So, I’ve done some forum posting to promote the site and I have had a few comments regarding injuries from using a jump program. There are a few risks with trying to increase your vertical but if you follow a safe training program you will be able to avoid injuries.
Learning to Jump Higher can and is a very demanding training for your body. If you train correctly you will be putting your body through some very extreme and intense workouts in order to achieve your goal.
The high-impact activity for learning how to jump higher can be very hard on muscles, joints and tendons. It will be important for you to maintain your training and avoid injury otherwise it could sideline you for weeks or longer.
What you need is a jump training program that will help you jump higher and at the same time strengthen muscles and tendons to help prevent injury. You will need to use plyometric type training that incorporate myotatic reflex. What this means is when you are performing your jumping exercises, as you land, the force is absorbed by the muscles and quickly released causing the overloaded muscles to do more work. This can be accomplished by minimizing your contact with the ground when you land and jump again.
Ankle Hops to Jump Higher
A great exercise to help you jump higher while at the same time building strength to avoid injury is the ankle hop. The ankle hop is a very easy exercise and should be done about 4 to 5 times a week. The entire set of exercises only needs to last about 3 minutes.
The Ankle Hop Drill
- 30 Second Warmup – stand on both feet and bounce lightly onto your toes
- 1 Minute – Double Leg Ankle Hops – Bounce on the balls of your feet and get some separation between your feet and the ground on each bounce. Keeping your legs relatively straight you should bounce – not jump.
- 1 Minute and 30 Seconds – Alternating Single Leg Ankle Hops – Start with your right leg and slowly begin to hop increasing your height with each hop. Do 15 hops on the right leg and then the switch to the left leg. Continue alternating legs until the time is up.
That’s it, only 3 minutes per day for or five times a week and you will soon see a noticeable increase in your jumping as well as strength in your ankles and leg muscles helping your reduce your chance of injury.
To learn more great exercises I highly recommend you check out The Jump Manual. You can visit their site to learn more on how you can jump higher. Click Here to Visit The Jump Manual Training Site.
