TrainingtoImprovetheVerticalJump

RichardC.Lansky,CSCS,USAWeightliftingU.S.InternationalCoach,ACSMHFI LaurenChadwick,MA,CSCS,USAWeightliftingClubCoach&SportPerformanceCoach RichLanskys OptimumPerformanceTraining,Inc.

Manycoachesandathletesareuninformedaboutwhattypeoftrainingisneeded todeveloplowerbodypowerasameanstohelpimprovesportspecificperformance.A multitudeofsportsrequirelowerbodypower,usedinskillssuchassprinting,changeof direction,accelerationandjumpingability.Manysuccessfulstrengthandconditioning coachesbelievethatthemusculoskeletalsystemshouldbetrainedinsuchamannerthatit mimicsrelatedsportsactionsinordertoimproveperformanceonthecourtorfield.This specificityprincipleoftrainingisconsideredcentraltothesuccessofsportspecific training.Studiesindicatethattrainingusingjumpingmovementshasproducedsignificant gainsinlowerbodymovementefficiency. 3,7,8,9 Thisarticlewill reviewtheimportanceof improvingjumpingabilityanddiscussspecificaspectsoftrainingthatwillhelpathletes improvelowerbodystrengthandpowertojumphigher. Lowerbodypower,thoughtofintermsofspeedstrengthorstrengthspeed,canbe improvedbyasystematicprogramthatrecruitsalargeproportionofmusclefibersinthe shortestamountoftime(highratesofforcedevelopment),whichisoftenexpressedas explosivemuscularmovementduringathleticevents.1 Withrepeatedandproperly performedpractice,themuscleswillbemoreeffectivelyrecruitedbythecentralnervous systemtocontractwithgreaterefficiencyinthepropersequentialpatterns.Theendresult willbeagreaterpoweroutputbytheassociatedmusculoskeletalsystem.Coachesand

athletesshouldrememberthattrainingadaptationsbytheneuromuscularsystemandthe demandsplaceduponitonitarehighlyspecific.Thereforetrainingactivitiesshould reproducethesedesiredmovementsascloselyaspossiblewithintheprogram.3,8 Aswith anyotherbiomotorskill,anathletewhodesirestoimprovehisorherjumpingabilities willhavetopracticejumping! Theverticaljumphaslongbeenrecognizedasanacceptedtesttoassessandeven tracklevelsofanindividualathleteslowerbodypower.Thismovementisatriplejoint extensormovementbecauseitinvolvesthemuscles,bonesandconnectivetissueofthe hips,kneesandankles.Thistriplejointextensionisaverycommontraitinathletic eventsandmovements,includingtheactionsofsprinting,bounding,diving,tackling, blockingandofcoursejumpingactionsinboththesagittalandfrontalplanes.The verticalandlongjumpsareusedextensivelyintheassessmentofathleticabilityintalent identificationprogramsforavarietyofOlympicsportsaswellasameasurementdevice inthehighschool,collegiateandprofessionallevelsofsport. Inrecentyears,theverticaljumphasbeenhighlyassociatedwiththeannual footballandbasketballprofessionalscoutingcombines,asseenontelevisionandInternet sportsnetworksaroundthecountry. Recognizingtheimportanceofscoringwellonthisperformancetest,many coacheshaveworkedtoputtogethertheperfectcombinationofjumpingactivities, strengthtrainingandflexibilityworktoimprovetheverticaljump. ResearchhassuggestedthatacombinationofOlympicStyleweightlifting movementsandplyometrictrainingseemstobethebestwaytoimprovethevertical jump.5,8 Plyometricscanbethoughtofasanexplosivereactivesystemofdrillsthat

stressboththecentralnervoussystemandmechanicalactionsofthemusculoskeletal systemviaacombinationofrepeatedbounds,hops,andjumpsinavarietyofmovement planes.Weightliftingexercises(asusedinthecompetitiveOlympicSport)includethe SnatchandClean&Jerk,aswellastheirrelatedmovements.Thesemovementsalso involvethecentralnervoussystemaswellasthemusculoskeletalsystemandareoften associatedwiththedevelopmentofexplosivepowerandspeed. Manyillinformedcoachesarehesitanttoincludetheseexercisesinthepower developmentprogramsoftheirathletes.Itistheopinionoftheauthorsthatthishesitancy isduetotheirmisunderstandingoftheproperteachingandcoachingtechniquesaswell asamisinterpretationoftheavailabledataintheresearchfield. Itisalsotheopinionoftheauthorsthatthesesamecoachestendtooversimplify theprinciplesofstrengthtrainingandconditioning,inparticularatendencyto misinterprettheprincipleofspecificity.Theauthorswouldliketorespectfully recommendthatthosesamecoachesrefertothepeerreviewedspecificworkon explosiveexercisemovementsofDr.JohnGarhammer,Dr.MikeStone,Dr.Ronald Byrd,Dr.KylePierce,andDr.VladimirZatsiorskyaswellasthegeneralstrength trainingstudiesperformedbyDr.WilliamKraemer,Dr.StevenFleck,Dr.DonChu,and Dr.AveryFaigenbaum. ThequickliftsassociatedwithWeightlifting,suchasthesnatch,clean,jerk, powerclean,powersnatch,cleanpull,snatchpullandpushpress,arerelativelysimpleto learnwhentaughtbyqualifiedUSAWeightliftingcertifiedcoachesandinstructors. USAWeightliftinghasdevisedacomprehensive,andeasytolearntechnicalandtactical approachtoteachingandcoachingtheseliftssafelyandeffectively.Theircoaching

certificationcourseseemstobewellregardedbymanyofthetopstrengthand conditioningandhighperformancecoachesinthecountry. Weightliftingexercisescloselyresembletheactionsoftheverticaljump,because thesecondpullphaseoftheliftrequirestheathletetoperformasmooth,sequentialtriple jointextensionmovementofthehips,kneeandankleswhichinturnresultsinaveryhigh poweroutput.Canavanlookedatthedifferencebetweenasnatchmovementfromthe hangpositionandanoncountermovementverticaljumpandfoundthattheyare kineticallysimilar.3 ThisfindingreportedthatproperusageoftheOlympicliftscan facilitatetheneuromuscularsystemtoenhanceperformance. Itistheopinionoftheauthorsthatweightliftingmovementscanbeavery effectivemeansofimprovingnotonlygenerallowerpowerproductionandhighratesof forcedevelopment,butalsowith specificverticaljumpingabilities.However,thiswould onlyholdtruewhentheexercisesareperformedcorrectlyandwithproperlevelsof volume,intensity,loading,andfrequency.Itisalsoimportanttorememberthatthese parametersbebalancedwith thoseoftheotherstrengthandconditioningdrillsofthe program. Tomaximizetrainingforimprovedjumpingability,coachesshouldincorporate plyometricactivitiesthatproperlyutilizetheconcentricandeccentricmuscleactionsthat occurduringthestretchshorteningcycle.Thiscycleischaracterizedbyarapideccentric muscleaction,followedbyanimmediateandforcefulconcentriccontraction.Properly performedplyometrictrainingcanimproveanathletesabilitytominimizethe amortizationphasebetweenthedecelerationphase(forcereduction,eccentricloading actions)andthefollowingshortening,forceproducingconcentricactions).Ithasbeen

theorizedthattheshortertheamortizationphase,thegreatertheresultingpoweroutputof theconcentricaction. Inaddition,thecapacityforforceproductionduringeccentricmuscleactionscan providethemusclewiththeabilitytocontrolmovement,thuspossiblyprotectingless compliantstructuresoftheneuromuscularsystemfromdamageresultingfromhigh impactforcesorrepeated,lowforceactivity.Aseccentricmuscleactionsmaybe20 30%greaterthanconcentricactions,atechniquecalledeccentricloadingcanbeusedto increaseonesabilitytogenerateforcequickly.6 Moorelookedatvariousstudiesthat supporteccentricloadingduringcountermovementjumpingthatshowedanincreasein recruitmentforgreaterforceproduction,therebyimprovingjumpingperformance.6 AnothermethodoftrainingforlowerbodypowerhasbeentermedComplex Training.Thismethodhasalsobeenreferredtoaspostactivationpotentiation.4,5 Complextraininginvolvesalternatingbetweentwobiomechanicallysimilarexercisesof highloadstrengthtrainingandplyometrics,setforset,withinthesameworkout.Ithas beentheorizedthatisaconvenientandeffectivestrategyforthedevelopmentofsport specificexplosivepowerbecauseittakesadvantageofthecontrastbetweenheavier, mechanicalloadingactivitiesandlighter,highforce(oftenballistic)jumping,throwing, pushingandpullingactivities.Thepairingofthesedifferent,yetkineticallysimilar actionsalsoallowsforadequatetimeforrecovery.Anexampleofthistypeoftraining wouldbebacksquatpairedwithverticalorevendepthjumps.5 Itisalsoveryimportanttorememberthatsomeathleteswilllackproper foundationalstrengthofthecoremusculatureaswellasthelimbs.Forathleteswholack asolidbaselevelofstrength,basicstrengthdevelopmentusinggeneralexerciseswill

haveasignificantpositiveeffectontheincreaseoflowerbodystrength.Thisincreasein basestrengthorforceproductionwillalsohaveapositiveeffectoftheabilitytoproduce explosivepower.MaximumStrengthisrelatedtomaximumpower,asstrengthxspeed= power.Thereforeanincreaseintheathletesstrengthbasecanhaveapositiveinfluence onthetotallowerbodypower.1 Theauthorsrecommendthatoncetheathleteincreases his/herstrengthbase,powerdevelopmentthoughspecifictrainingexercisesshouldthen becomeagreaterpartoftheverticaljumptrainingprogram. Todeterminewhetheranathletehasanappropriatestrengthbase,theauthors recommendthatacomparisonbemadebetweenastaticverticaljumpanda countermovementverticaljump.Toperformastaticjump,theindividualsquatsto parallel,pausesfortwosecondsthenjumps.Toassessthecountermovementjump,the athleterisesuponthetoesandballsofthefeetreachingupwithbotharmsasquicklyas possible.Theyimmediatelyfirethearmsdownwhileflexingatthehipsandkneesto eccentricallyloadthebodyandthenquicklyreversetheactionandastheyleapupinto theair.Asstatedearlier,thisquickturnoverfromeccentricdecelerationtoexplosive concentricactionisanexampleofdecreasedamortizationtime. Anathletethathasasimilarmeasurementbetweenthetwocouldbeinterpreted thatthestrengthbaseisgood,buttheplyometricandcentralnervoussystemrecruitment isnotasefficientandtheathleteneedsmoreexplosivereactiveandballisticpower (quickerturnover).Ifthereisasignificantlygreaterdifferencebetweenthestaticand countermovementjump,theathletemayverywellhavethecentralnervoussystem efficiencytomaximizeandrecruitmotorunitsandmusclesatveryhighratesofforce production,whilebeingabletotakeadvantageofthebenefitsofthestrengthshortening

cycle.Thus,he/shemayfurtherbenefitfromincreasingbasestrengthwhilemaintaining centralnervoussystemandneuromuscularefficiencyasitrelatestorecruitingfasttwitch motorunitsthatcontributetoexplosivepowerproduction. Theauthorssuggestacontinuumofgeneral,specificandspecialexercisesgoing frombasicstrengthleadingtomoreexplosiveexercisesandadvanced(special)typesof training.

General Backsquat FrontSquat
Clean&SnatchPulls>85%1RM

ConventionalDeadlift StepUps MilitaryPress

Special MBThrowsandReleases BallisticWeightedImplementThrows PlyometricJumps.Bounds,Hops Clean&SnatchPulls@6080%1RM PushPress ResistedVerticalJumps PowerJerk Complextraining/Potentiation PowerSnatch WeightVestjumping PowerClean TubingResistedjumps BlockorHangWork Softsurfacejumping

Specific Snatch Clean

Inthepreparatorystagesoftheprogram,anathletewoulddevotemoreofthe trainingtimeandeffortstogeneralexercisesandthenmovetowardthespecificand ultimatelyspecialexercisesinthecontinuum. Itisimportanttonotethattheauthorsstressthatacertainamountofgeneral exercises(i.e.squatting)andspecificexercises(i.e.powercleansandpulls)remaininthe programthroughouttheentireprocess,althoughthevolumeandintensitylevelswill changeastheprogramprogresses.Aneffectivemannerofaccomplishingthisobjective canrevolvearoundtheComplexorPotentiationtrainingmethodsofspecialexercises,as withsquatsbeingpairedwithverticaljumpsorboxjumps.

IntheOPTISportsandFitnessCombineProDayPreparationprogram,our coacheshavesuccessfullyincorporatedtheseprinciplesandmethodsintothetraining programofprofessionalandcollegiateprospectswithverypositiveresults. Toillustratehowsuchactivitiesmightbeperformed,anexampleof acomplex squatandboxjumppairingthatoneofourathletesperformedthispastseasonfollows. Thisaspectofthetrainingprogramtookplacethreeweeksoutfromtheathletes prodaytestingonaMonday.Tokeepproperfocusontheobjectivesofthearticle,we willnotincludetherestofthetrainingsession. *Dynamicwarmupphase1 eax2x10yds Dynamicwarmupphase2 eax2x10yds Dynamicwarmupphase3 eax1setx10reps

Backsquatcomplexedwithverticaljumpsonturf
BACKSQUAT 30%x6 45%x5
60%x3

VERTICAL JUMP(onturf) 3jumps 3jumps

3jumps

70%x3 80%x3 85%x2 90%x1

3jumps 3jumps 2jumps 2jumps

RESTPERIODS 2min 2min 2.5min 3min 4min 4min 4min

Asecondtrainingsessionlaterintheweeklookedlikethisinrespecttothe improvementofverticaljumpability. *Dynamicwarmupphase1 eax2x10yds Dynamicwarmupphase2 eax2x10yds Dynamicwarmupphase3 eax1setx10reps PowerCleanfromlowblocks(2inchhighblocks)

POWERCLEAN (%bestpowerclean) 30%x3 50%x3
60%x2

70%x2 75%x2 80%X1 85%x1

RESTPERIODS 1.5min 1.5min 2min 2.5min 3min 3min 3min

FrontSquat+Push Press (%bestpushpress) 25%x1+1X3 40%X1+1X3

55%X1+1X2

65%X1+1X2 75%x1+1X2 75%x1+1X2 75%x1+1X2

RESTPERIODS 1.5min 1.5min 2min 2min 3min 3min 3min

Anexampleofathirdmethodusedtwoweeksoutfromthescheduledtestingday isalsoillustratedbelow. *Dynamicwarmupphase1 eax2x10yds Dynamicwarmupphase2 eax2x10yds Dynamicwarmupphase3 eax1setx10reps

VerticalJumpwith Vertec (whilewearing10lbwtvest) 3jumps 3jumps

3jumps

3jumps 3jumps

RESTPERIODS 1min 1min 1min 1min 1min

Note:whileamorelengthyrestperiodwouldhavebeenmoreappropriatewhentryingto achievemaxpoweroutputoneachjumpwithamorefreshCNSstate,wealsohaveto bespecifictothedemandsofatypicalprodaytestingenvironment,whichoftenentails anathletemovingfromonetesttothenext,withverylittlerestbetweentestingattempts. Thus,theshorterrecoveryratioofworktorestabove.

Kettlebell/IronShot GrannyThrows forMaxHeight 10lbshotx3throws 10lbshotx3throws 10lbshotx3throws

RESTPERIODS 1min 1min 1min

ThesecondworkoutperformedtwoweeksoutrevolvedaroundOlympicLifttype jumpswithalightloadthatfocusedonMAXRFDandExplosivenessintheTripleJoint Extensormovement. Dynamicwarmupphase1 eax2x10yds Dynamicwarmupphase2 eax2x10yds Dynamicwarmupphase3 eax1setx10reps

SnatchPullJump 20%x5 30%x3

30%x3

30%x3

RESTPERIODS 1.5min 1.5min 1.5min 1.5min

Thismovementinvolvesaconventionalpullwiththebarbellthataimsforthe athletetojumpstraightup,leavingtheplatformwhilefullyextendingthehips,kneesand ankles.Theathletewouldland,resetandperformthenextrep. Theaboveexercisesaresimplyaspectsofatotalconditioningandperformance program.Onlytheactivitiesthatdirectlydealtwiththeimprovementoftheverticaljump wereillustratedabove,andnottheentireprogram.Pleasedonottryandsimplyplace theseexercisesintoyourownprogramswithoutproperrespectforthetraininglevelof theathlete,hisorherobjectives,andtheremainderofthestrengthandconditioning activitiesthatarepartoftheplan. Itistheauthorshopesthatyouwillusetheinformationcontainedinthisarticle toputtogetheryourownplanforyourownindividualathletes.Itisinherentlydangerous totryandcookiecutteronepartofaprogramintosomeoneelsestraining.

Inclosing,wewishyouthebestofluckinutilizingthescientificdatainthefield todeviseatrainingprogramthathelpsyouandyourathletessafelyandeffectively achieveyourgoals.

References: 1.Asci,A.andC.Acikada.PowerProductionAmongDifferentSportsWith SimilarMaximumStrength. J.StrengthCond.21(1),1016.2007. 2.Bradley,P.,P.D.Olsen,andM.D.Portas.TheEffectofStatic,Ballistic,and proprioceptiveNeuromuscularFacilitationStretchingOnVerticalJumpPerformance. J. StrengthCond.Res.,21(1):223226.2007. 3.Canavan,P.K.,G.E.Garrett,andL.E.Armstrong.KinematicandKinetic RelationshipsBetweenanOlympicStyleLiftandtheVerticalJump. J.StrengthCond. Res.,10(2):127130.1996. 4.Chu,D.ExplosivePowerandStrength.HumanKinetics.1996. 5.Ebben,W.andD.Blackard.PairedforStrength. Training&Conditioning. June,1998. 6.Moore,C.andB.Schilling.TheoryandApplicationofAugmentedEccentric Loading. J.StrengthCond..27(5):2027.2005. 7.Pate,T.R.AConditioningProgramtoIncreaseVerticalJump. J.Strength Cond.,22(2):711.2000. 8.Tricoli,V.etal.ShorttermEffectsonLowerBodyFunctionalPower Development:Weightliftingvs.VerticalJumpTrainingPrograms. J.StrengthCond. Res.,19(2):433437.2005. 9.Umberger,B.MechanicsoftheVerticalJumpandTwoJointMuscles: ImplicationsforTraining. J.StrengthCond.,70.1998.