When we are training hard trying to better our jumping strength and performance we need to think about recovery time. It's this recovery time that we will actually gain from the results of our training. Doing squats and bench presses will tear down our muscles and the recovery time will build them back stronger than before.
If we do not take advantage of rest so we can rebuild, we may continue to progress at getting stronger for some time then eventually will reach a point of no returns. Many people, when they stop making progress in their strength gains will try to do even more to get past their sticking point.
Mostly what really needs to be done is cut back a little so the body or muscles can have time to rebuild. Your body may be breaking down faster than it can repair. Sometimes just cutting back on workout intensity workout intensity or the number of reps is all that is needed to start making gains again. Or you may need to take a day or two off during the week.
There is a thing called systemic fatigue which is when your body is broken down like from heavy weight lifting and now your brain is aware of it. You can feel run down and moody with a lack of energy. It can take about 48 hours to recover from systemic fatigue. You can generally gauge if you have recovered from systemic fatigue say after a weeks rest you are able to do the same bench press weight you could do before. If you can only do less your body may still be fatigued.
Vertical Workouts made Simple
Sometimes your try hard to be able to jump higher but you just cannot seem to make any progress. You try all the different ways to train, maybe make some progress then you fall back never seeming to really do any good. Maybe you are over trained and burned out or maybe you need to focus really good on your goal and stop trying all the different things you have been doing.
How about making your vertical training as simple as possible for a while and see what happens. Get rid of the fancy workouts and do some simple things. Reduce the number of days you workout each week and work harder on the days you do workout. This may give your body more time to rebuild itself so it can grow and prepare you for the next workout.
Don’t make it complicated, keep it simple. You might do squats one day and take the next day off. The next workout might be just jumping as high as you can until your jump gets sloppy, take the next day off. You may be able to come up with something like that which may work for you, try it for a few weeks or a month and see if there is any progress.
Do some upper body workouts if you do not normally do that. Try bench press and pull-ups, a stronger upper body will help out a lot. Work out your mid section, a stronger mid section will help keep your spine stabilized. Every time you move, your abs and lower back come into play. Keep it simple and see how you do.
How about making your vertical training as simple as possible for a while and see what happens. Get rid of the fancy workouts and do some simple things. Reduce the number of days you workout each week and work harder on the days you do workout. This may give your body more time to rebuild itself so it can grow and prepare you for the next workout.
Don’t make it complicated, keep it simple. You might do squats one day and take the next day off. The next workout might be just jumping as high as you can until your jump gets sloppy, take the next day off. You may be able to come up with something like that which may work for you, try it for a few weeks or a month and see if there is any progress.
Do some upper body workouts if you do not normally do that. Try bench press and pull-ups, a stronger upper body will help out a lot. Work out your mid section, a stronger mid section will help keep your spine stabilized. Every time you move, your abs and lower back come into play. Keep it simple and see how you do.
Jumping And Sprinting Strength
It has been documented that for the most part, people that have a good vertical jump jump are also pretty fast sprinters and the reverse can be true. It has to do with the leg strength and explosive power that has been gained from training. Although there are muscles that are predominantly used for sprinting and jumping they can overlap and help in both events.
Those with stronger quads seem to jump higher, and stronger hamstrings and glutes should be faster sprinters. So if you have developed stronger quad muscles, say from squats you will have benefited your jumping ability. But since you need to sprint up and down the basketball court you should be developing the hamstrings as well to help with a fast sprint.
If you seem to be a faster sprinter than you are a jumper then you need to start doing more squats. Add to that, jump squats and depth jumps. Jump squats are basically a plyometric exercise to help develop explosive power. For the jump squat bend down as if doing a squat with good form then explosively jump upwards, pushing off with the forefoot to jump as high as possible.
For the depth jump you need a stable platform to stand on. Keep it short at first till you get stronger then you can go to a higher platform. What you do is simply step off the platform and land on both feet absorbing the impact with your legs. By absorbing the impact you are letting your body go into a slight squat bending your knees.
Those with stronger quads seem to jump higher, and stronger hamstrings and glutes should be faster sprinters. So if you have developed stronger quad muscles, say from squats you will have benefited your jumping ability. But since you need to sprint up and down the basketball court you should be developing the hamstrings as well to help with a fast sprint.
If you seem to be a faster sprinter than you are a jumper then you need to start doing more squats. Add to that, jump squats and depth jumps. Jump squats are basically a plyometric exercise to help develop explosive power. For the jump squat bend down as if doing a squat with good form then explosively jump upwards, pushing off with the forefoot to jump as high as possible.
For the depth jump you need a stable platform to stand on. Keep it short at first till you get stronger then you can go to a higher platform. What you do is simply step off the platform and land on both feet absorbing the impact with your legs. By absorbing the impact you are letting your body go into a slight squat bending your knees.
Your Vertical Jump Training
There are some important things that you must do if being able to jump higher is your goal. You can take short cuts and follow a haphazard routine hoping to get really good. Unfortunately if you are not focused on what it really takes to be able to jump higher you may make some gains, otherwise you will be just spinning your wheels. Below are few key things that you should consider in your training.
Flexibility is as important to your success at jumping as getting stronger. If you can improve your flexibility you have a greater range of motion, almost like being less resistant to movement. In addition it can help reduce injury.
Before you start your workout you need to do a warm-up. Being warmed up will help you make better progress and also help reduce injury. You want to just break a sweat, that is generally enough to get you started. Some light jogging or exercises is usually all that needs to be done.
Nutrition is as important as anything else. Eat a lot of junk food and you may perform like junk Eat good for your health and performance and you will feel better and have better recovery. If you're a little too heavy, reduce your weight. Don't starve yourself, just eat good food and cut back on some calories and you will loose weight with your workouts.
Recovery from your workouts is a big deal if you want to make some great gains. An over worked body will stop making any real gains in improvement and workouts will grow stale. Work out hard but give yourself time to rest and recover so you can keep working hard.
Flexibility is as important to your success at jumping as getting stronger. If you can improve your flexibility you have a greater range of motion, almost like being less resistant to movement. In addition it can help reduce injury.
Before you start your workout you need to do a warm-up. Being warmed up will help you make better progress and also help reduce injury. You want to just break a sweat, that is generally enough to get you started. Some light jogging or exercises is usually all that needs to be done.
Nutrition is as important as anything else. Eat a lot of junk food and you may perform like junk Eat good for your health and performance and you will feel better and have better recovery. If you're a little too heavy, reduce your weight. Don't starve yourself, just eat good food and cut back on some calories and you will loose weight with your workouts.
Recovery from your workouts is a big deal if you want to make some great gains. An over worked body will stop making any real gains in improvement and workouts will grow stale. Work out hard but give yourself time to rest and recover so you can keep working hard.
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