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How to Improve Your High Jump
In the
arena of modern competitive sports like basketball, rugby, volleyball,
gymnastics, and football, the ability to out jump one's opponent in the
field is very crucial in determining the eventual outcome of the game.
In the case of basketball and volleyball, possessing a good jump is a
sure ticket to victory, and a big handicap if the players are not good
jumpers. On the other hand, in sports such as football and rugby, the
ability to out jump your opponent is a big plus in certain areas of the
game, if not in every aspect. For example, in football, a good jump
definitely gives you the upper hand when catching the ball from a pass
in the end zone for a touchdown, that's a little too high, as your
opponents fall short. Cricket, badminton, gymnastics, the long and high
jumps are just a few of the other sports disciplines where a high
jumping ability is considered a definite plus. The bottom line is that
for players to be successful in such fiercely competitive physical
games, it is necessary to have strong and explosive jumping techniques,
even before you begin your professional career. As sports experts say
often, it is all about getting the correct basics with adequate muscle
strengthening workouts.
Now having
seen the athletics where jumping high is inevitable, let us now turn our
focus on some jumping exercises that could improve one's jumping prowess
significantly. Before doing that, here are some biological facts
pertaining to muscle fibers in the human body, especially in the legs.
According to human physiology, the movements of the human body are
materialized through the contraction of three types of muscle fibers –
slow twitch muscle fibers, intermediate twitch muscle fibers, and fast
twitch muscle fibers. The former is responsible for the endurance of
marathon runners, while the latter helps sprinters, owing to its short
burst muscle responses. The intermediate twitch muscle fiber's scene of
action is somewhere in between. Jumping exercises called pylometric
exercises, which forms an integral part of virtually every physical
sports' coaching manual (especially athletics) is meant to develop and
strengthen the fast twitch muscle fibers muscles.
Pylometric
exercises usually begin with a warm up, like in any sort of workout.
That is, start with around 5 minutes on a treadmill, followed by a few
leg swings, squats, and hip circles. You could try out other warm up
exercises as well. Once the body is primed to take further physical
work, move on to static stretches, and finally to strength training
workouts such as weightlifting or elastic bands. The typical jump
enhancing exercises include: squat hops, that improve jumping ability,
overall strength of the lower body, and balance; box jumps, that improve
jumping ability and agility; drop jumps, which help in improving
reaction time and trains the body to absorb impact quickly; explosive
split squats, which plays a major role in enhancing the body's ability
to move quickly. All of these exercises positively influence the glutes,
thighs, calves, with the last of the ones, the explosive split squats,
strengthening the hip flexors as well. If you are interested in
improving your high jump, you can find even more varieties of jump
enhancing exercises on the internet.
Now, while
performing these exercises to get you to jump higher, don't overstretch
yourself, but act responsibly and reasonably, doing a maximum of eight
to twelve repetitions only at a time, and repeat the procedure only
after relaxing, stretching, and recovering completely. Take care not to
incur any injuries due to overworking or flawed exercising. After all,
workouts are for improving fitness, and not to destroy it.
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