Vertical Training - A One Thousand Foot View
Sometimes we can't see the wood for the trees
Sometimes we can't see the wood for the trees. We get so immersed in the details that we forget to stand back and review whether what we're doing is effective or not. A little healthy cynicism can actually improve a vertical training plan. As a checklist, I'm offering seven key criteria for you to evaluate your current plan against.
First on the list is strength training. Resistance training with free weights or machines increases the diameter of the muscle fibres, which leads to an increase in contractile strength. Muscles that can shorten with greater contractile force get their work done more efficiently - i.e. push harder or exert more force. In our example of vertical jump perfection, this equates to increased force applied through the floor instantaneously at lift-off.
Secondly flexibility and suppleness need to be mentioned - how loose and pliable the muscles are when in a working state with good blood flow. We know that when one muscle contracts to make a pushing movement, another has to expand in a counter-balance fashion. Therefore, in the case of a vertical jump, we need the quadriceps to be able contract with the highest possible force, and our hamstrings to be as loose and flexible as possible. Otherwise it's like trying to drive with one foot on the gas and one on the brake.
Next comes speed training. Any sports discipline will benefit from extra speed (okay, maybe not chess) but actually, an increase in speed is the product of more strength in the working muscle and more flexibility in the antagonist. Simply put - more looseness with more power gives greater speed.
Now careful with this one. It's going to get a mention but very specifically and in the proper context. It's stamina. Greater stamina will mean that you can run, pass, dribble and jump for longer, but it won't increase your vertical max. You should have stamina building exercises in your overall plan, but please don't think that it forms part of your vertical training plan.
Straight after the previous one is skill training. I despair when people tell me that "practice makes perfect". Actually "Perfect practice makes perfect." No use repeating the same mistakes over and over again, you're just drilling a bad habit. Taking some time to analyse your feet positions, weight distribution and rhythm on the run up to and during your leap will pay dividends in the long run.
Moving on from the pure exercise aspects, you need to evaluate supplements next. Hard training requires proper nutrition to repair the body's damaged tissues (protein), fuel the engine (carbohydrates) oil the joints (essential fats) and... well, you don't need me to expand any more on fibre.
In addition to the natural food chain, athletes involved in hard training must get enough vitamins and minerals, extra protein and most studies show an increase in performance after taking good quality Creatine Monohydrate. Creatine keeps the muscles stocked with ATP or adenosine triphosphate, which is the fuel of choice for short duration, high intensity activity.
Lastly, and furthest away from the physical stuff is Psychology. Your attitudes and beliefs function like an on / off switch to all of the other factors we've been through up to here. If you were doing all of the above, but didn't actually believe you had it in you to reach a specific jump height your lack of belief would over-ride all of the other good physical work done in training.
Science used to distinguish between mind and body, then we discovered the mind-body connection. Now we know they function as one holographic entity. This means the part is in the whole, and the whole is in the part. For example - how is a transplant receiver able to experience parts of memories from a donor they never met, if memory was only confined to the brain and not dispersed throughout the body? The phrase "muscle memory" takes on a different slant with that information in mind.
So next time someone asks you how much you want to achieve your own personal vertical max, saying that you want it with every single fibre of your being might be more beneficial than you first thought. Holding a positive frame of mind and a set of supportive self-beliefs is at the core of a good vertical training plan.
by: Glenn Devey
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