Improve Fitness Level Before Starting Vertical Jump Training Exercises
In order to jump higher and increase your vertical jump training, you must do the right exercises and know what you are doing. Some athletes are not ready to enter an intense program until they have achieved some basic fitness levels.
Your fitness level can only improve if you overload your body, which is pushing your body beyond what you are already doing. You should have some cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, good nutritious diet, muscle endurance, along with flexibility. After that, you can challenge your body with more advance fitness exercises to increase your vertical. When you reached an adequate fitness level, your will be ready for an intense vertical jump training program.
Training Exercises That Increase Your Fitness Level
1) Aerobic (or Cardiovascular) Exercises
You can achieve cardiovascular endurance thorough regular aerobic exercise, which is a repetitive movement of large muscle groups over an extended period of time. Examples of aerobic exercises include jogging, rope jumping, basketball and swimming,
2) Improve Muscle Strength
You can increase muscle strength by applying resistance to a muscle group. Lifting weights is a good way of boosting muscle strength. Squats, calf exercises, lunges, are some examples in increasing strength for jumping higher.
3) Increase Muscle Endurance
When the muscle repeats movement over a period of time, muscle endurance is created. Muscle endurance increases in conjunction with muscle strength. With regular exercise, your muscles burn energy more efficiently and endure overloading for longer time. Running long distance for a long period of time is an example for building endurance.
4) Increase Joint Flexibility
Joint flexibility refers to the range of motions (ROM) the joint can undergo as limited by the joint’s structure and surrounding connective tissues. Warming up and then stretching your calves, hamstring and quad muscles are important activity in preventing injuries and increasing your fitness level. Joint flexibility can also give dramatic increases in vertical leap height.
5) Nutritious Diet
A healthy diet means faster recovery time. Your body needs a chance to repair itself after going through the workouts. Therefore, avoid junk food and eat nutritiously. Drink plenty of water and good carbohydrates such as fruit and vegetables. Protein found in meats or whey protein shakes are important in building and repairing your muscles.
6) Reduce Your Body Fat
Concentrating on building muscle if you are overweight. You must be as lean (less than 10%) as possible to dunk. You may have to limit your daily caloric intake to 2000, 1500, or even just 1000 calories a day. It is safe as long as those are calories from healthy foods. Speak to a doctor or nutritionalist for more information on that. Running is good for losing weight, as is any vigorous aerobic activity. You lose weight and at the same time condition your lungs.
Remember, this is the start of your jumping higher program. After you have reached a good fitness level, you can begin to do exercises to increase your vertical explosion. Those exercises are called plyometrics. Plyometric training will develop quick twitch muscle fibers needed to increase your vertical. Many athletes omit these exercises, resulting in them not drastically increasing their vertical jump.
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Tags: how to jump higher, improve vertical, increase vertical, increase your vertical, jump higher, jump training, plyometric exercise, plyometric training, plyometrics, vertical jump training
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:35 am
Nice article, can a 50 year old still profit from this program?