One of the most common questions folks have before deciding to jump train is, “how many inches a week will I gain?”

The first time I heard this asked, I had starting jump heights and measurements from the athlete’s final training session to respond.  The answer at the time was, 1 inch a week.  This seems pretty standard among jump trainers.

Well, one summer I noticed a sudden change in the rate of gains to over 2 inches a week.  After examining what was different about that summer’s training and concluded 2 possibilities:

1.  The training facility I was using was the best ever.  So, equipment matters a lot, and,
2. Some new exercises I was using were helping a lot.

The answer was, both!  A nicer training facility opens up more options for training, allowing a jump trainer to deploy additional exercises.

One of the new exercises I tried associated with the massive increase in jump height gains.

So, when you jump train, try to find the best equipped facility possible.  An extra half inch or inch per week adds up in a hurry.

These rules are time tested and, if followed, will ensure your athletes train successfully.

Rule #1:  If you are injured, at all, do not jump train.  You are wasting your time.  If you are injured, then you cannot bring to bear all of your physicality into the workouts.  This means you will not see good results.

Rule #2:  Attend each and every training session.  Each training session targets a muscle group or in some way benefits your development.  Miss a workout and you miss out on the potential benefits.  Your results will tell the tale, they always do.

Rule #3:  Use proper technique for each exercise.  Using proper technique adds immense value to your gains.  Assuming you want to achieve rapid gains to your vertical jump height, the faster you adopt good form, the faster you will see eye-popping gains.

Rule #4:  Give each and every repetition of an exercise your absolute best effort.  Sometimes athletes are half-hearted about training hard.  They want the gains but are not willing to put in the work.  Jump training has no short cuts.  You have to work hard to succeed.  If you do, you will see great gains.  One way of ensuring you give each rep your best effort over time is to write down how much weight you use for an exercise, the number of sets, etc..  Week to week, if this number improves, that is an indication you are pushing yourself.  When I see athlete’s not improving, then their jump results will tell the same story.  When I have seen someone’s vertical jump height flat line, then they are not following the 4 rules of jump training, period.  Writing down set counts, rep counts, weight amounts can also give you an early warning to spot a lack of effort, poor form, injury, poor attendance or a combination of these.  If you want rapid gains, then follow the 4 rules.

Kurt

If you are an athlete or a coach, you may have heard about jump training.  So, why should a coach undertake a jump program, or an athlete train this way?  You may already have a great training program and a super trainer for strength, quickness, speed, agility or perhaps you spend your time ramping up your sport specific skills instead?

Perhaps it will help to hear when jump training is not a good idea.  If you are a distance runner, distance swimmer, or participate in a sport demanding mostly aerobic fitness, then jump training will do more harm than good.  For example, I had a girl jump train with me who was new to volleyball and, she was physically established as a cross-country runner.  Her starting vertical jump height was only 7 inches.  She also had finished 2nd in state for cross country the season prior.  Well, after training with me for 8 weeks she underwent a transformation.  She had a 22 inch vertical jump, a phenomenal achievement.  However, not long after finishing jump training she competed at state again.  She finished 44th, a major drop in her aerobic performance from the previous season.

Anaerobic sports are short bursts and intense physical activity.  Aerobic sports are long duration activities characterized with less “burst” of frenetic activity and, the opposite of anaerobic sports.  Some sports require both types of fitness, some are extremes of each, but never extremes of both.  So, if you are training for cross country, do not jump train.  However, if you participate in an anaerobic sport, jump training is an excellent form of training.

So, back to the ‘Why Jump Train’ question.  If you are a coach, the next question is, are you getting everything you can, physically, from your athletes?  If you are an athlete who trains independently, the question is, how far below your full potential are you playing?  If you want a higher vertical, lower injury risk, and play an anaerobic sport, then jump training can help you achieve more, surprisingly more, than you might expect.

The first head coaching job I took the question of getting more from my athletes drove me to try jump training.  We went all in and jump training paid off big time as our team went on to become the top blocking team in the state.  Physically, the team was transformed.  However, I learned some helpful rules along the way that will determine getting results or getting nothing.  On average, since jump training the past 9 years I have seen athletes jump heights increase a little over an inch a week.  This seems pretty standard among jump programs.

So hopefully you are equipped to decide if and when jump training is for you.

Kurt Hausheer