Jumping higher and further

[DWx]

I'm not a great jumper, I'm ok but not brilliant. Has anyone got any exercises / routines that specifically work at getting you to jump better? I'd like to work on techniques like flying and jumping techniques but first I need to improve my jumping itself. Thanks

[NewEnglands_KyoSa]

Considering I'm an ex-basketball player, and current coach...i think i can lend a hand on this one!

1) wall touches- stand in a door frame on either side, not literally in it and jump up and tap the top of the frame. do it for sets of 50, 100, 150, etc or do it by minute starting with 1. if you have a gym and a basketball available to you, you can also do this with a basketball hoop. stand facing the back board on either side like you're going to take a layup, hold the basketball high above your head and touch the back board with the basketball.

2) Jump rope- Jumping rope can help greatly, and it's not just for speed and agility. Jumping rope on your toes will strengthen your calves and work out your achilles, all part of the equation for great jumping ability.

3) jumping boxes- these may not be available to you, but if you are apart of a local gym or ymca, they might be. there are boxes set at certain heights like 1ft, 2ft, 3ft, etc. and you work on swinging your arms back and jumping up on them and landing flat. there was a time when i was once at a 3 1/2 foot box! if these aren't available to you you can try sturdy chairs, park benches, etc. just be careful.

4) calf building- building up your calf muscles will help your jumping abilities greatly. to raises with ankle weights on can help build this muscle up, also if you go to your local gym they also may be able to direct you to special machines that can help you out further

5) supermans- again, if you have a basketball hoop available to you thats great. if not, you can do this one with a wall. you need a basketball, soccer ball, kick ball...something you can throw off a wall!

here's how to do it with a basketball hoop... stand on one side of the key, throw the basketball off the back board and jump to the other side of the key before it gets there and catch it as you land. if you do not have a hoop available you can put lines 3 to 4 feet across from each other in front of a wall and bounce the ball off of the wall, jump as high as you can to the other line and catch the ball. keep doing this back and forth for like 30 second to 1 minute sets and increase as you go.

[bushido_man96]

NEKyo_Sa has some good drills there. Looking into plyometrics books will give you some good drills to do to improve your explosiveness, which will help with jumping for flying kicks. Just make sure to do plyometrics only about 2 times per week, and get about 72 hours of rest between sessions. These will really tax your muscles, so train smart.

There are also some good plyo drills that you can do jumping off one leg as opposed to two, which is good for jumping kicks in TKD.

[Rateh]

I don't know if it's helpful or not. But my instructor had me stand on the edge of a stair (the bottom stair!) with my toes and balls of my feet on the step, and the rest of my feet hanging off. Then I would raise up on my tippy toes, and go back down till my heels were just below the stair. (He had me do it with a backpack and ankle weights too, but I don't know if thats going a bit over board)

[NewEnglands_KyoSa]

Rateh, that's a good one. Those fall under the category of 'toe raises' and im glad you mentioned it because there's so many variations. Weighted vests, back packs, or ankle weights are a great idea...just as long as you build up to them.

Also, Rateh's drill reminded me... holding onto the rail and jumping on one leg all the way up and down is a good one too, very exhausting. Just make sure you balance it out so you work both sides.

[shitosempei]

I like doing my toe (calf) raises like that. Works good on one foot.

[DWx]

Hey thanks for the suggestions. I tried doing a bit of what NE_KyoSa suggested yesterday. Does your legs in.

[NewEnglands_KyoSa]

Oh yes. They are very good work outs. Just make sure not to go too fast too soon. If you tried things in one minute incriments the other day, and now you're dying today, start at like 30 seconds and then build. But im telling you, do those and you'll be flying in no time

Glad i could help.