Helicopter And Or How To Increase Vertical Jump
You want to increase your vertical jump seriously? You want to dunk the ball with both hands without difficulty? And you wanna know what kind of exercises the guy from the And1 squad called Helicopter does every morning at 6 a.m.?
Then I guarantee you this short text will help. But before I get down to the promised exercises, you need to find out what kind of "jumper" you are. Do you prefer to jump of one
(1) or of two
(2) legs?
1) = You are a leaper. Leapers take off from their left leg (right-handed), they are lean but at the same time well trained. Examples: Michael Jordan, Clyde Drexler, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Springs.
2) = You are a jumper. Jumpers take off from two legs and depend on their strong thigh and calf muscles. Exploding off two legs gives more vertical height. Examples: Vince Carter, Nate Robinson, Main Event, Air Up There, Spyda, High Rizer and of course John Humphrey aka the Helicopter.
It is important to distinguish which group you belong to because each group uses different programs. Leapers rely more on horizontal speed to reach the rim and generally have very strong hips, abdominal and upper body strength in order to launch themselves for the dunk.
In contrast the jumpers generate the power they need to rise above the rim mainly of the following three main muscle groups:
A) The quadriceps (large muscle in front of the thighs)
B) The calves (large lump of muscle in the lower leg)
C) The arms
That means these muscles must be very strong. In other words you have do a lot of weightlifting. And that"s exactly what Helicopter does. Squats, Lunges, Leg Presses, Leg Extensions and Calf Raises are among his everyday workout routine. But since you are not Helicopter and can seriously injure yourself putting too much weight on, here is a concrete program that beginners can perform two days a week:
1. Squats - 3 sets, 10 repetitions
2. Lunges - 3 sets, 10 r
3. Leg Presses - 3 sets,10 r
4. Leg Extensions - 3 sets, 15 r
5. Calf Raises - 3 sets, 10 r
Instead of calf raises you can also use the jump rope. Jumping rope not only gives you explosiveness and calf strength but is also a great way to build stamina, and work on your overall leg strength.
Important note: This is only a suggestion! You should carefully pay attention to the way your muscles react to this weight - if you can do one or more extra reps, increase the weight - but never the number of reps!
Author: Steve Wells
For more tips and details please take a look at Go Up
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