Michael Jordan’s Vertical Leap Workout….Improve Your Vertical Leap Today!
At 48 inches, Michael Jordan’s vertical leap was pretty impressive. It gave him a big advantage over the competition. If you step back and think about it for a minute you can easily see how a big vertical leap will help your basketball game. It makes it easier to rise above your competitors to grab rebounds, block their shots, and dunk over them. Now I am not going to tell you that I can have you throwing down dunks from the free-throw line like Michael Jordan, but I can guarantee you that if you are willing to put in a little hard work and you implement the right training program you CAN significantly improve your vertical leap.
The major muscles involved when a person jumps are the quads, hamstrings, and the lower back. Most people think that the calves play the biggest part in your vertical jump, but they are wrong. What, you don’t believe me then test it out for yourself.
Stand up and keep your feet flat on the ground without bending your knees. Now try to jump up as high as you can. So what type of result did you get? I’m guessing you didn’t break any vertical jump records. This is because you are using only your calves when you don’t have any knee bend. Now repeat this test but this time take a deep knee bend. Are you finished? You should have jumped much higher this time because you are incorporating your major muscle groups.
Believe it or not, about 80 percent of your jumping power is generated from the quads, hamstrings, and lower back. Therefore, if improving your vertical jump is your goal I would focus most of my attention on increasing the strength and power of these muscles. Here are some of the exercises I would use:
HEAVY Squats – Notice I said the word “HEAVY”. If you are trying to improve your vertical use heavy weight and no more than 8 reps. Squats are hands down the best overall exercise you can do to improve your vertical leap. If you look at the squat motion you can easily see that it closely resembles the motion you use when you are preparing to jump. This exercise hits all the right muscle groups.
Sprints – Sprints are great because you don’t have to go to a gym to do them. If you run a few sets of the 50 and 100 yard dashes you will increase your speed, build your leg muscles, and improve your vertical leap. Also, if you would like a greater challenge you can mix it up and do some hill sprints.
Jumping rope – You can use the jump rope pretty much anywhere and it will help your reflexes and improve your cardio. If you haven’t done it for a while you will quickly see that jumping rope is a great workout. Although, if your workouts start to become easy, you can add some ankle weights to make them more difficult.
Box Jumps – Box jumps are a basic plyometric exercise that you can do to improve your vertical leap. You don’t have to have the professional boxes to perform them either. Basically anything will do. Jumping onto and off of a tall bench works well. Just remember to jump up again as soon as your feet hit the ground and EXPLODE UP as high as you can.
Heel and Toe touches – With your feet shoulder width apart, jump as high as you can and lift your heels toward your butt. Now while you are in the air touch your toes. Land, jump again and touch your heels. If you master this and want to mix it up, to increase the difficulty try to touch your toes and then your heels before you land.
An area that is commonly overlooked is the individual’s jumping form. It is easy to gain a quick 2-3 inches on your vertical just by implementing the proper jumping techniques. Trust me, I can say this from experience because I have seen it in myself.
Want to find out more about Michael Jordan’s Vertical and how you can increase your vertical leap? Then visit Brayden Fisher’s site at: www.40inchvertical.net for the best vertical leap exercises and workouts.
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