Add Inches to Your Vertical

Jumping higher is a goal for anyone who’s serious about their sport. Even elite football players, a sport that doesn’t traditionally require a great deal of jumping, train to increase their vertical leap. Adding inches to your vertical is a challenge we all face, but it’s definitely a challenge worth taking.

In order to jump higher, a person has to learn to train the fast twitch muscle fibers in their calves to be explosive and fire more quickly. The best way to do this is through a combination of weight training and plyometric exercises that target your legs and train those muscle fibers specifically to respond more quickly.

Targeting your legs in the weight room is something a lot of us tend to neglect, but if your goal is to jump higher then you certainly can’t skip the squats, lunges, and calf raises. These exercises target the muscles in your quads, hamstrings, and calves…all important muscles when you’re talking about jumping. Practicing explosive moves as you lift will help your muscles not only get stronger but train them to react that way even when you’re not in the gym. That means if you’re doing exercises like squats or lunges for example, you should try a quick completion of your lift rather than the steady one you’re used to. If your muscles respond the way they should, then the fast twitch muscle fibers will grow out of your recovery.

Weight training will not get you all the way there though. Using cardio exercises such as sprinting, jumping stairs, and climbing hills will target the right muscle groups and increase your results. Sprints are great for strengthening muscles in your legs as well as your core. Stairs and other incline training will improve your strength and prepare your legs for faster moves on the court. The quick motions you practice will train your muscle to fire more rapidly and allow the lean muscle fiber to explode as you jump. It’s important to train your muscles to react the way you want them to at crunch time, so using these and other plyometric exercises will improve your odds.

There are of course a lot of other things you can do to increase your general health and your chances to jump higher. If you want better results in your life, add a multivitamin to your nutrition. A multivitamin can provide up to two dozen important vitamins and minerals including calcium, chromium, magnesium, and iron. The supplements you find in a multivitamin will help your body heal more quickly and develop strength in your joints and bones. There are no negative side effects to a multivitamin, add one to your diet and enjoy the results.

If you want to get stronger, whey protein and creatine are of course staples to that end. Whey protein helps your muscles recover more quickly while building size and strength. You can take whey protein in a shake or energy bar so you’ll hardly notice the change in your diet. Whatever you choose, whey protein will help you build stronger muscles, the muscles important to jumping higher. Creatine will do basically the same thing. If you have a goal of faster recovery from your workouts and stronger results, creatine and whey protein are sound additions.

Jumping higher doesn’t happen by accident. You have to work for it, and you have to target the right muscles. Adding a multivitamin, whey protein, and creatine to your diet will also help, but whatever your choice, explosiveness and increased athleticism will result and your jump will increase.

For more info on multivitamins, visit Top Form Vitamins.