Today I want to give you a few main tips to implement immediately to start seeing more progress on your vertical jump. Scroll down, watch these videos and read the short excerpts on what you can start throwing in!
“Hey Siri, how do I increase my vertical jump?”
When it comes to increasing your vertical jump, it can get tricky and need very personalized programming depending on the individual, goals, sports, previous injuries, muscle imbalances, etc.
When I have athletes come in for vertical jump training, just like speed training, I will test them and run assessments on a variety of things. In order to see the most results, I base MOST (but not all) programs around a few main things.
They would be:
🏋️Strength training (heavy)
🧘♂️ Warm up and pre activation
🐰 Plyometrics
I will spend time going over many more things depending on the individual but these are some main key starting points you can implement immediately to start seeing better results!
I know it seems hard to get a good workout in without a gym or equipment but it’s still possible! For my athletes that want to increase their vertical and those of you wanting a different workout, I have something for you!
This is a workout that can be done at home! I will be doing some more workouts like this, including speed workouts and more strength building, fat loss workouts!
You may have noticed my competition countdown on the homepage of my website, if not let me explain…
I was super excited to see a local gym and buddy of mine throw a powerlifting meet for his gym. I love competing and having a date on the calendar to get ready for. I also enjoy supporting local fitness businesses and other gyms.
I have decided to compete in a push / pull powerlifting meet on June 1st. I have been prepping for about 2 weeks already. A push / pull meet is a powerlifting meet where only the bench press and deadlift will be performed. The best lifter in each weight class will be the winner, most meets have an overall best lifter which is the strongest pound for pound lifter. I am sitting around 151-153lbs so I am going to try making the 148lb weight class for meet day.
I will be breaking down strength content pretty heavily this month. Especially for the deadlift and bench because of the meet.
I am super excited to compete! If you are in the area, check out the meet! You can find more info on Alpha’s gym page.
I took some questions I got about strengtha dn put them into a Q&A video so you can learn from them! We talk about bench, vertical jumps and more! Hope you like the video and hopefully it helps you out!!
This is an exercise I do once in the blue moon but should do more often. This is a great anti-rotation movement to create stability in the core and shoulders. You can switch up difficulty by using different bands or standing closer & further from the rack. There are multiple ways of doing this exercise but I chose this one today.
Tie up a band to a rack, I usually attach mine about even with my mid stomach area. I then grab the band and interlock my fingers. Stand with feet a little further than shoulder width to create a good base and have a slight bend in the knees. Extend your arms out with a soft bend in the elbows so that you make a “V” shape or triangle with your arms. Next you will simply press the band out and bring it back in. Keep the band in a straight line when its moving back and forth. The main reason we are doing this is because of it being an anti-rotation exercise, so our core really has to work and fire up to keep your torso from coming towards the rack. Try 10 reps on each side for 3 sets then work to tougher bands or more volume.
First time ever trying pause deadlifts and were they a treat… worked up to a pretty smooth single with 275. Probably should have done more but I always like to analyze my videos and break down my form, especially when I’m doing an exercise I’ve never tried before.
Afterwards, I dropped weight and did 225 for 2 sets of triples. I dropped the weight one more time and did 185 and really tried to get extra practice with this movement. I feel like I probably could have paused a little higher on some but by no means am I great at this, but I’m striving daily to get there just like everyone else! Happy Monday everyone, enjoy your week and make the best out of every opportunity 🙏🏼
Hope everyone had a great Easter and was able to spend time with your family! I have some huge news I’ll be dropping within the next week or two and I can’t wait to share!
Hey hope everyone is doing well! I made a video for those of you that have trouble with push ups. I have younger athletes that don’t know how to perform push ups correctly yet and some of my clients and others out there just struggle a little with them. That is okay because today we are fixing all of that! Watch todays video and get your push ups perfected!
Having trouble with push ups? Here is a video that will help bump up that number! I hope evryone is doing well! I’ll see you all tomorrow with another video!
I have a challenge today! Perform this core workout and see how many rounds you can complete in 10 minutes! If you get 5 rounds the first time then come back and try to beat that with 6 rounds next attempt! Hope everyone had a great weekend! I will catch you guys tomorrow with another video.
Everyone enjoys having a nice set of quads wether you are a guy looking to have a complete physique or a girl trying to have a nice set of legs. I want to show you all one of my absolute favorite quad exercises. I will also dig into some history of this exercise as well as some anatomy. With no further ado, lets jump into todays article!
I’m sure you have all heard of the exercise called a sissy squat. When you hear this name and don’t know what the exercise is then you may overlook this due to its name. However I want to show you why you should be incorporating this exercise into your training!
Lets start with a basic anatomy session of the quadriceps.
The quads are made up of 4 main muscles (quad = 4). These muscles are the rectus femoris, which is the top, front muscle. It is hard to isolate, this muscle is more visible through less body fat. Then we have the vastus intermedius which is deeper underneath the quad muscles, directly below the rectus femoris. The vastus lateralis is the quad muscle that is located on the outside of the quad. Building this can add that wide look to the front leg. Lastly, we have the vastus medialis which is the inside tear drop looking muscle. The function of these muscles is to extend the knee.
We, as humans, are more quad dominate based off of how live life. We spend a lot of time walking and not always working hamstrings and other posterior chain muscle group. With that being said, it does not mean you have to work hamstrings all day. Though I try to split up leg training evenly such as hitting quads and hamstrings about the same when it comes to sets, reps and days worked. If you have a muscle imbalance, then the easiest solution usually tends to be targeting the antagonist muscle group. I’ll save that for a different day.
For anyone not familiar with Tom Platz, his leg development was just spectacular. He was a old school bodybuilder around the 80’s.
This is Tom Platz and his ginormous quads.
This man was brutal with his leg training and tried many different things. One exercise he came across was the sissy squat. He would make different variations of the sissy squat like doing the bottom of that movement during a hack squat like the image below.
One of the main people I follow that made me want to do this exercise was Julian Smith. He is a modern day bodybuilder that has some amazing total leg development as well.
This exercise gets soooooooo much hate. I can see why some think this UNTIL I tried it! Now listen, if you have knee issues or are prone to knee injuries then play it smart and skip this for now. On the other hand, if you have healthy knees and think you can handle it then I most definitely recommend trying this exercise for a few weeks. The reason I say a few weeks is because it take a few weeks to get the movement down and perform it right. It may be a little tough for your knees to get used to at first. THIS IS NORMAL, you are asking your body to do a non-functional movement that most of us have never done before. This is why I say try it for a little while because at first, I thought it would be an exercise I would throw to the side but I use this quiet often to help me grow the quads and get the separation to make the quads look nasty!
With all of this history talk and anatomy, lets get into how to perform the sissy squat! I have a short video of me going over the exercise right here below. Just hit play, learn and try it out next leg day!!
Thank you for viewing todays article! If you have any questions then leave comments below. If you have tried this exercise, tell me about your experience. Hope everyone is having a great Thursday and enjoys their day!
This is Tom Platz and his ginormous quads.
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