Most of the time when we break down and analyse vertical training, we tend to focus on the same areas time and time again - the physical processes that we go through daily or weekly to improve our time on the court. This is essential of course, but it's actually the third link in the chain of results.
Okay enough already - let's take some time to look at number one and two in greater detail.
This is the complete list of criteria:
Dream - Performance - Process
Stick with me; this article isn't going to get all spiritual and require you to enter a smoke filled wigwam... unless you want to. In fact, the above list of criteria came from Eastern European Olympic training methods and in my experience those guys and gals don't do anything that doesn't work. (They're not allowed to.) So let's get the lowdown on how this all hangs together.
Dream - refers to the engagement of the senses and in particular any emotions that are important enough to drive you to increase your vertical max. Stop for a moment and think about how you represent success in vertical jumping using your senses. You may have a picture of what it will look like, and you may be in that picture (associated to it) or you may be seeing yourself in the picture (dissociated from it). Most psychologists concur that the most compelling picture you can make inside your head is one where you see yourself in it; i.e. not looking through your own eyes.
Which noises are significant at the moment you leap? Is it the sound of your sneakers squealing on the court, the final bounce of the ball before you take off, or maybe it's the sound of someone's voice encouraging you to leap. Include that piece of sensory information in the dream.
Now get in touch with the physical kinaesthetic that you feel when you jump. Where is the most significant tactile sensation? Is it in the lower body - thighs, knees, soles of the feet or maybe even the upper in your shoulders or arms? Add it to the list.
Lastly, pay attention to the most significant driving emotion that motivates you to improve your vertical training. A good way to uncover this is to answer the question "What does achieving my absolute best in vertical jumping get for me on a personal level?" This is the driving emotion that will keep you focussed on achieving V-Max, even when you have a down day and practice feels like a drag.
You should now have a picture, a sound, a physical feeling and a driving emotion to spur you on to achieve your personal best. Don't worry if these don't come straight away, they may pop into your head over the next few days.
Performance - we're going to get extremely picky now about which words you use to articulate the end result you're aiming for. I hear a lot of general terms like improve, increase, higher and better and in terms of aligning your intentions with your actions, they aren't precise enough performance terms.
If you google human jumping achievements some websites mention incremental ranges like a jump of 25, 30 or 35 inches. This is better, but there's an optimum way to focus on results. Concrete and absolute height reached. This essentially means that if you stand six feet high with an extended upwards reach of a further 24 inches, your total standing reach is 96 inches. If you are aiming for a 38 inch vertical jump, the number you need to focus on is the final height measured from the ground - in the numbers we used this is 96 add 38 equals 134 inches high in total.
Now just by identifying that, it becomes a more concrete and tangible target to focus on. Hang a piece of string from the roof or set yourself a flag pole to reach to if you want. Measures expressed in absolute terms work best for the human mind.
Process - This is simply the physical and mental procedure you go through in your vertical training to make yourself better. It's the hours you spend on the court, the effort you put in lifting weights, the calories you consume and so on. Typically it's the section that most players concentrate on; but just take a moment to ponder this question - if you don't know what success looks like, feels like and sounds like and you don't know why you want it, how on earth will you know when you get there?
Okay enough already - let's take some time to look at number one and two in greater detail.
This is the complete list of criteria:
Dream - Performance - Process
Stick with me; this article isn't going to get all spiritual and require you to enter a smoke filled wigwam... unless you want to. In fact, the above list of criteria came from Eastern European Olympic training methods and in my experience those guys and gals don't do anything that doesn't work. (They're not allowed to.) So let's get the lowdown on how this all hangs together.
Dream - refers to the engagement of the senses and in particular any emotions that are important enough to drive you to increase your vertical max. Stop for a moment and think about how you represent success in vertical jumping using your senses. You may have a picture of what it will look like, and you may be in that picture (associated to it) or you may be seeing yourself in the picture (dissociated from it). Most psychologists concur that the most compelling picture you can make inside your head is one where you see yourself in it; i.e. not looking through your own eyes.
Which noises are significant at the moment you leap? Is it the sound of your sneakers squealing on the court, the final bounce of the ball before you take off, or maybe it's the sound of someone's voice encouraging you to leap. Include that piece of sensory information in the dream.
Now get in touch with the physical kinaesthetic that you feel when you jump. Where is the most significant tactile sensation? Is it in the lower body - thighs, knees, soles of the feet or maybe even the upper in your shoulders or arms? Add it to the list.
Lastly, pay attention to the most significant driving emotion that motivates you to improve your vertical training. A good way to uncover this is to answer the question "What does achieving my absolute best in vertical jumping get for me on a personal level?" This is the driving emotion that will keep you focussed on achieving V-Max, even when you have a down day and practice feels like a drag.
You should now have a picture, a sound, a physical feeling and a driving emotion to spur you on to achieve your personal best. Don't worry if these don't come straight away, they may pop into your head over the next few days.
Performance - we're going to get extremely picky now about which words you use to articulate the end result you're aiming for. I hear a lot of general terms like improve, increase, higher and better and in terms of aligning your intentions with your actions, they aren't precise enough performance terms.
If you google human jumping achievements some websites mention incremental ranges like a jump of 25, 30 or 35 inches. This is better, but there's an optimum way to focus on results. Concrete and absolute height reached. This essentially means that if you stand six feet high with an extended upwards reach of a further 24 inches, your total standing reach is 96 inches. If you are aiming for a 38 inch vertical jump, the number you need to focus on is the final height measured from the ground - in the numbers we used this is 96 add 38 equals 134 inches high in total.
Now just by identifying that, it becomes a more concrete and tangible target to focus on. Hang a piece of string from the roof or set yourself a flag pole to reach to if you want. Measures expressed in absolute terms work best for the human mind.
Process - This is simply the physical and mental procedure you go through in your vertical training to make yourself better. It's the hours you spend on the court, the effort you put in lifting weights, the calories you consume and so on. Typically it's the section that most players concentrate on; but just take a moment to ponder this question - if you don't know what success looks like, feels like and sounds like and you don't know why you want it, how on earth will you know when you get there?