Improving leaping abilities

GoldenBear

Banned
Mar 2, 2000
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Say I didn't have much access to a gym or real good forms of weights, how would I do this in order to prepare for my upcoming volleyball season?
 

Lose weight.
Do calf-strengthening exercises.

It takes alot of time to increase your vertical leap, so get cracking.
 

mjquilly

Golden Member
Jun 12, 2000
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Wall jumps - Facing a wall, about 6" away, pick a spot that's about 12-18" higher than you can reach while standing, and repatedly jump up and down trying to reach that spot.

Toe Raises - Standing, just raise your heels off the ground as far as you can, and come back down SLOWLY.



We used to do this crap all the time when I played basketball in high school.
 

BA

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 1999
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Let me preface this by saying I don't know anything, and jump like the white boy I am, but...

Run stadiums/stairs/hills, whatever you can find
 

mztykal

Diamond Member
Apr 21, 2000
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Go running at a beach or something. If that doesn't build up your calves, nothing will. ;)
 

erikiksaz

Diamond Member
Nov 3, 1999
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well i run on the track team (southern cali champ of the 100m too, heh heh, just had to throw that in there) and i noticed that calves are strange/weird muscles to work out. i notice that girls in cross country grow VERY large and VERY defined calf muscles. The same goes for Girls track. But when it comes to guys, i see that calf muscles aren't as defined as the women. It's strange.

Now if you wanna build calfs. Try to do most of your excercises on your toes. If you guys have any drills of some sort (of the volley-ball variety), try doing them on your toes. Most of the warm-ups that are done in track are usually done while on the balls of your feet.
 

Croton

Banned
Jan 18, 2000
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go backpacking every other weekend in moderate to difficult trails.

i did that since 6th grade.
i'm 5'9", weigh over 200 lbs, and i can grab the rim on a regulation bball court. :)

work out your legs, but STRETCH your muscles after you work out or they'll bulk up and be tight, and then you'll have strong ass legs, but won't be able to jump. stretching will loosen up those muscles and allow you to have more flexibility.

take a basketball and jump as high as you can and tap it against the backboard. then do it while boucing the basketball on the backboard. tiring stuff, but it works wonders.

my friend does that and he's 5'7" and can dunk. wow...
 

Sluggo

Lifer
Jun 12, 2000
15,488
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Do 10 yard wind sprints, squatting down like a runner in the blocks at every stop. The springing up action will develop the butt and calves which handle most jumping activities, as well as aid in flexibility. You can also hop around your backyard like a frog, looks silly as hell, but will do basically the same thing, just slightly different muscle activity. You should do both.
 

Aquaman

Lifer
Dec 17, 1999
25,054
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Try getting a book on pylometrics (sp?). This is a series of running & jumping exercises that many athletes use to get more power from thier legs (both forward/backward & lateral movement). Also it your near a college football field......... do some sets of bleachers :D Fun citty but it will give your legs a workout & get your cardio up.

Cheers,
Aquaman
 

chess9

Elite member
Apr 15, 2000
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GoldenBear:

Try these:

Rocket Man!

Since the best way to run fast is to run fast; the best way to swim fast is to swim fast; and the best way to bike fast is to bike fast; I conclude the best way to jump high is to jump high.

MJQuilly hit the ceiling with his head, i.e. he is right. My daughter practiced leaping to improve her swimming starts. When she first started she had about a 3 inch vertical leap at age 9. A year later she had about a 6 inch vertical leap. All from just doing the boring work of leaping and a small amount of growth.

Of course squats (I never go past 90 degrees) are very good. Grab your mother and do them if you don't have weights. :)

Getting the gastrocnemius big is a real challenge, but you can make it much stronger with calf raises and sprinting. Grab your father this time. :p

Although you can improve your jumping skills quite a bit, much of it is genetic. You may never have the vertical leap of Muggsy because he was born with more of it than 99% of the population.

If you buy Jumpsoles let us know if they helped.

What is your vertical leap now? How much fat did you put on over the holidays? :p :p :p