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Jumping is a critical skill for many athletes and dancers, that include sports wushu exponent. For the next few days (or weeks) we shall provide you some interesting articles that will cover ways in which you can improve your vertical jumping ability.

It may sound stupid, but for a start, lets us look at How To Jump? At the end of this post, you will see a youtube video on “How to Jump Higher than Michael Jordan.

Jumping may seem obvious since it’s something you’ve probably been doing since you were a kid, but if you need to jump on a daily basis (such as if you’re an athlete or dancer), using improper technique can wreck your knees and eventually put you out of commission. There are many ways to jump. Many are simple, fun, and exciting, but many also can cause great injury to yourself, people around you, pets, grandma, and things around your house/yard. We shall put focuses on the basics of jumping.

Prepare to Jump

1. Improve your flexibility. The athletes and dancers who can make the most powerful jumps are the ones with total body flexibility. Think about it. If you’re jumping over a hurdle, it helps to be able to swing your leading leg wherever you want it to go so that you can maximize the momentum of your jump. If you can bring your leg a little higher than the person next to you, you’ve got an advantage. Also, The best jumpers have 3:2 strength ratio between their quadriceps and hamstrings, respectively. If you’re not flexible, you tend to develop an imbalance of strength that will limit your ability to jump. Stretch regularly so you can increase and maintain flexibility in your ankles, knees, and hips.
2. Strengthen your inner abs. Just because they don’t make a six-pack doesn’t mean you should neglect your inner abs (the transverse abdominal wall). They play a key role in every power movement, including jumping. To strengthen them, suck in your stomach with a deep breath, hold for 20 seconds, then release. Repeat 4 times, 3-4 times a week.
3. Strengthen your dorsi-flexors. These muscles are used to decrease the angle between your foot and your leg (when you bring your toes closer to your shins). When you’re jumping, you actually need to opposite motion (plantarflexion, the same motion as when you push down on the pedal when driving) to push off of the ground. So why strengthen your dorsi-flexors? Because each set of muscles is only as strong as its opposing set. Your ability to push your foot down will be limited by your ability to pull your foot up, because the dorsi-flexors act as stabilizers. One way to exercise your dorsi-flexors is to walk around on your heels, without letting the balls of your feet touch the ground, until you feel a good burn.
4. Work out your toes. You might think that the only people who need to work out their toes are ballet dancers, but the fact is that your toes add to the pushing power of your feet. In a proper jump, they’re the last part of your body to leave the ground, and a little extra push from your toes can improve the power of your jump. To strengthen you toes muscles, curl and uncurl your toes repeatedly, or push up onto your tip toes and hold for at least 10 seconds.
5. Stretch. The best jumpers have 3:2 strength ratio between their quadriceps and hamstrings, respectively. If you’re not flexible, you tend to develop an imbalance of strength that will limit your ability to jump. Stretch regularly so you can increase and maintain flexibility in your ankles, knees, and hips.

Jump

1. Take one or two preliminary steps; the energy developed in those steps can help generate additional upward lift.
2. Get into position. Your hips should be flexed at 30 degrees, knees bent 60 degrees, ankles flexed 25 degrees in order to generate the most power without injuring your knees.
   • Be careful that your knees don’t point inwards in a “knock knee” position; they should be positioned over the second toe. Have your arms at your sides.
3. Push your body up with your legs, springing off the balls of your feet. Simultaneously do the following:
   • Swing your hands up into the air, towards the ceiling, for additional momentum;
   • Breathe out when you’re doing the motion (like when you lift weights).
4. Land on the balls of your feet and “roll” onto your heels. Upon impact, bend your knees to absorb the shock.

Here’s the video on “How to Jump Higher than Michael Jordan.

Thank you for reading and please stay tune for the next article on steps to Jump Higher!

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