Jump to it – why and how you should improve your jumping ability

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Credit to www.sportspecific.com I’m not too fond of the term paradigm shift because, in truth I find it a bit overused. I might even hate the term but, as I tell my daughter, hate is a strong word. However, in this case I truly believe the term paradigm shift applies. What I’m about to describe has changed the design of my training programs for my athletes and, I believe will change the training programs of many coaches after they read this. As is always the case my current writing seems to be in most parts inspired by my current thoughts about training my athletes. I’m not sure if this is good or bad, just true. Recently I had read an article that described and recommended a five-jump test for evaluating power in athletes. In truth I cannot remember the journal or why it seemed important to me at the time. What I can remember is that I jotted the note “five-jump test” on the large white DryErase board that serves as a storage area for my random thoughts while in my weight room. My white board is a storage area for information. If I have a thought during a training session I either jot it in my notebook or make a note on the DryErase board. It’s kind of like my substitute brain. I seem to have a strong case of “Irish Alzheimers,” I forget everything but my grudges. I often find myself in my office and need to walk back out to the weightroom floor to find out why I went to the office in the first place. This is a bad situation at age forty-six.

Plyometrics have become a buzz word that has players and coaches jumping, both literally and figuratively. Box Jumps, Russian Boxes, Hurdles Hops etc. etc. are recommended to develop speed and power. However, plyometrics can present as many problems as solutions. Numerous questions arise when athletes or coaches ask about plyometrics.

  Reprinted with permission from www.sportspecific.com At first glance, jumping appears relatively simple, and I suppose that if you take it in its most primal form, it may be. However, when we analyze jumping while it is interlaced with other athletic skills, it becomes an extremely complex set of motor skills.

by SportSpecific.com