Vertical Jump Gains?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
21

[quote]SameOldG wrote:
You should look up Frank Yang and SquatDr. they’re on this forum. I think Frank Yang is digitalairair and he’s got a 40 inch standing vert and I think SquatDr has between a 45 and 50 inch running vert!!!They got some pretty impressive numbers so they must know what they are doing[/quote]

this may sound like an oversimplication, but really, most will make vert gains with an increase in squat, and doing some basic jumps in 3-4 week cycles. i usually AREG my plyos, meaning i stop when there is a drop in performance and my sets and reps are set up based on this. i dont do sets of 5 because my 3rd 4th and 5th jumps are not my best. i do sets of two then with as many sets as i can at a maximal level. when i have two sets in a row that dip in performance i cut the exercise off there.

3 weeks in a row, i almost always see gains then the 4th week i either change the exercise or deload. oh and i should mention that in order to do this you have to find a way to measure your performance. if i dont have a vertec i will have someone eye ball it for me. hope this helps,
AC

22

AC,

What sort of rotations of jumps do you use for yourself and the guys you train? Care to throw a couple of sample 3-4 week cycles (just the jumps) at us?

23

[quote]jtrinsey wrote:
AC,

What sort of rotations of jumps do you use for yourself and the guys you train? Care to throw a couple of sample 3-4 week cycles (just the jumps) at us?[/quote]

well it depends heavily on the level of athlete. but really anything from vert jumps, to running vert jumps to depth jumps. i have a list of quite a few jumps and plyo exercises, but for the most part i try to keep it basic and use just a few different ones and keep them in rotation. the lesser ahletes can usually still make gains well beyond the 4 week cycle so we let it carry on as long as we think we can still make gains. have tried adding weights to guys, but it seemed the results werent as good.

off the top of my head, the last few months for me was something like, vert jump for high touch on monday and seated box jumps for height on friday. did this for 3 weeks, then switched to running two leg which is the video that i have on youtube and running one leg on friday. did that for three weeks, then backed off, just lifted. came back and did depth jumps at various heights trying to establish some prs. then took a week off of the plyos and backed off of the lifting.

the exercise selection was largely based on what i could do. i was coming off a groin injury and had to start basic and work up. i was scared to even try a running jump for that youtube video, but once i did a few jumps it felt better.

hope that helps,
AC

24

Makes sense. I appreciate it.

25

heavy ass to the grass squats (more you weight the more you need to be able to do).
Heavy power cleans and deadlift (not the sumo deadlift),
Heavy reverse lunges, body weight box jumps.
Dont forget to train you calves, not that slow training but train for explosion. do fast reps until you can do them no more. Sprints, sled drags.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

26

Another idea that hasn’t been mentioned is a foam roller. Flexability is often times a limiting factor for numerous lifting and explosive events. If your calves are super tight your explosion in a vertical will be hampered. I would introduce more foam rolling for any person not currently taking advantage of it. Along with increasing max strength while performing an assortment of explosive exercises and a lowered body fat%. Increases in vertical are only hard work away.

27

[quote]SquatDr wrote:
SameOldG wrote:
You should look up Frank Yang and SquatDr. they’re on this forum. I think Frank Yang is digitalairair and he’s got a 40 inch standing vert and I think SquatDr has between a 45 and 50 inch running vert!!!They got some pretty impressive numbers so they must know what they are doing

this may sound like an oversimplication, but really, most will make vert gains with an increase in squat, and doing some basic jumps in 3-4 week cycles. i usually AREG my plyos, meaning i stop when there is a drop in performance and my sets and reps are set up based on this. i dont do sets of 5 because my 3rd 4th and 5th jumps are not my best. i do sets of two then with as many sets as i can at a maximal level. when i have two sets in a row that dip in performance i cut the exercise off there.

3 weeks in a row, i almost always see gains then the 4th week i either change the exercise or deload. oh and i should mention that in order to do this you have to find a way to measure your performance. if i dont have a vertec i will have someone eye ball it for me. hope this helps,
AC

[/quote]

Good post. It seems that many people focus far too much on weights and not enough on actually jumping. Performing jumps is the most specific method to of converting strength gains into useable power.

How long do you typically rest between sets of plyos?

28

[quote]Regular Gonzalez wrote:
SquatDr wrote:
SameOldG wrote:
You should look up Frank Yang and SquatDr. they’re on this forum. I think Frank Yang is digitalairair and he’s got a 40 inch standing vert and I think SquatDr has between a 45 and 50 inch running vert!!!They got some pretty impressive numbers so they must know what they are doing

this may sound like an oversimplication, but really, most will make vert gains with an increase in squat, and doing some basic jumps in 3-4 week cycles. i usually AREG my plyos, meaning i stop when there is a drop in performance and my sets and reps are set up based on this.

i dont do sets of 5 because my 3rd 4th and 5th jumps are not my best. i do sets of two then with as many sets as i can at a maximal level. when i have two sets in a row that dip in performance i cut the exercise off there.

3 weeks in a row, i almost always see gains then the 4th week i either change the exercise or deload. oh and i should mention that in order to do this you have to find a way to measure your performance. if i dont have a vertec i will have someone eye ball it for me. hope this helps,
AC

Good post. It seems that many people focus far too much on weights and not enough on actually jumping. Performing jumps is the most specific method to of converting strength gains into useable power.

How long do you typically rest between sets of plyos?[/quote]

rest intervals are another thing that is purely individual. for me, it is longer than most, usually 2-4 minutes. which consider i only do two jumps, then rest 2-4 minutes, a lot people watching my workouts swear all i do is stand around, lol.

hope that helps,
AC

29

[quote]SquatDr wrote:
Regular Gonzalez wrote:
SquatDr wrote:
SameOldG wrote:
You should look up Frank Yang and SquatDr. they’re on this forum. I think Frank Yang is digitalairair and he’s got a 40 inch standing vert and I think SquatDr has between a 45 and 50 inch running vert!!!They got some pretty impressive numbers so they must know what they are doing

this may sound like an oversimplication, but really, most will make vert gains with an increase in squat, and doing some basic jumps in 3-4 week cycles. i usually AREG my plyos, meaning i stop when there is a drop in performance and my sets and reps are set up based on this.

i dont do sets of 5 because my 3rd 4th and 5th jumps are not my best. i do sets of two then with as many sets as i can at a maximal level. when i have two sets in a row that dip in performance i cut the exercise off there.

3 weeks in a row, i almost always see gains then the 4th week i either change the exercise or deload. oh and i should mention that in order to do this you have to find a way to measure your performance. if i dont have a vertec i will have someone eye ball it for me. hope this helps,
AC

Good post. It seems that many people focus far too much on weights and not enough on actually jumping. Performing jumps is the most specific method to of converting strength gains into useable power.

How long do you typically rest between sets of plyos?

rest intervals are another thing that is purely individual. for me, it is longer than most, usually 2-4 minutes. which consider i only do two jumps, then rest 2-4 minutes, a lot people watching my workouts swear all i do is stand around, lol.

hope that helps,
AC
[/quote]

Same here with rest intervals. I rest about 1-2 mintues for plyos, but for weights, to other people I’m sure it seems like all I do is sit around because I do a lot of singles for heavy compound lifts then rest for 4-5 mintues. However, from my point of view, I’m the only one consistantly get stronger week in and week out, while they stay around the same weight for a long time.

30

Jumping explosively with light weights (small dumbells in hand, gravity belt around your waist) is probably the best exercise you could do to improve your hops.

I’ve heard great things about The Vertimax(jumping with bands- builds reactive strength).

31

[quote]SquatDr wrote:
Regular Gonzalez wrote:
SquatDr wrote:
SameOldG wrote:
You should look up Frank Yang and SquatDr. they’re on this forum. I think Frank Yang is digitalairair and he’s got a 40 inch standing vert and I think SquatDr has between a 45 and 50 inch running vert!!!They got some pretty impressive numbers so they must know what they are doing

this may sound like an oversimplication, but really, most will make vert gains with an increase in squat, and doing some basic jumps in 3-4 week cycles. i usually AREG my plyos, meaning i stop when there is a drop in performance and my sets and reps are set up based on this.

i dont do sets of 5 because my 3rd 4th and 5th jumps are not my best. i do sets of two then with as many sets as i can at a maximal level. when i have two sets in a row that dip in performance i cut the exercise off there.

3 weeks in a row, i almost always see gains then the 4th week i either change the exercise or deload. oh and i should mention that in order to do this you have to find a way to measure your performance. if i dont have a vertec i will have someone eye ball it for me. hope this helps,
AC

Good post. It seems that many people focus far too much on weights and not enough on actually jumping. Performing jumps is the most specific method to of converting strength gains into useable power.

How long do you typically rest between sets of plyos?

rest intervals are another thing that is purely individual. for me, it is longer than most, usually 2-4 minutes. which consider i only do two jumps, then rest 2-4 minutes, a lot people watching my workouts swear all i do is stand around, lol.

hope that helps,
AC
[/quote]

The reason I asked is that if I only rested around 1 minute like many people seem too, I would notice a drop-off after only a couple of sets. I also prefer taking longer rest periods for plyos.