynamic Warm Up Prone Leg Extension x 50 reps per leg 3x6 Renegade Rows Daily Recovery Work
Friday
Dynamic Warm up Tripod x 75 reps per leg Hip Cook Lift x 50 reps per leg 3x15 Ankle jumps 3x5 Depth Drops 5x5 Squats
For squats start with 4x8 Squats 75% of you max and try increasing the weight by 5-10 pounds every week. Use you bodyweight 3x10 Glute Ham only for glute ham Raises raises. For split squats use the maximum amount of weight you can while keeping good form. Daily Recovery Work
Monday
Dynamic Warm up Tripod x 100 reps per leg Hip Cook Lift x 75 reps per leg 3x15 Ankle jumps 4x5 Depth Drops 5x7 Squats 4x10 Glute Ham Raises Daily Recovery Work
Wednesday
Dynamic Warm Up Firer Hydrant x 75 reps per leg 4x5 Renegade rows Daily Recovery Work
Friday
Dynamic Warm up Tripod x 100 reps per leg Hip Cook Lift x 75 reps per leg 3x15 Ankle jumps 4x5 Depth Drops 4x5 Squats 3x8 Split Squats Daily Recovery Work
Monday
Dynamic Warm up Tripod x 125 reps per leg Hip Cook Lift x 100 reps per leg 4x12 Ankle jumps 5x5 Depth Drops 4x6 Squats 4x12 Glute Ham Raises Daily Recovery Work
Wednesday
Dynamic Warm Up Prone Leg Extension x 100 reps per leg 4x6 Renegade Rows Daily Recovery Work
Friday
Dynamic Warm up Tripod x 125 reps per leg Hip Cook Lift x 100 reps per leg 4x12 Ankle jumps 5x5 Depth Drops 3x5 Squats 3x5 Split Squats Daily Recovery Work
Monday
Dynamic Warm up Tripod x 150 reps per leg Hip Cook Lift x 125 reps per leg 3x30 sec Squat ankle jumps 6x5 Depth Drops 3x5 Squats 5x10 Glute Ham Raises Daily Recovery Work
Wednesday
Dynamic Warm Up Firer Hydrant x 125 reps per leg 4x5 Renegade rows Daily Recovery Work
Friday
Dynamic Warm up Tripod x 150 reps per leg Hip Cook Lift x 125 reps per leg 3x30 sec Squat ankle jumps 6x5 Depth Drops 4x3 Squats 4x6 Split Squats Daily Recovery Work
Monday
Dynamic Warm up Hip Cook Lift x 100 reps per leg 4x30 sec Squat ankle jumps 4x4 Box Jumps 4X7 Tuck Jumps 4x4 Paused Jump Squats with 30% of max squat Daily Recovery Work
Wednesday
Dynamic Warm up Firer Hydrant x 100 reps per leg Jumping Practice(10-20 min) Tripod x 200 reps Daily Recovery Work
Friday
Dynamic Warm up Prone Leg Extension x 100 reps per leg 4x30 sec Squat ankle jumps 4x4 Depth Jumps 3x6 Power Skipping 3x5 Rhythmic jump squats with 25% of max squat 3x3 Back Squats (85%) Daily Recovery Work
Monday
Dynamic Warm up Hip Cook Lift x 100 reps per leg 5x30 sec Squat ankle jumps 5x4 Box Jumps 4X7 Tuck Jumps 5x4 Paused Jump Squats with 35% of max squat Daily Recovery Work
Wednesday
Dynamic Warm up Firer Hydrant x 100 reps per leg Jumping Practice(10-20 min) Tripod x 225 reps per leg Daily Recovery Work
Friday
Dynamic Warm up Prone Leg Extension x 100 reps per leg 5x30 sec Squat ankle jumps 5x4 Depth Jumps 3x8 Power Skipping 4x5 Rhythmic jump squats with 30% of max squat 3x3 Back Squats (85%) Daily Recovery Work
Monday
Dynamic Warm Up Hip Cook Lift x 100 reps per leg 6x7 Tuck Jumps 4X4 Paused Jump Squats with 40% of max squat Daily Recovery Work
Wednesday
Dynamic Warm Up Firer Hydrant x 100 reps per leg
Friday
Dynamic Warm Up Prone Leg Extension x 100 reps per leg Jumping practice 7x4 Depth for around 15 Jumps min Tripod x 250 5x5 Rhythmic reps per leg Jump Squats with 35% of max squat Daily Recovery Daily Recovery Work Work
Monday
Dynamic Warm up Hip Cook Lift x 100 reps per leg 3x30 sec Squat ankle jumps 3/8 Multi Hops 4x7 Tuck Jumps 4x4 Paused Jump Squats with 30% of max squat
Daily Recovery Work
Wednesday
Dynamic Warm up Firer Hydrant x 100 reps per leg Jumping Practice(10-20 min) Tripod x 100 reps
Daily Recovery Work
Friday
Dynamic Warm up Prone Leg Extension x 100 reps per leg 3x30 sec Squat ankle jumps 3/8 Multi Hops 4x4 Depth Jumps 3x5 Rhythmic jump squats with 25% of max squat 3x3 Back Squats (85%)
Daily Recovery Work
Monday
Dynamic Warm up Hip Cook Lift x 100 reps per leg 4x30 sec Squat ankle jumps 4x7 Multi Hops 4X8 Tuck Jumps 5x4 Paused Jump Squats with 35% of max squat
Daily Recovery Work
Wednesday
Dynamic Warm up Firer Hydrant x 100 reps per leg Jumping Practice(10-20 min) Tripod x 100 reps
Daily Recovery Work
Friday
Dynamic Warm up Prone Leg Extension x 100 reps per leg 4x30 sec Squat ankle jumps 4x7 Multi Hops 5x4 Depth Jumps 4x5 Rhythmic jump squats with 30% of max squat 3x3 Back Squats (85%)
Daily Recovery Work
Monday
Dynamic Warm Up Hip Cook Lift x 100 reps per leg 3x8 Running Jumps 4X4 Paused Jump Squats with 40% of max squat
Daily Recovery Work
Wednesday
Dynamic Warm Up Firer Hydrant x 100 reps per leg 3x8 Running Jumps
Daily Recovery Work
Friday
Dynamic Warm Up Prone Leg Extension x 100 reps per leg 3x8 Running Jumps 3x5 Rhythmic Jump Squats with 35% of max squat
Daily Recovery Work
Exercise Library
Below is a video library of every excersise in the program. The only exercises not included are jumping practice and running jumps. Jumping practice is simply practicing maximum height jumps. Running jumps is in the 1 foot speed phase and it means running one foot jumps for maximum height. The best way to do running jumps is to use a basketball rim and run up and jump trying to get your arm as high above the rim as you can. For the other exercises simply click on the blue links to see video explanations of each exercise.
Video Library
Dynamic warm up:
http://cli.gs/DynamicWarmUp
Reactiveness Exercises:
Ankle Jumps: http://cli.gs/AnkleJumps Squat Ankle Jumps: http://cli.gs/SquatAnkleJumps Line Hops: http://cli.gs/LineHops Tuck Jumps: http://cli.gs/TuckJump Rhythmic Jump Squats: http://cli.gs/WeightedJumpSquats Depth Jumps: http://cli.gs/DepthJumps Depth Drops: http://cli.gs/DepthDrops Multi Hops: http://cli.gs/MultiHops Power Skipping: http://cli.gs/PowerSkipping
Conclusion
All basketball players dream off that moment when they explode in the air and throw down a vicious dunk .If you follow the principles in this book you will give yourself the best chance to make this dream come true. With all the hype and lies that fill the vertical jump training industry, I felt I needed to bring some clarity and thats why I wrote this book and gave it away for free. Use this manual as your guide and always go over this book before starting any vertical jump training. Please make sure to email me news on the improvements you make because of this book. As always dont hesitate to email me with any questions.