Increasing Vertical Leap

[Tru]

What are some good lifts to do to increase your vert?

I've heard about the airalert program, they promise 8-12+ inches in 12 weeks..

I saw the program somewhere, it's 5x/week and really high reps.. Does that work or is it BS?

A few people said it worked, some said it just hurt their knees

[Hot Shot]

squats and plyometric work should help

[Accipiter]

yup, I agree, squats, jump squats, speed squats.

[Tru]

How much do you think someone could gain on their vertical in 4 months?

The Airalert promises 8-12 inches in 12 weeks.... That seems like BS to me, but a few people have said it worked..

[Accipiter]

8 inches probably...if you've never trained before maybe 10.

[Tru]

Damn that's a lot.. I'm gonna try The Air Alert program.. Then, if no results, start on something different..

[Lettuce Face]

Plyometrics work the best.

[geoffgarcia]

ditto, plyometrics
you need to work your hip flexor muscles.

[kaleido]

I have about a 39" vertical these days. In my college volleyball days it was closer to 44", so either I had good genetics for it, or my routine works. At any rate, when you do your squats, explode up and DON'T lock out your knees. You can do your negative slowly if you want, though I tend to hurry down as the workout progresses. The next best thing would be standing calf raise. Lots of weight and explode up. When you fail, bounce on your toes for 15 seconds. You'll be lucky to get to 12 but shoot for 15. Also, I call them girl machines because I'm the only guy that ever does them, but they're the oddball machines where you squeeze your knees together or spread them apart. Those are awesome.

If you have a box, you could do box-jumps. Basically jump onto the box and jump down. Using both feet, of course. The box should probably be 2 feet tall at least, depending on your height. There's also stairs. Do them as fast as you can, right foot up, left foot up, right foot down, left foot down.

In 4 months, if you bust your ass daily (with squats being the exception) I've had players I coach increase their vertical by as much as 12 inches, but I'd say 8 is average.

[Adam]

lots of hamstring work will help alot. Also get your form down for jumping.

[Tru]

So, you guys don't think I should do the air alert program....? I'll post it here in a second...

[Tru]

There are 5 excercises that you do 5 times a week Mondays through Fridays.
Leap Ups, Calf Raises, Step Ups, Thrust Ups, and Burn Outs

Leap Ups

step 1: bend down to a 1/4 squat position with your hands it in front of you. Put your your arms by your side and raise your forearms up so your arms from a 90 degree angle (sorry if this sounds confusing). Then jump up.

step 2: Jump up into the air to a minimum of 8 to 10 inches and when in the air put your hands down byour sides and make your arms straight.

Repeat

Calf Raises

Do this one leg at a time. Get a book about 4 inches thick and get something to hold onto to keep your balance like a chair. While standing straight up, place the ball of one foot (keep the other leg elevated) on the book and let the heel hang over the edge. Your entire body weight will be resting on the planted foot which will be stretching your calf downward.

Raise yourself up on your toes as high as you can using only your calf muscle then lower yourself back down so your heel is below the edge of what you are standing on. This is one rep. Repeat. Switch legs after completing all reps for one leg. Rest 25 seconds in between sets.

Step Ups
Get a chair and place it in front of you. Place one foot on the chair so your thigh is parallel to the ground. You should be in a stepping position with one leg up and one leg on the floor. Push up with the elevated leg as hard as you can so your body and feet actually leave the chair. While in the air, cross or switch your legs so that when you land you should be in the same but opoposite position as before. This is one rep. Repeat. Rest 3-4 minutes in between sets.

Thrust Ups
Simply jump straight up (1 rep) and as soon as you land jump up again as high and as hard as you can. When you land don't bend your legs, unlike the leap ups)Rest 1 minute in between sets.

Burn Outs
Jump up no more than 1/2 to 1 inch off the ground as you did in the thrust ups. Don't bend your knees and during this excercise you must be elevated on your tiptoes as high as possible and keep this position during this entire excercise.

Week 1:
Leap Ups 1 set 50 reps
Calf Raises 2 sets 10 reps
Step Ups 2 sets 10 reps
Thrust Ups 2 sets 15 reps
Burn Outs 1 set 50 reps

Week 2:
Leap Ups 1 set 100 reps
Calf Raises 2 sets 20 reps
Step Ups 2 sets 15 reps
Thrust Ups 2 sets 20 reps
Burn Outs 1 set 100 reps

Week 3:
Leap Ups 1 set 125 reps
Calf Raises 2 sets 25 reps
Step Ups 2 sets 15 reps
Thrust Ups 2 sets 25 reps
Burn Outs 1 set 150 reps

Week 4:
Leap Ups 1 set 150 reps
Calf Raises 2 sets 30 reps
Step Ups 2 sets 20 reps
Thrust Ups 2 sets 30 reps
Burn Outs 1 set 200 reps

Week 5:
Leap Ups 2 sets 100 reps
Calf Raises 2 sets 35 reps
Step Ups 2 sets 20 reps
Thrust Ups 2 sets 35 reps
Burn Outs 1 set 250 reps

Week 6:
Leap Ups 2 sets 125 reps
Calf Raises 2 sets 40 reps
Step Ups 2 sets 25 reps
Thrust Ups 2 sets 40 reps
Burn Outs 1 set 300 reps

Week 7:
Leap Ups 2 sets 150 reps
Calf Raises 2 sets 45 reps
Step Ups 2 sets 25 reps
Thrust Ups 2 sets 45 reps
Burn Outs 1 set 350 reps

Week 8:
Leap Ups 2 sets 200 reps
Calf Raises 2 sets 50 reps
Step Ups 2 sets 30 reps
Thrust Ups 2 sets 50 reps
Burn Outs 1 set 400 reps

Week 9:
Leap Ups 2 sets 250 reps
Calf Raises 2 sets 55 reps
Step Ups 2 sets 20 reps
Thrust Ups 2 sets 55 reps
Burn Outs 1 set 450 reps

Week 10:
Leap Ups 2 sets 300 reps
Calf Raises 2 sets 60 reps
Step Ups 2 sets 35 reps
Thrust Ups 2 sets 60 reps
Burn Outs 1 set 500 reps

Week 11:
Leap Ups 2 sets 350 reps
Calf Raises 2 sets 65 reps
Step Ups 2 sets 35 reps
Thrust Ups 2 sets 65 reps
Burn Outs 1 set 550 reps

Week 12:
Leap Ups 2 sets 400 reps
Calf Raises 2 sets 70 reps
Step Ups 2 sets 40 reps
Thrust Ups 2 sets 70 reps
Burn Outs 1 set 600 reps

[Adam]

Looks like a waste of energy

[bigedge]

dont do air alert i have done about half of it after a while it takes up too much time when you could be in the gym, i have a 40 inch vert. the best thing to do is plyometrics because you need explosive power to be able to jump, stuff like box jumps and skipping and leap ups or whatever they are called in air alert are good but dont over do it like in air alert..
besides air alert is really bad for your knees it puts a lot of stress on them cos you do so much bloody jumping

[Holto]

I would do plyo's one week and squat the other

[Tru]

What pylo's? What's a site that shows how to do them? I've done some before, but really basic ones..

How many inches do you think I can gain with just pylo's and front squat? (I dont squat heavy--no rack--no spotter)

SHould I do calif rasies or some calif movements, too?

[Tru]

^

I was considering this air alert 2 program, but that looks like too much volume plus it's gonna take a really long time (Making my routine like an hour a half or more/day)...

What pylo's should I do? How many days/week?

"In 4 months, if you bust your ass daily (with squats being the exception) I've had players I coach increase their vertical by as much as 12 inches, but I'd say 8 is average."

What did you have these kids do?

I'm at a 28" Verticle now, and if I could add 10" that would be great.

[Tru]

N E 1?

[ChrisH]

http://www.weightsnet.com/Docs/plyometrics.html

^^ An FAQ on plyometrics.

The main one I use for my legs is jumping off something, then bouncing back up as soon as you hit the floor, onto it again. eg. A chair.

[bigbulldogg21]

Have you ever tried strength shoes? I have a pair and did the "phi slamma jamma" workout twice a week for 12 weeks and I was jumping 10-12 inches higher with no change in diet. It really does help, and the "phi slamma jamma" workout does include stepups and lunges with weights. Do a search on jumpsoles phi slamma jamma on yahoo if you are intrested.

[JohnCollins]

I bought a book on wieght training for martial artists written by a C.S.C.S and he recommends many of the same things you see here. Squats, hamstring curls and calf raises, of course. For plyometric work they recommend two specifics.

First is jumping straight up, and while in the air pull your knees to your chest with your arms. Looks like when you're lying on your back and doing a stretch where you pull your legs to your chest. Upon landing, allow your knees to flex completely, bringing your butt down as far as you can. Then explode up again and pull your legs to your chest again at the top. Believe me, these will really gas you.

Second is the lateral hop. Put a low stack of books or a small cone on the floor and jump over it from side to side, rather than front and back. Again, when you are up, draw your knees up high, and when you land allow your knees to flex completely again. This is very important and nothing will ruin your knees faster than a lot of jumping and landing stiff legged.

I'm no exercise genius, but this sure sounds like it ought to work, and the author, in addition to being a C.S.C.S is a 2nd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and those folks certainly know how to jump.

Now if I would just work it into my own routine. . .

[chrislehr]

exrx.net used to have a plyometrics section (or so I thought) but I cant find a link now!

[Tru]

Well, adding 10 inches on my vert would be great..

My split right now is:

Monday: Chest/Tri's/Abs
Tuesday: Legs/Abs
Wednesday: Abs
Thursday: Back/Bi's/Forearms
Friday: Shoulders/Abs
Saturday: OFF
Sunday: OFF

What day should I add in pylometrics and other stuff to help my vertical? HOw many should I do/day? Should I rotate them?

Thx

[ChrisH]

Originally posted by chrislehr
exrx.net used to have a plyometrics section (or so I thought) but I cant find a link now!

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/PowerExercises.html

[Tru]

bump