Although you may not be so genetically gifted to mimic LeBron-like leaps, this training program can add explosiveness—and maybe another inch or two—to your vertical jumps.
The coach behind the workout is DeVentri Jordan, director of performance at Life Time Game Face Training. He’s running Men’s Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. through a protocol called French Contrast Training in this latest Elite Trainer video to help elevate—literally—Samuel’s explosive jumping ability.
This method uses pairs of heavy Olympic exercises and explosive movements. This is to achieve post-activation potentiation (PAP), which states that “the contractile history of a muscle influences the mechanical performance of subsequent muscle contractions.” In layman’s terms, coupling a heavy lifting movement with an explosive exercise immediately following can help generate more athletic force.
In this case, Jordan explains how pairing Olympic-type exercise followed by an explosive jump can help manipulate your nervous system into generating more explosive force. That could result in more explosive power your lifts and your jumps.
Smith, who’s trained several NFL stars, including Miami Dolphins quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, breaks this training routine into a three-phase system that hits power, explosiveness, and the ability to slow down.
Warmup
Mini Band Series
An effective warmup shouldn’t take more than a few minutes, but should be able to activate your muscles. In this case a mini band is all it takes to get the muscles firing. Band walks in all directions—forward, backward, laterally, stiff-leg and bent knees—will quickly fire up your quads, hamstrings, hip flexors, glutes, abductors, and adductors.
The Workout
Phase 1
High Pull / Resisted Plyo Jumps
6 sets of 3 / 6 sets of 5
This pair of triple-extension moves are designed for muscle recruitment. The high pulls will help to prep the muscles for lengthening while the jumps will work on increasing muscle speed.
Phase 2
Dumbbell Iso Hold to Max-Effort Jump
6 sets of 3 reps
Shutting down your central nervous system is the goal of this sequence. Grab a pair of dumbbells for a five-second isometric hold, followed immediately by a max-effort explosive box jump. Box height is not important here; Jordan explains that a smooth and controlled landing is the main focus.
Phase 3
Depth Jump to Explosive Leap
4 sets of 2 per leg
To become an explosive athlete, you also need to work on deceleration, which is where depth jumps are essential. With this exercise, you’ll drop off a low box from your left or right foot. As soon as you land, immediately jump as high as you can, focusing on nailing a soft landing.
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