subject: Jump Higher - Know The Difference Between Starting Strength And Limit Strength [print this page] What are starting strength and limit strength?
Starting strength is your ability to begin a movement with high levels of strength, which in turn results in high velocity levels. In other words, the more strength you have, the faster you will overcome the resistance of your own body weight and gravity, the higher your vertical jump will be.
A vertical leap is executed in approximately 1/4 of a second, which limits the amount of strength you are able to "recruit" while you move. This means that you are only able to use a small percentage of your potential strength (I call it "explosive") during a vertical jump movement.
Limit strength is the total amount of strength you have. You can only recruit a certain amount of this during a vertical jump (explosive strength).
Increase your limit and explosive strength
The more limit strength you have, the stronger your explosive strength will be. If, for example, you can squat 200 pounds and can use 50% of your strength in the short time that a vertical jump happens, you can use 100 pounds of strength. But if you increased your limit strength to 400 pounds and you are only able to use 50% then you can use 200 pounds.
When training your muscle, you strengthen muscle fibers through a certain range of motion. If you want to boost your starting strength, you want to be sure your strength levels are improved at the exact joint angle of the movement's starting point.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding explosion in your vertical jump. Want to know more actionable ways to get the results you want? Sign up here for free vertical leap training.
