Author: admin

Are Deep or Parallel Squats Needed When Doing a Squat?

By Jack Woodrup
VerticalJumping.com

Jack Woodrup has done tremendous work over the years focusing on the subject of jump training or improving your vertical.  This post on parallel squats and many other forms of squats will put to rest the many questions related to depth on squatting related to increasing your vertical jump.

At the start, he makes a great case for squats that match the range of motion that would  occur during the event.  So are parallel squats needed for jump training? Almost every trainer will correct you if you don’t, It this really the truth?

For the most part yes, but build up to mastering the deep or parallel squats as your mobility/flexibility allow.

Check out he complete post at verticaljumping.com.

How do you combine a jump program with what the high school coach is doing? Possible?

By Jack Woodrup
VerticalJumping.com
For a lot of young athletes doing well in high school sports is a hugely important time in their life. Up for grabs for those who play are very valuable college scholarships, and in some cases, maybe even pro careers. Even if you don’t aim that high doing well on the court and getting more playing time can often be a pretty good reward in itself.
So with that in mind, it isn’t in entirely far out statement to say that High School coaches hold a great deal of power in the student athlete/coach relationship. So what do you do if you are looking to improve your vertical jump so that you can improve your on court or on field performance and your high school coach has you doing something that seems very counterproductive to that goal? Can these two situations co-exist?
Well, the first thing you need to realize is that the coach is not your enemy. If they have you doing something they more than likely have their reasons for it. If you think that what the coach is asking you is genuinely going to hurt you and your teams performance than you should consider setting up a meeting with him to ask him or her about it. Questioning your coach can be a bad move if you do it wrong (like in a timeout huddle right at the end of a tight game for example), but it can help build your relationship if you do it right.
This I would think meant visiting their office, asking your question, letting them answer, and if you are still unsatisfied, bringing up a few well researched counterpoints and maybe even offering an alternative suggestion.
Another issue you might face is that sometimes increasing your vertical jump isn’t necessarily the biggest thing that you should be working on. For example if you are a basketball player and already have a pretty decent running 34 inch vertical jump but have no endurance, well in order to get better basketball you might need to prioritize doing some more conditioning work so that you can still play solid defense and have your legs on your shot late in games. Conditioning work generally won’t help your vertical though so if you are looking to get that 34 inch running up to 40 inches you will need to way up which goal is more important.
If it is just jumping high for the sake of jumping high then you might consider quitting the team and trying out for high jump or long jump, both of which will definitely compliment your jumping goals a lot more. If you really want to play basketball though you might just have to shelve those plans for the 40 inch jump until the summer off season.
That said, even if your coaches goals differ from your jumping goals there is still plenty you can do to maximize your chances of increasing (or at the very least , maintaining) your vertical jump. In season work should consist primarily of basic strength training (squats, deadlifts, step ups), some dynamic low impact work (kettlebell swings, moderately loaded Olympic lifts), and of course some low level jumping drills to maintain the explosiveness (box jumps, seated jumps).
High school sports can be a very rewarding experience for the young athlete, but it can also be very stressful. On one hand you want to do right by your team and your coach, and on the other you want to challenge yourself to improve as an individual. How effectively you balance those two goals out can be a real challenge and sometimes the best thing to do is take a step back and reassess what you want out of your sport and then once you have made those decisions, give it your best shot to achieve your goals.

For more information, visit the Weight Room section of our site.

Overused Training Method: Plyometrics

By Stephen McCarthy

The McCarthy Project

Plyometrics for sport performance  are mainstay in almost every jump training program. The problem arises that plyometrics are probably one of the most misunderstood training methods in the training world today. They are very aggressive and overused which leads to less than stellar results. On the other hand, plyometrics will provide the stress needed to improve your game.

Before we go into the details, lets start with the definition. The word plyometric was originally used as replacement to the term “shock method” Over the years, the definition has expanded to include almost any form of jumping and landing training exercise. In my mind, this is an over reach. The purest definition of the plyometrics is a dropping from a raised surface, landing and then bounding in the shortest amount of time. Today, the definition does not include the dropping from a raised surface. It is the engaging of the stretch shortening cycle under stress to produce a training effect.

The biggest problem is that the training method is one of the most aggressive methods of training and is the easiest to do at home. And in America if 20 foot contacts or reps are the recommended prescription, then 100 would be better. This is not true for plyometrics. More is not better, you must stay within the researched methodologies to gain the results from your work.

Simply follow the plyometric training program including; the recovery time, limit your foot contacts and make sure each rep is done with max effort. And you may see the results of your work, not overuse injury.

Jack Woodrup of VerticalJumping.com on How you would know if a vertical jump training program is marketing hype?

By Jack Woodrup

VerticalJumping.com

When I first got interested in vertical jump training I was shocked to discover that at the time nearly all the jumping programs that were available for sale were quite frankly terrible. One reason for this is that a very large part of the vertical jump market is made up of highly impressionable teenage boys wanting to slam dunk a basketball.
No offence to teenage boys (I was after all one myself at some point), but the biggest thing they don’t get is just how little they actually know about things. I am sure I am not the only adult who looks back on his teenage years and thinks “If I only knew then what I know now”.  Fortunately these days the internet has made is significantly easier to research the various jump programs available and find out if they are any good or not, but in order to help you out here are a few things to look for.
Firstly, does the sales pitch make promises of guaranteed gains? If the answer is yes be wary. I know it helps reassure people if they think they are going to buy a program and 12 weeks later be jumping 10 inches higher, and this sort of thing definitely helps people make more sales, but the truth of the matter is, any real coach will tell you that guaranteeing a specific minimum result for people is actually impossible and to do so is to tell a lie.
You see everybody is different and has different strengths and weaknesses, and different starting points. An absolute beginner who has never training might indeed improve 10 inches on 12 weeks, but a more advanced athlete might be lucky to get 1 or 2 inches in 12 weeks.
So as counter intuitive as this is, if you are after a program that is going to treat you right (i.e. not lie to you even before you make a purchase) then look for one that doesn’t make outlandish claims of guaranteed inches.
Another key indicator for determining what is a good program or not is how customised that program will be to you. As I mentioned earlier, everyone has different strengths and weakness and they shouldn’t be trained the same way. One size fits all programs, or cookie cutter programs as they are known, will treat every athlete identically and have them train the same way using the same set of exercises, sets and reps.
So why is this such a big mistake in a training program? Well jumping is a function of relative power, and relative power is a function of strength and speed (how quickly you can apply your strength). So a strong but slow athlete will get a lot more benefit from a plyometric and jumping focused program, while a weaker athlete would do better by hitting the weight room to increase their strength.
To recap if the jump program you have bought, or are looking to buy doesn’t make outlandish claims and false promises, and it is customized to your individual needs than these two very good signs that the jump program has been written by someone who actually knows the subject well and is honest enough to not try cheap marketing lies to sucker you out of your hard earned cash. And in my book, if I was forking over my hard earned cash and putting my jump training in someone’s hands, I would want it to definitely be that sort of a person.

Shaun Goodsell of Mental Edge Talked About the Basics of Developing Mental Toughness

Your host Stephen McCarthy and Shaun Goodsell of the Mental Edge discussed the different aspects of mental toughness.  It is one of those subjects talked about plenty, but what is it? how do you get it?

Shaun exposed a simple, clear path to developing your purpose to the point that you will succeed.  Then when the failure that arrives, the athlete, coach or parent can show mental toughness to face the defeat and complete the mission.

Shaun mentioned the following how-to steps to developing inner discipline and becoming mentally tough.

1.  Design your life intentionally and know you will fail several times

2.  Talk about how to act out the design you see happening

3.  Then stay focused and do the work needed to accomplish the design.

To listen to the complete show, visit here.

Secondly, on the show Shaun mentioned his online site for developing mental toughness, here is the link for his site.

Shaun Goodsell Bio Information:

Shaun has worked with LPGA Golfers, National Championship Hockey Players, Professional Triathletes, State Champion Football and Hockey Players, as well as those athletes who simply want to make “the team.” Every athlete deals with certain mental interferences and life impairments no matter what level they may be at competitively. There is no such thing as right and wrong, or, good and bad, in Shaun’s mind. I do not look at life in these terms. As a Performance Coach, it is my challenge to help each individual athlete develop a new way of defining his/her performance – it is not about good or bad, but about looking at what factors go into a quality performance and what each athlete can do and/or change, individually, to experience just that. With Shaun’s ability to teach and to inspire, along with his ability to communicate abstract ideas clearly, he is able to help each person he works with identify and look at ways they might be engaging in self-defeating patterns of thinking and/or acting, which results in an overall empowering experience for the individual, raising their level of mental toughness and overall self-esteem. Shaun also works extensively with coaches and parents of athletes in large groups, focusing on their integral roles in athletes’ overall mental development and their lives in general. Each coach and parents leaves these presentations and workshops inspired and better equipped to manage athletes with aim, purpose and compassion.

For more information, visit his website.

Jill Magee on Impact of Jump Training and Injury Prevention

One of the major areas of misunderstanding in the world of sport is the amount of contacts you have with the floor.  Jill Magee and Stephen McCarthy covered the concept of injury prevention.  i.e. practicing your jumps but limiting the number of foot contacts during jump training program.

Some programs require the use of weight vests, bands, etc. all over one training season.  This may be too much for the situation.  This sets up a problem if your body is not ready and you attack the training program, at the very least your work will not produce the results you desire. The worst case is you break down and get hurt.

Here are a couple points to hit before starting a new training program:

1.  Assessment of where your body is currently at  strength wise

2.  Find out strengths, weaknesses, and compensations then fix them.

3.  Start the jump training program with the proper number and type of foot contacts

For more information on the complete show, visit here.

For more information on Jill Magee, visit her website.

The McCarthy Project: Official Internet Radio Show and Content Provider for Nature Valley Grand Prix Announced

We are proud to announce that for 2013 we will be the “Official Internet Radio Show and Content Provider” for the Nature Valley Grand Prix and Bike Festival.

We will be covering the teams and their athletes. passing along training and nutritional information and many other guests related to Minnesota cycling and the the bike race.

Background Information on the Nature Valley Grand Prix and Bike Festival.

The Nature Valley Grand Prix is returning to Minnesota, bigger and better than ever. This five day stage race, which is part of the Nature Valley Bicycle Festival, draws the top pro/elite racers from all over the country.  If you’ve experienced pro/elite racing before, you’ll want to mark your calendars for June 12-16, 2013. If you haven’t, you’ll want to find out what you’ve been missing.  Pro racing is a dazzling sport that can only be fully appreciated in person. The roar of a motorcycle and shrill blasts from the course marshals’ whistles announce the approach of the racing pack. The racers fly by, a brightly colored blur so close that you could reach out and touch them. They kick up enough wind to blow your hair back on a calm day. You hear the buzz of their chains and clicks as they shift gears. Shoulder to shoulder and wheel to wheel, hard physical contact between pro racers is common and the risk of a sudden crash is ever present. And bike racing isn’t just something that you watch. Racing is a brutal sport and the riders feed off the energy of the crowd. So come prepared to cheer, clap your hands, stomp your feet and drive these racers to a higher level.

For more information on the race, visit their website.