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Article: Jump-Higher--Increase-Vertical-Leap---Slam-Dunk---Can-Anyone-Do-It-
Slam dunking is by no means just a big mans forte. Spud Webb, standing at a mere 5'7 dramatically proved this, as he took to the air in the 86’ NBA slam dunk contest.
But what if an athlete is not born with this freaky natural talent? Do they automatically accept defeat? Are their dreams left as just that, dreams?
Well yes. For most this is and will be their fate. What's even more alarming is, the dream isn't even developed to begin with. Everyone who has played basketball or even watched a few matches, naturally want to 'be like Mike.' But the dream to jump higher & slam dunk seems so un-achievable that it never becomes a goal in the first place.
Training purely for vertical leap has developed in, no pun intended, 'leaps & bounds' over the past few years. But before we go into this, let’s quickly go over what determines how high we can jump. An athlete’s vertical leap can be seen as a direct measurement of an athlete’s power. Vertical leap is purely a power movement, executed in a split second. How much power one can exert in a downwards motion, determines how high he will go. It also effects all other lower body reactive movements, for example sprinting. It is because of this that the NFL now uses vertical leap measurement as there sole testing method for determining the potential of up and coming draftees.
So what makes vertical leap training so difficult? With the sudden flood of vertical leap programs on the market it has become very easy for athletes to lead themselves down the wrong path. However, with the know how, increasing vertical leap becomes possible.
So where should aspiring dunkers begin? Research is always good, but finding an already made program can save both time and effort...or does it? Choosing the wrong program can result in jumping up and down doing 100+ reps! Definitely a fast track method to a knee reconstruction.
Safety is by far the #1 aspect of training. There's simply no use training for vertical leap, if the end result is going to land you in a wheel chair.
Secondly, customization. Vertical training has become such a rocky road due to companies and sport trainers bringing out set generic programs, not aimed for specific needs. These programs lead to uproars, confusion and people giving up on their dream, as they cannot contemplate why they didn't gain. The downside to these programs are, they will occasionally work for someone lacking those specific needs, so testimonials still come in.
Specific needs and catering for them is what makes a truly good program. By simply imagining our muscles as being elastic bands, two major things can be trained. How much stretch can go into the elastic bands and how strong those elastic bands are.
Those athletes who are strong, sometimes lack reactive or plyometric power. Which is simply how fast their muscle can react. And visa versa. This means something which doesn't work for an athlete at this stage in time, may work wonders for them down the track.
Programs which have testing phases to determine what athletes are lacking and output a customized system to build up those weak links will always help increase vertical leap.
Veering off for a tad, we’ve even seen a flood of equipment aimed at also increasing vertical leap. Calf isolators, jumpsoles, strength shoes, insoles...the list is huge. Once again, some of this stuff works, some of it is shocking.
There's simply enough confusion out there to drive anyone insane. Athletes should insure they avoid the hype, don't get sidetracked by a couple of good testimonials and find something out there that will increase vertical leap, no matter what current athletic capabilities they have.
So with the right knowledge, there's simply no excuse for an athlete not to be able to slam dunk. Hopefully with the continual advances in athletic training, we will start to see more and more spud webb type characters spreading there wings and preparing to fly.
VertCoach.com recognize the mayhem which surrounds vertical leap training and helps sheds some light on how to increase your vertical jump. We've reviewed all the vertical jump programs side by side, real testimonials are used, and the best names in vertical leap training have teamed up to provide you with free ebooks and articles to help everyone jump higher. |
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