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Knowing how to increase your vertical is like pulling teeth for some. After all, we're bombarded with "standard" methods to accomplish this purpose – such as plyometrics – yet gain nothing from them. Quite possibly this has happened to you.
Still you keep trying. Why, Joe keeps doing the same workouts you do, yet he can dunk to Deimos. So you alter your workout – maybe by adding some more squat jumps to failure, core strengthening, even Candida cleanses for all you care. Still no rewards. Nothing.
So are you defective? Probably not.
Assuming you have the same (or more) desire as Joe to jump higher, the half-full workouts that benefit Joe won't work for you. You need to do EVERYTHING correct – from A to Z.
But with the subject of how to increase your vertical being seemingly as understandable as curing diabetes, how do we know what's correct? In order to understand the jump-like-Jordan process, many factors should be considered, but the most important one has to do with grade school mathematics – physics in particular. This is the concept of:
Power Output
Remember physics (for those of you above 17)? The most important equation to consider is:
Power = work*speed.
For jumping purposes, work is equivalent to total weight lifted * time takes to lift the weight. For plyometric exercises, this simply means that the faster you jump and the heavier you lift the weight, then the higher you jump.
Does this mean that you should do your reps as fast as you can? About 90-95% max is a good target. Does this mean you should lift all the total weight that you want? Not quite. The reason for this is has to do with another physics equation: work=force*distance. For jumping purposes, force = total weight lifted, and distance = the height of your jump.
Why does too much force equals a decrease in P.O., and how does this have a negative impact on how to increase your vertical? The answer lies with the distance (height) part of the equation. Generally the higher the weight, the less high you jump for each rep, meaning the less work you do, and the less power you get.
Only add on extra weight when it gets "easy" to do the exercise at your current weight. For plyometric exercises, work your way up to 20% of your body weight in small increments.
By applying this principle to your workouts, you can see exponential increases in your jumps. With a concise program specialized on how to increase your vertical such as the one I review below a 12-25 increase on your vertical is probable with a bit of dedication.
In any case, such a program dealing with how to increase your vertical should explore the power output and other concepts, be scientifically based and not resorting to unproven methods or "voodoo". It also should work for about 85% of folks who complete it (the above program helped me gain 10 inches on my vertical and 14 inches on my broad jump in only ten weeks – a bit below average, but not bad for a 35-year-old).
So in conclusion, when learning how to increase your vertical understand the power output principle, and make sure you apply it properly to your workouts. Then you, too, can dunk to Deimos!
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
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