Increasing vertical jump is a high priority for athletes. Whether you are a weekend athlete or a professional athlete and want to improve your jump for basketball, volleyball or even tennis, you do not want to waste your time with exercises that will not improve your performance. A resistance band is a rubberized tube with handles on each end used for strength training. The band can mimic almost every piece of equipment you will find in a health club. It is an affordable and effective tool for improving your vertical jump.
Jump Training
Functional training is the key to the vertical jump. There is no doubt that the best way to perfect your jump is to practice jumping. However, you can independently strengthen the muscles involved in your jump: the quadriceps, front of your upper leg; hamstrings, back of your upper leg; gluteuls, your backside; and calves, the group of muscles on the back of your lower leg. A resistance band can be used to strengthen these muscle groups.
Muscles
Your muscles cannot see and therefore do not know the type of resistance that you are using. Your muscles will not know if you are performing a leg extension with a resistance band or with an expensive weight rack equipment system. When you use a high resistance level, all your muscles know is that they are being challenged beyond their usual activity level. This causes muscles to respond with increased strength, and increased strength leads to improved jumping.
Resistance Training
The "Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness" found that knee extension, knee flexion and chair rising exercises increased vertical jump height in older women. The knee extension exercises can be performed by looping a resistance band, anchoring one end to a secure chair leg, placing your other leg in the loop, sitting on the chair and straightening your leg against the band, then bending your knee and lowering your foot to start position. This movement strengthens the quadriceps, which are a prime muscle group used in your vertical jump.
Eccentric Principle
The eccentric movement is the part of the exercise when your muscles are releasing, not contracting. For example, when you squat and lower your hips, your muscles are in an eccentric phase. When you stand, your muscles contract. Vertical Jumping tells us that when you add a resistance band to this squat by standing on one end of the band and holding the other at your shoulder, as you lower you will benefit from the band's natural tendency to return to a pre-stretched state. Your faster descent into your squat translates to more power being created for the jump.
For Use During the Jump
Jump Experts talks about using a resistance band during jump training. The band can be placed around your waist and held by a partner or anchored to a stable foundation. This training is meant to be fast, so a light resistance band should be used. With the addition of the band, be careful to use good form when jumping. Remember to jump hard and land soft.
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