What type of jumper am I?

Everybody is physically different. Due to natural genetics and upbringing, everyone has a different anatomical composition. Understanding weaknesses is where your vertical jump can increase its most. If an athlete has very small legs but is pretty quick, doing footwork exercises would not bring about as much benefit as strengthening the lower body. There are usually two distinct types of vertical jumpers.

Strength athletes

These people rely on their squatting ability to generate the power for their vertical jump. They usually can squat at least 1.5 times their body weight and jump off of 2 feet. Once an athlete can squat 2 times their body weight, there strength is usually satisfactory enough that they would serve more benefit by working their reactive ability. Strength athletes almost always feel more comfortable jumping off of two feet rather than one.

Reactive athletes

A reactive athlete usually utilizes a strong CNS, good quickness, and high speeds of movement to generate their vertical jump. To make up for the fact that they do not have the same strength as other athletes, they dip into their jump much quicker to generate more force. Often times these athletes jump off of one foot because utilizing their squatting ability is not necessary.

Strength to weight ratio
If you do not have strong legs, you probably will not be able to jump high. Lower body strength is vital in producing a good vertical leap. The squat to 90 degrees has shown to be the most accurate figure in determining an athletes ability to jump. The ratio between an athletes maximum deep squat and their body weight has been shown to be an excellent indicator of an athlete's vertical jump.

Flexibilty
If you are not flexible, you are only limiting your ability to jump. If you muscles cannot move in a ideal range of motion, your power output is going to be limited and jumping technique will be distorted. It is absolutely vital to make a commitment to stretching if you plan on jumping higher.

Central Nervous System
Coordination and quickness and efficiency of movement are very important in jumping higher. The faster you can apply the strength you have, the more power you generate. Greater power output=Greater vertical jump

To be Continued

What factors come into the vertical jump equation?

Millions of athletes make the goal to improve their vertical jump. Vertical leaping ability is vital in many major sports, especially basketball and football. It is often one of the major two measuring tools in determining an individuals athleticism. ( the other is speed, usually through the 40 yard dash) In basketball, there is no more impressive play than a game changing dunk. Unfortunately, lots of people are born without the size to be able to dunk without some serious training. So what factors come into vertical jump?

Height and Length
This is the most obvious one. Tall people can usually dunk without much effort. This is simply because they require less of a vertical to reach the rim. Long arms also can aid lessening the need for a vertical. However, taller people are often anatomically less coordinated that average or shorter athletes, and this significantly lowers jumping ability. So while a 6 foot 7 athlete may be able to dunk and a 5 11 athlete may not, the shorter athlete could have a vertical jump that is much greater

To Be Continued...