How To Train fast twitch muscle fibers

You want to focus your workouts on strengthening your fast twitch muscle fibers since these have the most power and will give you the explosive force you need to get off the ground. If you follow these simple guidelines you can make sure that you are training the right types of muscles in the correct fashion to help improve your vertical jump.

When you’re doing resistance training in the gym try to do all of your lifts with more than 60% of your one rep max. Essentially the heavier weight you lift the more muscle fibers you will have to recruit to accomplish the lift. The more muscle fibers you are recruiting the more they will grow and the more explosive force you will develop. develop more explosive force and that is how you jump higher.

Do all of your lifts and movements with maximum speed. No matter what exercise you are doing make sure it is done all out. Jumping, lifting weights, skipping, or throwing all need to be done as fast as you possibly can. If you strive for speed it means that you are applying all the strength you have as fast as you can. Which is exactly what you will want to do when you are jumping

Train Eccentrically. Basically this means you have to emphasize the reactive part of the lift. Or basically the opposite of the explosion. If you are doing a squat and you explode up. Then slowly let the weight back down. Say for a count of 5 or more. This will build your fast twitch fibers faster since it keeps them under stress for longer time.

Plyometrics train your muscles reaction time in essence. Landing and jumping again without letting the muscles relax such as in a depth jump or a altitude landing forces the muscle to go from extended to contracted or likewise very quickly. This training will stimulate those fast twitch muscles to get that quick response. quick response is important because you only have an instant to apply all the force you can so you can jump higher

Contrast Load Training is one of the best training techniques to improve your vertical leap. It is done by doing a set of exercises with a very heavy weight. Usually within 25% of your one rep max. After you have done this you get to rest for a short period usually just a minute or two. You then transition to a lighter exercise like lunges or un-weighted squats. This first heavy lift gets the fast twitch fibers all fired up and they will be ready on the second lift.

Over speed training is basically trying to run faster than your body is used to. This can be done very simply by running down hill and allowing your body to carry. This is great training since the fast twitch fibers are the quick contractors they will be recruited to move your legs since slow twitch would fall behind.

Preparing for your exertion mentally is very important as well. You have to fire up your brain and get it ready to send the message to your muscles. If the brain is sleeping when you try to fire off all your muscles you won’t get nearly the same results. Try preparing for your jump for 10 seconds before you jump and I think you will notice a bit of an improvement in your vertical. You will see better and better results the more you practice.

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Tip 10: always warm up before you exercise, never overwork your muscles before they are properly warmed up or you can easily cause your self serious injury. Jump rope or jog before lifting any heavy weights

Tip 9: a good exercise to build large amounts of quad muscle is the squat. Start with very little weight and slowly increase your repetitions and weight as you become more advanced. Move slowly as this will build more of the explosive power you want for jumping.

Tip 8: make sure to have separate days on your workout schedule for weight training days and speed/plyo days. Most studies agree that mixing these types of workouts can really hamper your results

Tip7: Jump Rope, even though many people may look down on jumping rope it is a fantastic cardio workout as well as a very basic plyo workout. It will strengthen your legs and get your lungs in great shape too. That’s good for whatever sport you’re playing.

Tip 6: work 100% of the time, while you can’t be in the gym 24/7 you can always be working out a little bit. Walk around on your toes or heels and stand with your legs slightly or half bent when your doing things around the house or at work. All of these little things will strengthen your legs over a long period of time

Tip 5: exercise your calfs, while they are a smaller muscle than your quads they are very important in jumping. Calf raises are the best way to build muscle and you can do that anywhere. If you can put your toes on a ledge this will allow you to bring your heels down below your toes for an even better workout. You can add weight to make this more challenging.

Tip 4: don’t work to hard. Your muscles need some time to rest and if you are constantly working them they don’t have time to heal themselves. You actually tear your muscles just a little bit when you work them really hard. Especially when you are weight training. That light workout or a day of rest gives them time to repair those minute tears so that they are ready to go again and grow even bigger.

Tip 3: focus on your jump and use your entire body. Also make sure you are trying for your maximum height. Just jumping for the sake of jumping won’t get you nearly as good of results as actually focusing on each jump

Tip 2: be patient when you are training. You cont build muscle over night and you wont see 3 inches tacked on to your vertical either. It takes time and effort and the proper workout to put inches on your jump. Don’t give up and don’t let your determination and motivation float away. Keep at it and you can see results faster than you ever thought

Tip 1: Plyometric Exercises are one of the best ways to train your jumping muscles and whip them into shape. They are tough and demanding but that is because they work the largest muscles in your legs and they do it efficiently. Jumping as high as you can and bringing yourself down into a crouching position when you land and then immediately jumping back up is the best way to strain your leg muscles.

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There are lots of jump higher programs out there and it can be tough to sort through all of them to try and find one that is quality and also a great value. I hope this article can give you some simple steps to follow that will show you how to pick the best jump higher program to make sure you get the results you are looking for. Many of the programs out there are excellent and some are complete garbage… here’s what to watch for:

1. Who created the product? Obviously it is important to know who you are getting your information from. Some are created by professional jump coaches that work with professional athletes. Others are created by the

athletes themselves. If the program comes from some average Joe who you don’t know and can’t find any information on, then you probably don’t want to be taking his advice. Look for someone reputable behind your jump higher program.

2. Does the system have everything you need? There are programs out there with varying amounts of information. Some come with a pdf ebook while others have instructional videos and I know of one that even comes with its own supplements. Make sure the program has what you need to learn from it. However is best for you.

3. Is it reasonably priced? Obviously many of the programs will be priced differently. I know of some ranging from $40 up to over $200. And they all bring something different to the table. It all depends on you budget and which product fits your needs best. Remember thought that you don’t always get what you pay for… jump higher programs are not all created equal!

4. Does it offer a guarantee? Most Jump higher programs out there these days offer a guarantee so that you can tray the product and if you don’t get the results you were looking for simply refund it. This is an important qualifier that proves the vendor is serious about their product and has confidence that it will work for you.

5. Does it need extra gadgets to work? This goes somewhat with the system being complete, but again make sure that everything you need is included. You should not buy the program and find out you need to get some special shoes or plyo boxes. Out side of your basic jump rope you shouldn’t have to get a thing.

6. What kind of Feedback can you find? It’s important to look for reviews and customer feedback on you jump higher program. If other people are raving about it that it worked for them that can give you some confidence that it is a good product and worth your investment. Make sure the reviews are genuine though. If they sound fabricated you might want to steer clear of it since it is most likely just a marketing ploy.

Hopefully this article has helped you on your quest to find the system that is right for you and will get you the results you are looking for. If you follow the guidelines in this article im sure you will end up with the best quality jump higher program out there.

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