first thing you should do before any of the things mentioned....learn how to jump. just learning proper jumping biomechanics as well as landing mechanics and force absorbtion will improve your vertical without even picking up a weight.

well i cant do all of em......what would a good routine be?

well i cant do all of em......what would a good routine be?

In High School I had a 36-inch vertical leap. Never ever worked legs in the gym, but played basketball 6-7 days a week 3 hours a day. At 6'6" my game involved dunking, blocking shots, and grabbing rebounds. So I got plenty of "jump" workouts everyday. I stopped playing basketball 6 years ago, and now I can't jump for shit. So, my theory is jump like crazy, high explosion workouts (The SuperCat machine is the best if you can find one).

What did you weigh then...
What do you weigh now?

In High School 180lbs, at 21 years of age I ended up being 200lbs and could still jump as high because I always kept playing basketball. Now at 240lbs and much weaker legs, my power-weight-ratio has completely reversed itself.

I am about to start playing again a couple of times a week, I am anxious to see how much I get back, but I seriously doubt I will be able to jump that high again

i did jump squats yesterday......not sure i did em right......do you start off as a regular squat then just explode at the top and jump up, then back to a normal squat? how many reps?

i did jump squats yesterday......not sure i did em right......do you start off as a regular squat then just explode at the top and jump up, then back to a normal squat? how many reps?

and are olympic lifts the clean and jerk or snatch? i figure i don't need the one where the bar is lifted over the head (or do i?), so whats the proper form for the other one?

Hey Funky, do you have a link to that flash based olympic lifting site still? I remember you posted it a while ago, and it has some good pointers on form.

I did?

I think it was you... Maybe not. I'm pretty sure though. I think it was something your gave to Duncan Donuts when he started football training...

found it but the page is no longer up. It is down for some reason.

The idea is also to perform an explosive eccentric in the movement, not just the concentric portion. So, explode as much as possible all the way from the bottom position of the squat, when you land immediately descend down all the way and explode up again. Basically, jump up and down as quickly, and with as much power as possible, while still using a full range of motion.




This is going to take a lot of practice. I'm sure P-funk has some links somewhere for you, but the form is damned complicated to get down pat.

don't do the olympic lifts unles you have someone there to teach them to you. The biggest problem with strength and conditioning programs is they have kids do these lifts without proper instruction and then they wonder why they don't benefit from them or why they get hurt.

as far as jumping technique try to land between the ball of your toes and the begning of the arch of your foot. bend your knees to soften the landing as landing knee dominant will destroy you. make sure that know knees are tracking over your toes as letting them dip in will most likely cause an injury (possible acl tear) and it will defenitly screw up your force absorbtion, force application and reactive abilities.

Can you post videos from three sides? Side, front and back?

okay, i get exploding on the upward portion, but are you saying i should be going down into the squat quickly, as i would a jump, or do i go down as i would a normal squat?

i think my knee position is fine on the downward movement, but i sometimes notice them leaning in on the upward movement...