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CORRECT
MECHANICS FOR THE VERTICAL JUMP
Steve Daisey
MPT, CSCS
Vertical jump is
a measure of explosion that is correlated with strength and speed
in the research literature. Increased explosion in the vertical jump
should transfer to increased speed (first step, explosion, acceleration).
This is because of the enormous CORE coordination that is involved
with stabilizing the trunk in flight and landing with high impact.
Watch how “uncoordinated” many young athletes look when
jumping and landing. What they lack is the core coordination and absolute
strength to control the eccentric forces needed to explode into concentric
forces during first step and acceleration.
Virtually every type of athlete can benefit from jump/explosion training,
not only the ones whose sport demands the winning by jumping higher
than their opponent.
Countermovement Vertical Jump - the gold standard
for testing vertical jump.
Stand in a relaxed position, feet shoulder width apart.
Drop down into a hip and knee flexed position (as in a squat)
while driving the arms backward into maximum shoulder extension.
Drive upward with the arms while extending the knees and hips
into the jump.
Effort should be maximal |
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Correct Jumping and Landing Mechanics
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Hips – load through the hips, not the knees or spine.
Body position should look very similar to a squat at take-off.
The athlete needs to be able to perform a full squat with perfect
form before attempting jump training.
Arm swing – countermovement with shoulders extended fully
at the bottom of the jump, flexed at least 90º at the top
of the vertical. Counter-movement should be very rapid.
Thumbs up in a forward and upward punching motion forcing the
torso to remain upright.
Placement of foot – Ankle should immediately go into dorsiflexion
at take-off (toes pointed up as shown on the left). This increases
spring in the feet and allows for a quick release upon jumping.
Effort needs to be MAXIMAL at all times in order to work toward
improving vertical. Warm-up adequately and allow for plenty
of rest between repetitions.
Landing mechanics – Should contact the ground with the
front 2/3rds of the foot first in a dorsi-flexed position. Landing
on the toes or even the ball of the foot is not a stable method
for landing. |
It is VERY common in young athletes for the knees to take responsibility
for most of deceleration, with no hip involvement.
You should land in the same position as you left at the bottom of
the countermovement.
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