Vertical jump programs are scattered about the internet like a playroom full of old toys. Many of them have 1 or 2 good things mixed with principles and exercises that will only disappoint. More still are completely jammed with rubbish and may injure you. There are also a handful that I would recommend, even if I did not develop them.
“Cookie cutter programs” is usually a buzzword that many marketers are trying to use to differentiate themselves from an aggressive market. Sites will proclaim that they are NOT a “cookie cutter program” because of how well their program tailors to specific and individual training needs. This may seem enticing, but let’s cut to the chase…
ANY program that does not include personal one-on-one assessments to tailor training methods to specific individual needs is either:
A) A cookie cutter program
B) A collection of cookie cutter progams
C) A program or software made to dispense cookie cutter programs, in an attempt to appear personalized… (to stick with the theme, we could call this a vending machine?)
This is where The Jump Manual is different…
We include one-on-one training, whereas other programs include “tech support.” DAILY, I am performing athletic assessments in order to customize and tailor athletic programs to individual needs, based on skills, strengths, weakness, injuries, and type of sport.
We have tweaked our system of customer support in order to enable us to personally handle a high load of customer inquiries. But we know, that it is our individual attention that has made the difference in our results, and customer satisfaction.
That being said, we are also getting a HUGE influx of customers, nearly doubling that of our last year’s intake. This will probably mean one of a few things, price increase from our individual coaching (now it’s a VERY affordable $9.95), or limiting the number of coaching athletes. I really don’t want to do either, and I am searching for every possible solution. But I can’t allow an overload to hurt our paying customers.
We have been able to work with professional athletes, olympic athletes, and consulting to other Olympic level coaches, but it is the contribution we can make to the average athlete that is most important to me.
Why?
Because I KNOW what it’s like to burn with a desire to improve and not know the proper methods to progress.
How to customize a program to avoid being a “cookie cutter program”
There are several ways to customize a program to fit your needs, here are a few of the most common.
1. A very basic customization is by assessing speed vs strength, and focusing the training towards whichever is weaker.
This is fairly basic, and most programs DO include how to do this. You can learn the basics on speed vs strength here.
2. Vertical jump customization based on rehab / prehab / injuries / muscle imbalances.
This can more complicated as there are a multitude of different injuries that affect athletes in thousands of different ways and different degrees. Patellar tendonitis is extremely common in jumping sports and our program of prehab and rehab for patellar tedonitis is working wonders for our athletes. We also deal with ankle sprains which are highly common in basketball. Many other injuries I must refer to a physician who by X-Ray, CATscan, etc.. is able to have an exact idea of the type of damage and appropriate activities. Be wary of any trainer who moves boldly forward without knowing the extent of damage an injry may have caused, this can often lead to a more serious injury. If you are working with an effective vertical leap program, your #1 enemy, is injury, don’t take risks.
3. Sport-specific vertical jump program customizations.
The exercises I have a ski jumper perform, are very different from that of a basketball player. A ski jumper always jumps from a static squat, and thus would derive little benefit from increased stretch reflex, and more benefit from improved rate of force development from muscular contributions. A ski jumper also derives very little benefit from from the calf muscle because of the stiff ski boot and necessity of keeping the skis forward, so any plyos to stiffen the Achilles tendon would also yield little to no gains for this athlete.
Volleyball players nearly always jump from 2 feet, and rarely with more than a 3 step approach. Wushu and martial arts competitors require more strength and flexibility in the hip flexors, as well as a jump combined with very specialized movements. Parcous athletes requires much more work on absorbing a very hard landing, as well as many diverse jumping skills. The list goes on… The key is to derive as much carry over from your training, into your sports specific movements. This is more of an art than a science as it requires creativity to find training movements that are more sport specific for so many different sports.
The good news is that we have had the privilege to work with so many different athletes and have a database of effective exercise for many different sports.
4. Age and gender considerations for vertical jump programs.
Among other things, women have less endowed muscle fiber, and less testosterone then men. Girls also tendo to have less movement coordination for jumping then boys (although not always the case). Working on coordination and muscle development can help girls quickly increase their vertical.
25 year olds always email me wondering if they are too old. My older clients would laugh at that! I have had many over 50 clients dunking. I got an email just yesterday from a recent one. The biggest issue is joint health, and the general physical preparation of the individual. Often we use a program with less ground impact, focus on strength and absorption, and move up in intensity as the body adapts. If you’re older and wondering if you can use my programs please see this information about how to jump higher for older athletes.
5. Weight issues and vertical jump training.
Often I prescribe more diet restrictions, additional cardio, and avoiding impact if the individual has too much body weight in fat stores. In these cases fat loss is the quickest way to increase relative strength, and we can do so while also making improvement on limit strength, rate of force development, flexibility, but usually not plyometrics. At 20% body fat for men we are getting too high, depending on strength levels, and for women 25%.
6. In season training vertical jump training with other activities.
How can you train your vertical and continue your season, or carry on with other activities. This is going to be different for each sport, and for the type of training your coach has you doing. I typically like to have you making gains throughout the year, but with a rigorous schedule this is not always possible. The key is overloading and recovering the body without interfering with game time performance, or excess fatigue during practice. I pass out guidelines to every athlete for this, and deal with specifics for many cases. The same is true for athletes wanting to do other sports and training activities concurrent with the vertical jump program.
Don’t be overwhelmed!
This list may seem frustrating but most of you will start in the same place, and everyone will be training in regards to the same basic, and true principles. 85% of athletes I work with just need to start increasing everything! For example an athlete may start with better reactive ability, and lower strength, but in the BIGGER PICTURE, both need to be drastically improved. With your unique approach both aspects can be trained together, and should be for maximal gains.
Don’t be fooled!
A program calling another program a “cookie cutter” is like the pot calling the kettle black. If you are looking for personal attention, look for a program AND coaching. Whether it’s a program, a collection of programs, or software trying to “act” like a coach by spitting out “cookie cutter programs” based on a collection of variables, there is no replacement for a solid coach.
Get educated!
Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he’ll eat every day (is that how this goes?). I try to make the guiding principles simple in The Jump Manual because I know it will empower you to take control of your own athletic destiny. Take it upon yourself to read and absorb knowledge, BUT move forward as well. No action is worse then imperfect action. Make progress, learn, and then make better progress.
This article was written by Jacob Hiller and originally posted here.
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May 10, 2010
Vertical Jump Programs