The Air Up There: Jump Training
It is that time again; March Madness is around the corner and your buddies are calling you to the court to be the next Michael Jordan. Hmmm, you’re missing something - his “Ups.” While true most normal and even supra-normal people will never jump like Jordan, it is highly possible that you can increase your vertical jump and lengthen your air-time. What if you are not a basketball player? No problem, jumping is for everyone, not just specific sport athletes. In fact, jump training can improve many aspects of every day life such as improving the ability to get out of a seat, up a flight of stairs, or catching that subway before the door closes!
Last issue we spoke about the King of all exercises called the Squat. We showed some variations and spoke of the basic mechanics. Jumping is somewhat the same in terms of muscle utilization, but has some definite mechanical differences. The main difference is in the speed of execution and the ability to take advantage of something known as the stretch response. In fact, those two components are interwoven and produce far more jump height then just being strong. You would think that if you could squat a huge amount, you could jump high. True many powerlifters and especially Olympic lifters are quite adept at jumping, however, the average person sees very little gain in jumping ability from squatting alone! So, it is to this end, we go back to the basics of training and examine how specificity of training plays a role in determining jump height.
Glutes, Quads, Calves
Ah, the pins (gym lingo for legs)! Training specific muscles will certainly cause some nice shape, but jumping is more then just having a shapely butt, sweeping thighs, or heart shaped calves. Jumping is a complex movement. No, not actually jumping, but sequential timing of those muscles is key in jumping. In strength and conditioning we use the term triple extension (which is actually a slight misnomer) to describe the fact that being explosive vertically is the result of simultaneous extension of the hips, knees, and feet (the misnomer- foot extension is actually called plantar flexion). This skill, while seemingly simple for most, is really quite unnatural. We weren’t really supposed to leave the ground. Mechanically, we are built to stay in place and the support the body, not toss it about. Timing is critical, not to get off the ground, but to really get airborne! Strengthening the glutes, quads and calves certainly will help, but specific training in jumping mechanics works better.
The Elastic Band Analogy
Muscle is highly elastic. Much like a rubber band, when muscle is stretched, it snaps back. Sure muscle tears, so too does and elastic band if stretched too much or worse yet is dried out and brittle. Don’t let your muscles tear! Don’t let them be brittle! If you train properly, your muscles will be able to withstand a much greater stretch. And with life long training you will keep the connective tissue wet and compliant. So we need to train to be elastic. Not exactly, but improving muscle’s elastic response does improve both explosiveness and jump height
The Stretch-Shorten Cycle (SSC)
One of the better-known physiological mechanisms, the SSC, is so commonly used by muscle, there is hardly a time or action in life that it is not used! If you don’t believe me, try this little exercise and see for yourself. Have a person stand in front of you, face to face, about 3 ft apart. Tell the person that he/she must react and move as fast as possible (they have to really try this for this to work) to the direction you point. Which way did the person move first? I bet it was opposite to the way you pointed. Try it again, this time look closely. See what I mean! Still not convinced, throw a ball for your dog to react. What is the first movement you make when you go to get out of a chair? What is the first thing you do when you go to jump? You move in the opposite direction. This is known as the pre-stretch! In all forceful movements like throwing, kicking, hitting, and running, you pre-load or pre-stretch the muscle. Why? To take advantage of the muscle’s elastic capabilities to produce a more forceful movement! To see how powerful the pre-stretch is, try jumping without bending your legs. Try getting out of a chair without bending forward. Research has shown that as much as 40-50% of all power is created during a pre-stretch.
So how does it work?
Time to introduce a training method called plyometrics. Most people think that plyometrics is jumping on boxes. It is truly designed to take advantage of this stretch-shorten cycle. Essentially this type training teaches the neurological system to engrain a motor pattern conducive to that which is seen in the more violent and ballistic type of movements. That is, that first a group of muscles is loaded while it undergoes a stretch (also known as the eccentric action) then it builds up the energy (also known as the isometric component) and then it releases this stored, built up energy, in a more powerful muscle action (the concentric action). The act or pre-loading, storing, and releasing is the concept behind plyometric training. With training and additional loading, the resulting action becomes more powerful. And hence, your ability to move, jump, or throw is faster. In terms of sport performance, this means improved speed on the field. In terms of the fitness enthusiast, this means improved ability to move about at a reduced cost of energy expenditure. In terms of the senior citizen, this means improved ability to perform everyday activities essential for independence. Pretty powerful stuff if you ask me!
Jump Basics
Jump training is quite simple. Jump. And then when you are done jumping, jump so more. The key to getting airborne is speed of force transfer. Or simply put, the ability to translate force through the feet as rapidly as possible. This is done two ways. The first is to make your eccentric movement as rapidly as possible and with only a slight bend at the knees. Yeah, most people do a deep knee bend prior to jumping and slow their body way down. This is counter-productive. The farther you squat down, the more force you need to get back up (just like squatting itself). Secondly, minimize the ground time on consecutive jumps. Even in an exercise as simple as repeated jumping, the longer you stay in contact with the ground, the less effective the pre-stretch is. Before you can jump, you need to be able to land. The best way to practice is to use a low bench, a step, or a chair. Practice landing with both legs. While this sounds easy, stepping off a chair is usually done one leg at a time, causing a one leg landing. One leg landings result in the entire body being loaded on just one leg; without considerable strength, this is not an easy exercise to do.
Simple jump exercises include:
1. Jumping onto a box
2. Repetitive box jump– jumping up to box then stepping off backward and then jumping back up again (consecutive box jumps)
3. Jump and Leap - jump on box and jump off forward
4. Box Jump in Series - jump on box, jump off and jump up to next box (boxes placed about 2 feet apart, jumping forward)
5. Drop Jump - jump off box and sprint
6. Depth Jump – jump off high box, land and jump for height
Jump training should be performed after you are thoroughly warmed up, before any resistance training is done. Although highly trained persons may wish train in a fatigued state to simulate a sporting environment.
How can this be applied to a senior citizen or a deconditioned person? While jumping should be avoided by people with lower back dysfunction and/or chronic knee pain, almost anyone else can do a spin-off of these exercises. For example, a person who is afraid to leave the ground or lacks balance and stability to land properly, would perform the jumping movement as fast as possible and have a chair behind him/herself for safety (basically fast squats). Once able to do that, the individual could practice stepping off a low step for landing and then use the step for repetitive box jumps
Finally, keeping the total volume low is very important. The number of jumps per training day is largely determined by how hard the jumps are. High demand, high intensity jumps should use low reps and vice versa for low intensity exercises. No more than about 6-8 jumps should be performed consecutively (constituting a set). Therefore the beginner, intermediate and advanced trainees should look for 20-30, 40-50, 60-70 jumps per session respectively. Box jumping should not be performed more than twice per week.
Sample Training Routine
|
Day 1 |
Day 2 |
|
Regular Standing Jump 1set x 8 reps |
Regular Standing Jump 1set x 8 reps |
|
Jump onto Box 2 x 6 |
Box Jump in series 3-4 x 5 |
|
Repetitive box jumps 2 x 6 |
Depth Jump 3-4 x 5 |
|
Drop Jumps 2 x 6 |
|
