Jump Training

It's the time of year that I get the same phone calls every day.......Mike....We need to get our son/daughter in a jump training program for basketball. Mike....can you put 6 inches on my vertical by next season? Mike....you focused primarily on strength last year, can we just do jump training this year?

I have said it before and I will say it again.....If you are improving your lower body strength, then you are also improving your ability to jump higher....safely. If you want to improve your jump, then you must train for strength and explosiveness. All of our programs at SOAR include a balanced combination of each. We do single leg lifts, 2 leg lifts, hamstring and glute exercises, Olympic Lifts, 1 leg jumps, 2 leg jumps, quick feet hops, skips and bounds. ALL of these help develop a well rounded explosive athlete.

Plyometrics (jump training exercises) are the most misunderstood and abused method of training for athletes. Unfortunately, if you look on the Internet, you will find all sorts of jump programs that make utterly ridiculous claims of improving your vertical by 8 inches in 8 weeks. Although I have seen that happen a few times in the last 10 years, there is no substitute for a comprehensive strength and conditioning program that uses a jump training progression in conjunction with a strength program. A proper progression of jump training involves a few weeks of box jumping to improve landing technique (see my older blog post on beginner power training). If you try to begin high intensity jump training without perfecting your landing technique, the results can be disastrous.

Jumping higher is a great goal for any athlete to have. In fact, I don't think I have trained any great athletes who don't jump high. But, please have a realistic and intelligent approach to your jump training regimen. Seek out a KNOWLEDGEABLE strength training professional in your area and you will not regret it.....and your knees will thank you later.