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Jump Higher with Core Strength Exercises
By admin | September 10, 2009
One of the most important principles in sports training is that targeting a particular muscle group to improve on a certain athletic skill like vertical jumping is never enough. Toe raises or any other leg exercises aren’t the only things you should do in your higher jump training. The human body, after all, is made up of interdependent system of systems where each system may have essential or supporting roles on the functioning of another.
That is why targeting only a few muscle groups just to improve on a skill will not be a good idea especially if you have reached pro-level fitness and athletic status. To become a professional you need to train like one.
For the case of jump higher training, the correct programs are those that not only promote targeting a few muscle groups such as the leg muscle groups, or only a few aspects of athletic training, but those that promote targeting all muscle groups involved in the vertical jump process along with the support muscle groups that increase the ability of the body to withstand the rigors of training and avoid nasty injuries that could keep you from playing your favorite sports.
One such muscle groups that need to be developed along with the leg muscles are the core muscles. Why do you need to do this in your vertical training efforts?
The answer is based on the fact that the core muscles, which are made up of the muscles that are on the trunk and torso, is the center of any muscular activity. Any movement of the extremities will draw much of its strength from the center. The core muscles are the ones that stabilize the spine, abdomen, back and shoulders and this provides the necessary base for any powerful movement of the hands and legs.
Before you can execute those powerful and quick muscular leg movements that will ultimately translate to an explosive jump, your spine must first be stabilized, and must be solid and strong, because the more stability and strength in the core, the more power the leg muscles can generate in its contractions to execute a higher jump.
Core Strengthening Tips for the Jump Higher Trainee
There are a bunch of core muscle exercises that you can do to develop a solid core base to help you develop thathigher jump. They may or may not involve exercise equipment. The exercises enumerated below do not require any equipment:
- Back Bridge
- Plank Exercise
- Push Ups
- Side Plank Exercise
- Side Lunges
- V-sits
- Hip Lift
- The Basic Push Up
- Russian Twists
- Abdominal Bracing
- Lunges
- Back Extensions
- Squats
If you are going about doing these jump higher exercises without professional supervision, be sure to research first on how to do them properly as there are a lot of ways to do any exercise the wrong way and/or at the wrong time. You could end up injuring yourself instead of achieving those hang time vertical jumps. Just remember that when you feel pain, that is the body’s way of telling you that there is something wrong. When in doubt, consult a doctor or an expert sports or jump trainer.
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