How to Slam Dunk

Most people searching for ways to learn how to slam dunk are actually just looking for some type of vertical jump training or plyometric training program that will help them learn how to jump higher.

If you want to learn how to jump higher in basketball you can’t just go to the gym and start doing crazy workouts because that just won’t work.  Before jumping into plyometrics you need to learn a few things about the human body and how to properly train with plyometric exercises in order to increase vertical jump. I’m not saying that you will double your vertical leap by any means but you can put on a few inches and maybe even as much as 10 inches if you train in the right way with the proper strength training and jumping exercises.

The more force you can exert against the ground will in turn result in you jumping higher off of the ground, this is simple physics.  So how can you put more force against the floor?  One simple way is to learn how to properly use your arms when jumping.  Arm swing plays a huge role in jumping high so make sure you do it right.  You need to keep your arms straight and throw them back as far as they can go.  If you have tight shoulder or a tight chest, you are missing out on a couple of inches of jump height so make sure you stretch those shoulders!  Your horizontal speed is also converted into vertical lift when jumping because the faster you are going, the more force you will apply against the ground.  Your form is very important, make sure to work on that before anything else.

As far as jumping exercises go there are a few key workouts that will help but more importantly you need to not over train.  If you are sore you should not be working out.  You get sore because the body is busy repairing damaged tissue so let it do it’s job so you can build the proper muscle needed to jump higher.  This is all broken down piece by piece in the Jump Manual, if you want to check it out Click Here.

How to Jump Higher in Sand for Beach Volleyball

Many people ask me how they can improve their vertical jump in the sand because they either play beach volleyball or play indoor and they want to transition to the outdoor game. Many great indoor players will try to make that switch to beach and they quickly give up because they can’t get out of the sand. In order to jump higher in sand you have to train in the sand. The approach is completely different, as is the game. You have to jump straight up in the air and not leap forward like you would on a hard court. The indoor approach is called a broad jump and you can’t do that in sand or you will simply sink. You have to over exaggerate the stomp before you leave the ground. This means that your last 2 steps will happen almost at the same time and then you will go straight up. Remember to use a very strong arm swing, it’s is absolutely necessary in order to get more than 10 inches out of sand.

Training with a good vertical jump program will increase your vertical leaping ability but you have to get used to the sand and that means you need to practice in the sand.

Want the best vertical jump training program? Click Here

Highest Vertical Jump

Ever wondered who has the highest vertical jump in the world?  The answer to that question is difficult to answer because the only people that record their vertical jumps are professional athletes.  There could be people with a 50 inch vertical jump that nobody knows about because they aren’t on an organized team of some sort, be it professional or collegiate.  The possibilities are endless now with the resources that are around.  You have the Jump Manual that has been proven to make all other jump higher programs look like crap.

You can get an average of 10 inches added on top of how high you are jumping right now. That is a lot of air! You would be able to dunk a basketball jumping off of 2 feet without an approach with another 10 inches on your vertical leap.

It’s time to start training with plyometric exercises in order to achieve what you have always dreamed of and never though possible. Don’t be fooled by crazy jumpsole shoes that are supposed to train you to jump higher. Those things don’t work. You have to get into the habit of training your muscles for power. The Jump Manual workout will help you get the results you want.

Visit jumpmanual.com here

Jump Manual Review

Does the Jump Manual deliver what it promises? Well that is entirely based on where you are when you start the program.

Am I qualified to tell if a vertical jump program is good or not?
Let me tell you about my background and you can decide on whether you will take my advice or leave it. I don’t play basketball but I do play beach volleyball, which requires more jumping by every person playing than any other sport in the world. I have a bachelors degree in Exercise Science, which means that I have taken advanced classes in functional anatomy, kinesiology, biomechanics and sports training. I have created jumping programs for myself, friends and athletes that have gone on to play professional beach volleyball. Jump training is a passion of mine, so when I hear about new products that exist on the internet I want to test them out or at least read them over to tell if they would work. I have gotten my hands on most of the popular jump programs that are floating around the internet and a few are just ridiculous. I go into every program believing that it most likely will not work and that is usually the case.

Now even with the worst program people will see results but it’s because they are training more than usual, it does NOT mean that the program is well designed or effective.

My rating for the Jump Manual would have to be a 9 out of 10. Compared to the other programs I have seen I would give it a 10. The reason being that it is backed by sound biomechanics. Jacob actually understood the science behind the training and that impressed me. Most people don’t understand the science of why certain types of training work because that requires studying the muscle on a molecular level. The program itself wasn’t full of shiny designs with bells and whistles. That is a good thing, don’t be sucked into a bogus program just because it’s looks like it would be good. Those programs cover their lack of knowledge with very nice looking websites and that tactic works on a lot of people.

Visit the www.JumpManual.com to see free video explanation of jump training.

Vertical Jump Exercises

Want a detailed video explanation of jump training? Click Here

There are a ton of jumping exercises that you can do in order to really increase vertical jump but more important than anything is knowing how often to train and which type of training you need to do on each day of your training program.

If you asked anyone the most important workout they could if they were only allowed 1 exercise to do in order to train their bodies how to jump higher, what would it be?  Most people would say squats and while they are a great exercise there is no correct answer to that question because no 1 exercise or 1 type of training alone will get you amazing results.  If you want to learn to jump jump higher you need to follow proper vertical jump training and I will tell you how to do that.

The key is to combine a plyometric workout with a strength training workout.  You don’t need to do crazy amounts of reps in any exercise and any program that wants you to do so is not a legit program.  How will jump higher if you are doing 100 reps at a time?  This will only result in an increase of muscle endurance.  This means that you will teach your body to be able to jump at very low heights all day long.  Who wants that?  Not athletes and definitely not anyone that plays basketball or volleyball.  And if you are here there is a 99% chance that you love either volleyball or basketball.

An exercise that I make all of the basketball/volleyball players that I train do is the calf raise.  These alone will not make you jump super high, but weak calves can prevent the otherwise strong legged athlete from getting to his/her peak.  When I talk about training your calves, you need to start light so that you can go through a full range of motion.  Don’t do weight that is so heavy that you can’t go all the way down and feel the stretch in the calf or all the way up until you are flexing the calf as much as possible.  If you can’t go all the way up as much as your range of motion will let you then you need to lighten the weight.  The calves get very strong very quickly so start light and by next month you will most likely be doing twice as much weight.  Don’t do any plyometrics after working out the calves on the same day!  I repeat, don’t do plyometrics on the same day that you train your calves with weights.  They need at least a whole day to rest before doing plyos and if they are still sore you need to rest them longer before doing any plyos.

Click Here to see a video on vertical jump exercises.

Increase Vertical Jump

You would have to be crazy to not want to increase vertical jump if you play basketball or volleyball.  There are no other sports that put as much importance on being able to jump or just being tall than basketball and volleyball.  Sure, it can be very beneficial in other sports but it is pretty much required in basketball and volleyball.  So what are you doing today to be able to jump higher tomorrow?  Most people are under the misconception that you have to train for years in order to see any type of results.  The is very false of course.  You can see improvements in weeks if you are doing everything that you should be doing.

Are you lifting any weights or just playing your sport and thinking that it will increase your vertical leap?

You can’t expect to get results that you have never gotten unless you train in a way that you have never trained.

So lets take a look at a few jumping exercises that you can do to start jumping a little higher:

  • Squats-  These need to be all variations and by this I mean some are deep and some aren’t.  Some are fast on the way down and slow on the way up while some are the exact opposite.  Some are fast the whole way and some are slow the whole way.  You have to build up that strength in every angle that your knee will be in.  You will feel where you are weak and you need to exploit it and train that area so that it is not preventing your progress.
  • Calf Raises-  These are very important and the same goes for them.  You need to do them without weight and then with a lot of weight.

Vertical Jump Training

Click Here for the ultimate tutorial on the proper vertical jump training exercises to blast your legs.

Jumping is all about power, and power is a component of 2 factors: Speed and Strength. You can’t have power if you lack either speed or strength and that is why training is so crucial to developing powerful legs. Sure form can increase your vertical by a couple inches alone and everyone needs to learn perfect form in order to really be a great jumper, but nothing can make up for proper training.

I see so many people in the gym that never workout their legs and always just play basketball and then they expect to be able to dunk a basketball. Then I see another group of people that are at the gym training with the heavy weights and they have extremely strong legs but they can’t dunk either. The problem is that both groups of people are focusing on 1 thing at a time. The guy that plays basketball instead of lifting weights is going to be very fast and have enough speed to be able to dunk but he lacks the strength. The exact opposite is true of the gym rat that is blasting his legs with super heavy weights, he has no speed. If you combine the 2 you almost have a good workout routine but not quite. To really increase your vertical jump you need to do a little more and plan it out a little better.

You need to develop speed in the form of vertical movement and not just horizontal. This is done by performing what are known as plyometric workouts. Plyos are done by jumping onto special plyometric boxes that have varying heights depending on your ability and the type of exercise you are performing. Too many people do plyos on items that are just way too tall for them to do the workouts properly. The point behind plyometrics is to train the golgi tendon reflex to react with the most power possible. This is done by jumping as soon as your feet touch the ground. Kind of like when you do jump rope really fast, you have to jump as fast as possible. The big difference is that unlike with jumping rope, you will be jumping as high as you can each time instead of just tiny little hops. That is why I do not recommend that you jump rope in order to learn how to jump higher. It won’t work.

There is a vertical jumping program that blends every workout together in the proper way and you can see it by Clicking Here.

So get to work. You can really increase your vertical jump in a week although it won’t be more than inch most likely but hey progress is progress!

Vertical Jumping Program

Click Here for a video on proper jump training technique.

There is no question that jumping and the science behind how to properly train in order to learn how to jump higher has grown by leaps and bounds in the past 5 years.  There are now people jumping higher than ever and it has a lot to with the vertical jumping exercises that have been learned properly implemented into vertical jump programs.

In order to really increase your hops you need to follow some basic instruction and one of the most important factors is to not over train your muscles.  I know that you really want to get the best results as quick as possible but I see far too many athletes of all ages that over train and then end up harming their jump height instead of helping it.

There are many exercises that are great for helping you improve your hops.

  • Squats
  • Calf Raises
  • Hamstring Curls, believe it or not they help a ton.
  • Cleans
  • Shoulder stretches to improve arm swing
  • Calf Stretches to improve flexibility of the ankle
  • Plyometric Workouts done correctly!

Just knowing a long list of great workouts is not going to get you anywhere.  You have to know how to execute each of the movements properly and more important you need to know how many sets and reps to do.  Which days do you train with weights and which days do you not.  How often do you train?  How many time each week?  How do you properly do plyometric exercises?  All of these are very important questions and knowing the answers will be the difference between jumping like you are now or adding up to 10 inches to your vertical leap.

This is exactly whey there is a vertical jumping program that will teach you the answer to each of the above questions so you will train the correct way and get the most out of each workout.

Click Here to see the ONLY program that we recommend.