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EddieVanZant
08-04-2007, 03:00 PM
I've looked around on the internet for as much information as I can about increasing vertical leap, and I don't feel like I need to buy anything because I know how I need to exercise after reading all the free information. The only reason why I want to buy something is I can't find very much information on technique.

I can touch the net about three inches below the rim whether I'm standing still or running, and I think I'm going to improve by doing plyometrics, stretching, and low rep, high velocity, strength training (>80% 1 rep max); but I'm still concerned with my technique. It seems no matter what I change, running or standing still, I never get higher, and I usually get lower.

Either I have perfect technique and the only way to improve is what I already plan to do, or I'm missing something. I know that the faster I descend, the faster I will ascend, I know that stretching hip flexors before jumping increases height, but that's it.

Does anyone know a website or have any tips on technique?

Dodonpa
08-04-2007, 03:33 PM
technique for jumping??

it should be pretty natural for most people.. for me to reach my highest, i lower the power all into my lowerbody, be on my forefoot, bent down a bit, then explode
i could do it running or standing, and reach the same height.

oh and i did pylometric training for 2 months before.. it increase my vert by a few inches

EddieVanZant
08-04-2007, 06:09 PM
I was just wondering if there was anything that I'm not doing that if I was able to notice someone else doing, they would say, "Oh, well yeah, of course you need to..." I crouch as quick as I can, I keep my heels off the ground, and I just jump and swing my arms up right before I jump. If that's all there is to it then cool.

Unreal Skill
08-04-2007, 11:09 PM
It's different for everyone...some people jump higher by sprinting then jumping off 1 foot, well others jump off 2 feet. Try these and see which you jump higher. I prefer jumping off 2 feet. When you do jump, try not thinking of how you should jump, just try jumping your hardest and swing your arm up hard.

3stat2
08-05-2007, 02:25 AM
If you're a 2 footed jumper, try leading with your dominant foot.

Here's what I mean: Say you normally do layups with your right hand, and jump off your left foot. This is pretty much the norm for right handed players. Your left foot is considered dominant here, because it's the one you jump off when going off 1 foot. As a result, often it's slightly stronger/more coordinated for jumping than your right.

So when you jump off 2 feet, try taking off with your dominant foot in front. This is what I mean:
http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/7255/cartercollege1ne6.jpg
See how his left foot is in front. Carter usually jumps off his left when he goes off 1 foot, so it's his dominant leg. Josh Smith, who's left handed, has a dominant right foot - so when he does 2 footed dunks, he leads with his right foot. I don't know exactly how it works, but it feels more natural.

There are some people who are right handed, yet still have a dominant right foot. For example, Tyrus Thomas and Desmond Mason - they're right handed, but they usually lead with their right feet.

VoodooChild77
08-07-2007, 01:47 PM
Jumping technique just comes with practice. Experiment with it a little.

Check out: www.howtojumphighernow.com for some good (and free) information on improving jumping ability.


Oh...another thing to mention, and I'll mention it because you don't see it on the jumping web sites. It may sound silly but it works: visualization. Spend some time every day visualizing yourself jumping higher. If you're trying to dunk, mentally "feel" exactly what it will be like to dunk. See yourself doing it in your head over and over again successfully. Make it a mental reality. Funny as it sounds it really does help.

V

orfeomorfeo-ita
08-08-2007, 07:44 AM
Jumping technique is really hard, and training it well is a difficult decision for a basketball player, because it takes much time away from other things that could be more useful, and is not necessarily good at mimicking what really happens during a game.
Let's explain better: the best jumping techinque is, obviously, that of high-jumpers. But in athletichs you have your perfect approach, your perfect angles of takeoff, and noone around you.
this, it's evident, happens rarely during a basketball game.
You could get to have the perfect jump during training, starting from the right point, and curving in the right way, but it's just a drill. The long steps that occurr during a correct high-jump approach are impossible in a paint-zone filled with people. The only time you could use them is during a fastbreak, but it's not wise to spend hard time of training to be spectacular during a fastbreak.
This, however, doesn't mean that tech training is not useful. It just means it shouldn't take too much of your time.
The first suggestion, about the discrimination between two feet and on foot jump is correct and very important.
I can give you some basic advice on the one foot jump:
You have two feet: the jumping foot and the swinging foot.
The second last step (from the swining foot to the jumping one) is really important. It must be strong, and powerful, and it must add a great acceleration to your running approach.
the jumping foot must catch ground with the heel. not exaggeratily, just slight with the heel. The body and the projection on the floor of its weight have to be _behind_ the foot, all through the takeoff movement, from the landing to the leaving of the jumping foot. During the takeoff, the jumping foot will "roll", that's to say, you'll have to pass from a "heel only contact" to a "whole plant contact" to a "forefoot contact"
During this rolling movement the swinging leg, charghed with the strong, second-last step we've already said about, will swing, and launch the body weight towards the front-high direction. This swinging is really important. If you think about it, it's obvious: the strenght you'll put in the jumping foot could be constant, but there's a great difference between jumping with the free leg passive, and having to drag it upwards, and jumping with a strong, active movement of the free leg, that will add additionaly uplift to your body. A leg could weight something between 15 and 20 kg. It's the difference between having 20 kgs dragging you down or pulling you up.
This for the legs. There's also a technique as complicated as this for the upper body, torso and arms and head, and for the angle of approach. But given the fact that you'll have a ball in your hand, concentrating too much on the arms movement during the jump maybe unuseful. Only thing, as I said, is to keep the body behind the takeoff point during the jump, and to keep it in line with the jumping leg.

The visualization that voodoochild suggested you is absolutely not stupid. It's important, and you should try it. Try to check the high jumpers face and movements before they start to jump. It's often evident how they're visualizing and reproducing in they're mind the tasks they're about to execute..

Unreal Skill
08-10-2007, 10:52 PM
Does the quadriceps play a huge part of how high you can jump? I have been training and building my calves muscle and I did see some results (tonier and increased vert)...but I noticed that some of the high flyers like Jordan have "skinny" but strong quadriceps but didn't have the huge calves muscle. I want to work on my quadriceps because if my calves get any bigger...it'll look ugly.. Any tips on working and strengthen my quadriceps? My quadriceps is thick and big but it isn't toned.

orfeomorfeo-ita
08-11-2007, 06:16 AM
Does the quadriceps play a huge part of how high you can jump? I have been training and building my calves muscle and I did see some results (tonier and increased vert)...but I noticed that some of the high flyers like Jordan have "skinny" but strong quadriceps but didn't have the huge calves muscle. I want to work on my quadriceps because if my calves get any bigger...it'll look ugly.. Any tips on working and strengthen my quadriceps? My quadriceps is thick and big but it isn't toned.

All muscles in your lower body play an important part on the leaping abilities (and that's not only the vert. reach, but also the ability to leap when you're not in full control of your movement (going for a R is a good example), and other "variables")
The fact is that the "dedicated" work, the one you did with your calves, is hard to master correctly, and shouldn't be used light-mindedly, because it can generate lack of proportion between the body parts, that will lead to:

a) ugliness
b) waste of streght from the developed part (you cannot just "sum" muscles.. usually you'll perform as the weakest of the muscles involeved in a kinetic chain, not as the strongest)
c) postural and traumatic injuries.

I see you've already guessed the first two points by yourself.
There's plenty of ways to increase the quads strenght, but the problem is always the same: it depends on your age and your body developement.
If you are grown enough (over 20), you could execut some total body weightlifting exercises that at the same time will increase your quads tone and re-equilibrate your proportions.
If you are still young (say, up to 16 yo), you should sprint uphills, or run upstairs (on the stairs like those in a gym, for example), or other things, depending on which structures you have around to train in, to increase strenght and proportion, and could do some drills to increase the tone in the quads (more for aesthetical reasons than physical)

EddieVanZant
08-13-2007, 09:57 PM
Thanks for all the tips. I found another one in an email. I read it today and can't try it until tomorrow, so I don't know for sure if it helps, but it sounds right. Here it is:
So if you want to learn how to jump higher off one a one legged running
jump it's important that you learn how to harness that horizontal
momentum!


Here's the trick:

Go to you basketball court, run up to your free throw line (without
stepping over) and jump as straight up into the air, with a one legged
jumping technique, as possible.
When you land mark where your feet have landed.
You will have noticed you landed a fair distance forward past the free
throw line. That distance between where you jumped from and landed is
wasted vertical!

Next attempt try to minimise the distance you land past the the free throw
line... As you get better, try and run up faster to the free throw line...
Soon your running vertical will go up and up and up!


And heres another secret, the two footed running vertical can be even more
powerful!!
Try the drill with a two legged takeoff from a run up.

orfeomorfeo-ita
08-14-2007, 10:46 AM
Thanks for all the tips. I found another one in an email. I read it today and can't try it until tomorrow, so I don't know for sure if it helps, but it sounds right. Here it is:
So if you want to learn how to jump higher off one a one legged running
jump it's important that you learn how to harness that horizontal
momentum!


Here's the trick:

Go to you basketball court, run up to your free throw line (without
stepping over) and jump as straight up into the air, with a one legged
jumping technique, as possible.
When you land mark where your feet have landed.
You will have noticed you landed a fair distance forward past the free
throw line. That distance between where you jumped from and landed is
wasted vertical!

Next attempt try to minimise the distance you land past the the free throw
line... As you get better, try and run up faster to the free throw line...
Soon your running vertical will go up and up and up!


And heres another secret, the two footed running vertical can be even more
powerful!!
Try the drill with a two legged takeoff from a run up.

I'm sorry, but the suggestion is not accurate.
First of all, the two leg jump is stronger in condition of slow speed or still start, but it decreases too much the running rythm to be the best solution in case of fast running approach. Just check the olympic high-jumping technique, and you'll see how the jump at hight spped with one foot. You can check the high jumpers for everything, as they are obviously the best for what it concerns the techical aspects of the jump. Of course you'll have to ignore the flop, or fosbury part of the jump (that during which they turn in midair and bend their back), but the approach and takeoff is a good example.

some videos I found right now

some us youth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FO_qqzOj5s&mode=related&search=

moya: great takeoff technique:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jZwbgG9P8s

steve smith, nice Jump:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynDmXTee8dE

partyka, GREAT takeoff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFtY04KRGDE&mode=related&search=

the part about the vertical/horizontal reach is true. obviously, you haveto find your perfect trajectory, that of course won't be a 90

lomaguate
09-01-2007, 02:15 AM
hi, i justa have a question, did they tell yo something rally good or important,
becuase a understood tha you question was about the correct form to jump,
in this case im very interestin in how is the proper forma to jump (for example i jump just with my toes and calfs so i have been practice to jump with my foot flat on the ground.

Q.E.C
09-02-2007, 12:16 AM
jumprope

lomaguate
09-02-2007, 01:44 AM
hi, my name is Luis and i have a question for you that i think will help so much, well the questions is what is the correct form or way to jump, with all your foot flat on ground and exploid or (that is my case) jump just with my toes, because im starting to see that all people jump with his foot flat on the ground.
thanks a lot. my mail es lomaguate@gmail.com if you can send me some orientation or advises.

orfeomorfeo-ita
09-02-2007, 03:13 PM
hi, my name is Luis and i have a question for you that i think will help so much, well the questions is what is the correct form or way to jump, with all your foot flat on ground and exploid or (that is my case) jump just with my toes, because im starting to see that all people jump with his foot flat on the ground.
thanks a lot. my mail es lomaguate@gmail.com if you can send me some orientation or advises.


The correct sequence of the contact between floor and foot during a jump is:

contact: muscles in the front of the leg flexed, contact made with the heel. At this time the weight of the body falls slightly behind the contact point
roll: the muscles in the front of the leg gradually relax and the calf flexes, the foot gets in full plant contact with the ground and the body weight moves over the contact point
takeoff: the foot pushes as long as possible on the ground, leaving the floor with the heel first, than with the center, and takes off from the toe, with the maximum effort from the calves. The body weight is thus thrown in a "upward-forward" direction.

All these movements happen quickly, and at the contact moment the angle between foot and floor is really small: you do not have to "crash" against your heel, it just has to make contact that tinies time before the rest of the foot so that the rolling and take off phases have time to happen before the body weight goes to forward and you lose the chance to change the speed from horiz. to vert.
Check the high jumpers videos I posted earlier to understand this movement.

Basketballer
09-19-2007, 12:21 PM
seriously, if you really want to improve your vertical jump,check this site out
The Worlds Best Vertical Jump Resource (http://hop.clickbank.net/?brandonltw/kellyb) :banana:

ForceOfNature
09-20-2007, 08:12 AM
seriously, if you really want to improve your vertical jump,check this site out
The Worlds Best Vertical Jump Resource (http://hop.clickbank.net/?brandonltw/kellyb) :banana:

Seriously??