Table Of ContentThe Jump Manual
The Ultimate Vertical Jump Training Guide
Warnings and Cautions
Introduction - How It All Began...
Chapter 1: The 9 Essential Variables Of An Explosive Vertical
Chapter 2: Understanding the Science of Optimal Results
Chapter 3: The LAWS of Vertical Jump Improvement
Chapter 4: Muscle Gains DO NOT Happen During Training
- Creating a Portable Nutrition System
Chapter 5: Optional Equipment For Vertical Jump Drills
Chapter 6: Use the Jumpers Forum!
Chapter 7: Pre-Workout Stretching and Warm-Ups
Chapter 8: Explanation of the Max Explosion Workout
Chapter 9: Post-Workout
Chapter 10: Progress and Sustained Increase
Glossary: Pictures and Definitions
Appendix: Gain Inches Through Better Jumping Form
FAQ
Warnings and Cautions
WARNING!! As with any intense training regimen, there is potential for injury.
The principles and practices of this system are extreme and should be undertaken
with extreme caution. A spotter is advised when performing heavy resistance
exercises. The author takes no responsibility for any injury that the user may incur.
In reading this book you hereby release the author of any legal liability in regards
to these training techniques.
Any injuries that you may incur are the sole responsiblity of the participant.
DO NOT JUMP AHEAD TO THE DRILLS! THE DRILLS ALONE ARE NOT
YOUR KEY TO JUMPING SUCCESS!
Cautions:
Ankles:
Your explosion capacity will be incredibly strengthened. This means that there
will be more pressure and risk on certain joints. Ankles are particularly susceptible
to this problem. I will later recommend certain exercises to stabilize the ankle
joint. However, I would recommend getting ankle braces. Contrary to athletic
myth, they do not hinder your ability to jump or cut. Choose an ankle brace that
has wrappable Velcro straps. The simple pull-on-braces are practically worthless.
Stress:
Your legs and joints will be under a lot of pressure. Although this stress can
increase your skeletal strength, there are also risks of injury. To minimize the risks
I would suggest getting a pair of well-padded shoes, insoles, or both. When
possible perform the exercises with a pad underneath you.
Recovery:
One of the most common problems is that enthusiastic athletes do not give
themselves a proper recovery. Working out and playing at full speed every day
will not allow your muscles the essential growing period. NEVER work out the
same muscle if it has not received 24-48 hours recovery. The recovery is
necessary to strengthen your muscles, and to avoid injuries. Not respecting
recovery periods will retard muscle gains and vertical jump improvements. It is
never a bad idea to take an additional recovery day.
Common Sense:
You are a driven athlete, and you desire results. You will get them, but sometimes
it is better to be patient. If something is uncomfortable, or you feel that you may
be risking an injury, see a licensed medical professional. Ice your knees after
every workout. I recommend buying wrap-around ice packs, which when not in
use are stored in the freezer, that you can put on both knees so you don’t have to
spend 30 minutes manually icing them after each workout.
Icing:
Icing your knees, ankles, or any other part of your body that may be having
problems is essential to maintaining a healthy jumping condition. I have found
these wraps to be the most convenient icing method. They have allowed me to
keep healthy knees.
You may otherwise be unfit for this program if:
1. - You have sustained prior injuries that create excess risk when training.
2. - You are considered medically obese.
3. - You have not undertaken exercise for over 2 years.
4. - You have heart or other conditions that would cause strenuous exercise to be
a health risk.
How It All Began
From the Beginning...
I started as an average jumper, neither poor nor exceptional in my jumping
abilities. As an avid basketball player, and perhaps an even more avid jumper, I have
always wanted to dunk-- No, not just dunk-- fly, glide, float, defy. Hours, weeks, and
years were spent trying to maximize my explosion power. I used the Strength
platform shoes, AirAlert, plyometrics, stair running, ankle weights, and anything else
I could get my hands on. Consequently I had a decent vertical, and was in excellent
shape. Yes, I could dunk, but at 6' 3" I wanted to do more than just dunk. But despite
my hard work, and hours of training, I couldn't quite get there. I have never known
anyone who had worked as hard in order to achieve a high vertical. I am sure there is
someone out there, but I have never met him or her.
Seeing the Light
During a two year service trip, during which I played very little basketball, I
stumbled upon the essential elements of what every jump program needs in order to
produce maximum results. Although I had very little time to work out I devoted about
fifteen minutes a night to testing my new jump theories. The results came quickly,
and I resolved to devote my workouts to these theories when I got home. I was sad to
know that I could have been using these techniques for all the years before, but I was
also excited to put the new principles to work as soon as I got home.
Success
When I got home (still 6'3") I could dunk rather feebly. With a good approach I
could put it down off two feet with two hands with decent force. After three months
of putting my theories to the test, I did something I never would have thought
possible. I dunked one handed from one step over the free-throw line (about 24
inches past). I could easily cock the ball to my back and tomahawk with serious
force. I could glide from outside of the lane and throw it down. I wasn't afraid to
dunk over people who were even bigger than me. I could 360, 180, alley-oop, my
rebounding was ferocious, and my first step explosion could only be stopped by a
congested lane.
Everyone I play with notices, and almost every time I play, someone asks me, "So
how did you learn to jump like that? Could you always do that? How many people
do you dunk on a game? Did you dunk on anyone today? I wish I could jump like
that..." Then I attempt to explain what they need to do in order to soar. But I rarely
have the time to explain exactly what they need to do. I have talked to many who
have much more natural ability than I, and if they were willing, they could do
incredible things.
The Jump Manual
This manual is the result in my obsession with jumping, my education as a
Personal Trainer, and the lessons learned from years of devotion as a jumper. It is
intended for those who dream of flying. I am convinced that this is the most effective
tool available for maximizing your vertical. Carefully read the following chapters and
you will understand why this program will develop your maximum explosion power.
The principles and exercises are intended to be brief enough to be convenient, yet
informative enough to equip you with the knowledge needed to achieve maximum
explosion. It is in adhering to these same principles that I intend to dunk from the free
throw line, and that I wish you success in your undertakings.
2009
The Jump Manual has developed from "what helped me to get a 40+ vertical" to
what is deemed the most effective and comprehensive approach to vertical jump
training. The Jump Manual has helped countless athletes attain their peak physical
potential in regards to quickness and vertical jumping ability. 40 + verticals are now
available to any athlete who has the desire and discipline to maintain an effective
training regime. I look forward to hearing your story, and to receiving your
testimonial. I am constantly seeking to simplify the process of helping athletes to
understand and perform proper training. I welcome your feedback.
Chapter 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keP0H1X3PU8&feature=player_embedded#! -
Why train only one facet of your training when there are other effective training
techniques available? Anything less than a completely comprehensive approach is
less effective and will result in incomplete results.
The 9 Essential Variables of An Explosive Vertical
There are 9 aspects involved in maximizing your vertical jump. Your improvement
is dependent upon your capabilities in these 9 aspects, and therefore the flight
training program is based on the improvement of each one. When each of these
qualities is increased there is a synergistic effect. For example, better flexibility will
allow your muscles to fully contract and create more leverage: thus your capacity for
flexibility increases your strength. This means that they all work together toward one
goal: explosion and upward propulsion.
In many instances your performance will only be as great as your weakest link.
When one of these aspects is not right, it can adversely affect all the other aspects.
Conversely, as each aspect improves they will postively affect the other aspects of
your vertical jump and quickness.
The following is intended as a brief introduction to help you understand what you
need to accomplish. We will go into further detail and explanation in the following
chapters. Understanding these principles is your first step to understanding effective
workouts.
1. STRENGTH
Your ability to jump is directly related to your ability to create force (also known
as your strength). We are primarily developing your jumping muscle fibers (fast
twitch fibers or Type II), as well as helping your slow twitch fibers to act more like
fast twitch fibers. To date there is no way to convert slow twitch fibers to fast twitch.
Strength is also factored by how many muscle fibers are activated or recruited during
a muscle contraction, as well as the rate that each muscle fiber fires. In a nutshell
strength is determined by:
a) Size and type of muscle fiber (size is changeable, type is not).
b) Number of fibers recruited or activated in single contraction.
c) Firing rate of activated muscle fibers during a given movement.
d) Stored elasticity utilized to accelerate and strengthen contraction.
Each of these aspects of strength will be very specifically targeted in the workout.
We will learn that while we can't change the actual type of a muscle fiber, we can
train a slow twich fiber to act more like a fast twich fiber.
Letter d) is specifically addressed in an advanced type of training that is misused in
nearly all performance manuals (I am sure you have heard of it): plyometrics. In the
following chapters you will come to a new understanding of its importance and how
to master the technique.
2. QUICKNESS
You may be strong, but how fast can you generate it? Quickness is the amount of
time it takes to produce or output a certain amount of strength. Strength and
quickness have a complimentary relationship. The amount of strength you can create,
multiplied by how fast you generate it, is equal to the amount of explosion or upward
propulsion you will create. The formula is as follows:
(QUICKNESS) X (STRENGTH) = EXPLOSION
Some people have great amounts of strength, yet they do not have the quickness to
create the explosion. Other athletes are extremely quick but the effects of their
quickness would be grealty multiplied by added strength. All of us need to improve
both.
Correct plyometric training is the most effective way to train muscles at extremely
high speeds. Most programs and demonstrations of plyometric training are done
incorrectly. I have seen countless videos of plyometrics that demonstrate little to no
understanding of how to draw maximum benefit from this highly effective technique.
3. NEUROLOGICAL RECRUITMENT & CONDITIONING
Your ability to jump is directly related to how your nervous system recruits muscle
fibers in order to create force. We want to train your system to do the following:
a) Recruit every muscle fiber
b) Fire every muscle fiber at maximum firing rate
c) Train neural paths to perform a) and b) in the least amount of time possible
Proper training will condition the neurological system to properly call upon
muscles to act in ways that create explosion. When this is done systematically muscle
memory is developed and we are able to easily create max explosion. Most people
are currently not using all the available muscle fibers, and training focused on the
neurological system is rare and often misunderstood.
I realize there is some carry over from the "Strength" and "Quickness" section but
it is important to note how they are related, as well as how each of the first three
components, although affected by one another, deserve specific focus.
4. FUEL
Are you providing your body with the nutrients that you need in order to
1) Build muscle and
2) Use that muscle?
It is not necessary to adopt a complicated diet. A proper diet will allow your
muscles to create proper energy stores in your muscle. Without proper fuel, there is
no explosion, just as a car without gas will go nowhere. In the diet section of the
manual we will talk about ways to maximize fuel, and make sure your muscles have
lasting stores for peak performance.
5. STABILITY AND BALANCE
Each muscle employs stabilizer muscles that hold other joints and muscles in place
to facilitate the intended action. If there is a lack of stability, other parts of the body
may absorb or hinder the force generated for jumping. A lack of balance jeopardizes
your ability to harness your strength and quickness. Efficient balance promotes an
efficient use of strength and quickness. Better balance results in more graceful and
efficient jumping ability, and stable joint structures result in a more "pure" explosion
where the energy is not absorbed by unstable joint structures.
These two facets could almost have their own separate category but as they are
closely related to one another I have chosen to put them together.
6. FORM
Many different muscles are used to promote upward motion, for example quads,
hamstrings, calves, abdominal, arms etc. Forward momentum may also be converted
into upward motion. Proper form orchestrates all muscles and momentum to create a
rush of upward propulsion. To demonstrate, try to jump without using your arms or
without thrusting your knee in the air.
The vertical jump is an orchestra of movement with one final goal in mind, upward
propulsion. In the form section you will learn how to ensure that you are getting the
most out of the potential that you already have. This is an aspect to your training that
just about every other program ignores, but you will find that as you apply the form
techniques you will realistically add many inches to your vertical.
7. FLEXIBILITY
The benefits of flexibility are fivefold:
1) Create more leverage/strength by providing a full range of motion.
2) Allow full and more powerful contraction of muscles by reducing resistance from
stiff opposing muscles.
3) Improve circulation which results in greater nutrient uptake, which means stronger
contractions and greater muscle recovery.
4) Strengthen joints and supporting structures.
5) Balance muscles, which are less prone to injury.
Each muscle is counterbalanced by an opposing muscle group. For example, your
biceps are counterbalanced by your triceps. As you flex your bicep your tricep is
stretched. Proper flexibility allows opposing muscle groups to compliment each other
properly. This means that your tricep will be flexible enough to allow your bicep to
flex/contract without providing unwanted resistance.
Good flexibility promotes the elastic properties of your muscles.We will
understand later why the elastic property of the muscle is so important.
Lastly good flexibility will help you to maintain strong ligaments, tendons, and
other supporting structures. Often problems are caused by unbalanced muscles. Many
a "jumper's knee" has been caused by the quadriceps and hamstrings being
improperly balanced or lacking flexibility.
Research is also proposing that stronger supporting structures, a benefit of
stretching, slackens inhibitions in muscle strength output. Basically, the body will
allow stronger contraction if it knows that the joints and supporting structures can
sustain the force. This effect is not completely understood. We will talk more about
this possibility in later chapters.
8. BODY COMPOSITION
Excess weight hinders upward motion. Do not attempt to lose weight excessively
fast. When you starve yourself to lose weight, your body automatically lowers its
metabolism as a security measure, which means that you will be susceptible to
gaining all that weight back and more.
The best way to lose weight is to have a diet centered around the food pyramid,
and to be aware of the energy balance principle.The energy balance principle means
that if you expend more calories than you intake you will lose weight; if you intake
more calories than you expend you will gain weight; and if you intake and expend the
same amount of calories, your weight will remain static. Eating well and doing the
workout will result in a healthier body composition.
If you are a little overweight, think of it this way: while you are training, that extra
weight will serve to increase your muscle size, and when the fat goes away your
muscles will be all the stronger for having carried it. If you are extremely overweight,
you may want to postpone the workout until you have reached an appropriate body
composition for these workouts; consult your medical professional.
9. HEREDITARY FACTORS
Each individual inherits a certain amount of slow twitch and fast twitch muscle
fiber. Slow twitch fibers cannot yet be converted to fast twitch muscle fibers. The
best we can do is train our slow twitch fibers to act more like fast twitch fibers. We
can train to increase the fiber size and strength of the muscles that we have been
given. A woman's muscle is just as efficient as men's muscles; however, men are
generally endowed with more amounts of muscle fiber than women.
Some athletes have asked about hyperplasia, which is the act of creating two fibers
out of one fiber. This idea has not been proven by scientific research to be a
possibility for humans. However, the good news is that our training is the same type
of training that would produce those results if they are indeed possible.
Chapter 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FIPiqxeXus&feature=player_embedded
Understanding the Science of Optimal Results:
The Proper Mode Of Perfect Training
Principles behind improved strength and quickness.
Understanding is essential to correctly training your explosion power. The better
you understand, the more naturally you will perform the training exercises, and your
training will yield greater and faster results. Understand this material very well
before moving on.
Have you spent hours each day doing drills that you thought were going to
skyrocket your vertical, but only ended up with mediocre results? You were most
likely working on your jumping endurance more than you were working on your
jumping explosion. For example, if a sprinter wants to increase his speed, how much
would he increase his speed by drilling with two mile runs? Very little, and he may in
fact lose some of the explosion power that he needs to sprint as muscles are trained
to adapt to that activity. Often we do the same thing in our jump training; we work
very hard training the wrong aspect!
QUALITY not quantity and INTENSITY not repetition are proper characteristics of
effective explosion training. If you have a 28-inch vertical (or a 16-inch or whatever
it may be) and your drills are in the 15-inch range, you are training your muscle
endurance, not your muscle strength. In other words, you are training yourself to
jump at certain heights for continued periods of time. To increase your explosion, you
need to be constantly working in that high intensity improvement zone, attempting to
push that limit a little higher.
Correct explosion training is counterintuitive.
What this means is that incorrect training feels more effective than correct
training. You will be fatigued, your muscles will burn, and you will train longer, but
the results will not be explosion.
So what?! So if you want to see your vertical increase, INTENSITY must be the
mode of your workouts. If you are pacing yourself during drills you need to do fewer
repetitions. This is absolutely essential. The drills will require that you jump and
exert at maximum intensity! Your success depends on how capable you are of HIGH
INTENSITY drilling and
power output.
Your muscles are
made up of individual
muscle fibers. When
your muscle contracts
against a given force,
each fiber either fires at
maximum force, or does
not fire at all. This
means that when you lift
an easy weight your
central nervous system
only recruits the
necessary muscle fibers
to lift that weight.
Consequently people
who do not lift weights
or who lift extremely light weights may have muscle fibers that are not even in use by
the nervous system. This is why people who have never lifted weights often
experience a dramatic increase upon starting a strength program; new muscle fibers
are activated and strengthened. To sum up:
We know stronger muscles have the potential to contract with greater force.
We know that muscle recruitment or how many muscle units are recruited for a
workout is determined by how much weight is being lifted.
We know we want to recruit and strengthen ALL muscle fibers during our training.
Research has shown that working out with 85% of the weight we can do one time
will ALWAYS recruit ALL motor units. This is called:
85% of 1RM (85% of 1 rep MAX)
This can easily be found by performing the exercise with a spotter and finding the
maximum amount of weight that you can do the exercise once. If you can only do the
exercise with 100 pounds once, for example, then you should be working with 85
pounds on a regular basis.
Research has also clearly shown that the faster we move a given weight the more
work and tension the muscle experiences, and thus the better our gains. In a sense,
the faster we push against a weight the heavier it is to our muscle fibers. So here is
our rule for weight lifting that you will use for all lifting EXCEPT the last set of
certain exercises, and we will go into why later.
Lift with 85% 1RM (most weight you can do once for a given lift).
(This law tells us how much we should lift to recruit all fibers)
Only do as many reps as you can perform at MAX SPEED.
(This tells us how many times or how many reps to do a given lift)
For most people this means anywhere from 2 - 8 reps, and as the program develops
that weight will go up. In the following chapters I will give you guidelines, but the
golden rule is for you to dictate. Any time the speed of a rep is lessened, STOP. Some
of you may feel like you want to go to failure, or until the muscle is completely
exhausted. Now is not the time for that; muscle failure will be done on very specific
terms. But as far as the bulk of the workout is concerned, you want to work out with
as heavy weight as possible to recruit all fibers, in as explosively a manner as
possible.
So what?! This method produces the most optimal results for muscle gain and
muscle recruitment. We want to train the muscle to do none other than full
recruitment, at max speed. Anything else is unworthy of your effort.
For optimal results, each rep should be treated as a single event in which peak
intensity is the only possible course of action. INTENSITY, over time, applied to
correct principles and practice, will produce the most opimal results a workout is
capable of achieving.
Have you ever heard of stories where people were capable of exerting near
superhuman strength? For instance the mother who is able to lift a car in order to
save her baby? The Golgi tendon organ actually regulates how much force we are
able to exert as a safety precaution. Our body is actually capable of exerting much
more force than our ligaments and tendons are capable of withstanding! This
regulating tendon protects us from doing so; however, in extreme circumstances the
mind is capable of overriding this tendon. This usually results in injury. NO, I am not
suggesting that we harness our abilities to the point of overriding the body’s safety
mechanism. YES, I am suggesting that your mindset plays a role in muscular
recruitment, or how the body calls on muscle fibers to function. Olympic lifters often
"psych themselves out" before executing extremely heavy lifts. It is literally mind over
muscle.
So what?! So when you train your mindset needs to be such that your body recruits
that maximum amount of force, and in doing so you will increase your ability to
harness that force.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQGFb7nHXcY&feature=player_embedded#!
Plyometrics when done correctly are very very effective. 90% of the drills you see
and videos about plyos are teaching you the wrong way to do plyometrics.
Understanding how to correctly do plyos will be an enormous advantage to you. Here
is an acronym to help you remember how to master plyometrics:
LAP -Load Amortization exPlode.
I know I am kind of cheating with this, and that it's corny. I am just hoping it is
corny enough for you to remember.
Complex training is the combination of plyometrics and weight training (resistance
training). What sets our training apart is our focus on maximum explosion and
intensity per rep, maximum strengthening of muscle fibers, and maximizing firing rate
of each motor unit. There is absolutely no other practice known under the sun that
will increase your explosion power better than the CORRECT implementation of
these techniques. Period.
So what?! So stop looking for gadgets and gizmos. There are no shortcuts.
Implement these techniques in your training and you will be getting the maximum
amount of results possible.
Chapter 3
A Chapter Just So You Remember
Ignoring the principles in Chapter 2 will greatly hinder your results. Review it
often.
REMEMBER:
Strength X Quickness = Explosion
Train explosion, not endurance..
If you are pacing yourself, lower your reps.
Keep your workouts in the "improvement zone" or don't train at all.
Train with 85% of your 1 rep MAX, and do each rep at max speed. Whenever speed
is jeopordized, reps must be lowered.
Plyometrics are to be done minimizing the "amortisation phase" and with each
explosion at maximum strength and speed. No extra bounce, etc.
LAP - For perfect plyometrics, Load, Amortisation, exPlode.
Recruiting all fibers, and firing all fibers at maximum rate, is the only way to extract
maximum benefit from a weight training regime.
Treat each rep with the focus and intensity of a single event.
