How to Jump Higher (part 2)
If you follow the previous post on How to Jump Higher (part 1), there is a youtube video explaining some of the things you need to do or practice to aid you jumping ability.
In this article, we explore further some of the steps introduce from the videos.
Improve your flexibility. In sports wushu routines, there is a number of jumps and many of them requires you to do specific movement beside jumping high in air. 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.
Improve the explosiveness of the movements important to jumping through plyometrics, which is extremely important to wushu exponent.
Plyometric exercises train your muscular system, decreasing the time it takes to go from rest to maximum force. This can greatly increase your performance in activities which are heavily dependent upon speed, such as jumps, punches, swings, or sprints.
For those sports wushu trainer or individual wushu exponent that wish to improve their explosiveness in their routines, I recommend you do read up on this article Using Plyometric Exercises to Build Speed and Power by Elizabeth Quinn, an exercise physiologist and fitness consultant who has been writing and editing health information content and working with athletes for over a decade.
Some tips when planning for plyometric exercises:
- Often, the eccentric preload is done by jumping down from a (small) height.
- Obviously, specific goals (punching vs. jumping) require specific movements. Make sure your plyometric exercises are the right ones for your goal.
- If you cannot find a body-weight exercise that trains the muscles you need, or the exercise is too hard for you to do quickly, you may instead train the movement by throwing a weighted object. This is technically a ballistic exercise, but the end result is the same.
- There is not a great deal of evidence that the eccentric phase of the plyometric exercise is beneficial, so you may exclude it without greatly reducing the quality of the training. Note that this technically means that the exercise is not “plyometric”.
- Do not preform plyometric exercises with heavy weights. You are likely to hurt yourself.
Last but not least – Build some base strength. Jumping is a demanding activity and your ability to do it will improve if your muscles are stronger. Here are some relevant exercises, which not just aid you jumping ability, but also increase your overall performance in sports wushu:
- Squats
- Calf Raises
- Transverse abdominal exercises
- Dorsi-Flexor Exercises
- Hip Flexor Exercises
- Toe Exercises
- Abdominal Exercises
- Upper Body Exercises
We will further explore each of the exercise mentioned above in future posting.
