Granted, Bruce wasn’t well known for his writing on how to increase vertical jumps on the court, or even how to hit more baskets, but it had a profound effect on Kareem Abdul-Jabaar. In this 2006 interview with Andrew Kamenetzky, The Cap has this to say about Bruce’s influence:
“Bruce, more or less, backed up what he had learned from John Wooden. It was just an echo of John Wooden, from Hong Kong instead of Indiana. You have to be committed. You have to be prepared. You have to be willing to sacrifice to be fully prepared. Be fit and understand the nature of the competition. “
At seven feet two inches, Jabaar was blessed with the kind of height most of us can only dream of, but aspiring to reach our personal best in our training and performance on the court, we can still break new limits and take our way. game to the next level.
If you are serious about increasing vertical jumps, then developing more flexibility and looseness is a good starting point. In addition to reducing the chance of injury after a full warm-up, increased flexibility will allow you to unleash the explosive muscle strength you have worked hard all season to develop. Here’s what Bruce had to say about it:
“Neural impulses are sent to the working muscle to trigger a sufficient number of fibers at the right time, while impulses to antagonistic muscles are reduced to decrease resistance.”
Which means that if you don’t stretch and loosen before a match and as part of your training regimen, you’re playing with the brakes on! In the case of an explosive jump, your quads will be the working muscle (pushing you up) and your hamstrings will be the antagonist (pulling you down).
There are many great stretching exercises on the net and on YouTube in particular; Stretching your routine, as well as your glutes and hamstrings is critical to success; However, when you do, you must adhere to the following principle of good stretching:
1. Heat first. A good cardiovascular warm-up will fill your muscles with blood, provide them with oxygen, and ensure that they are more flexible and able to stretch.
2. Even, deep breaths work best for a safe and controlled stretch; You will find that your reach is particularly extended when you exhale.
3. Maintain your stretches and gently increase your range – don’t bounce! Stretching is best done as a gentle, relaxed activity, not as an aggressive, ballistic routine.
4. Have some variety in your stretching – reaching a training and performance plateau is quite natural – improvement in fitness and performance comes from taking your body out of its comfort zone, even when you prefer to stay comfortable.
5. Be flexible in both your thinking and your body. How about a yoga or martial arts class to mix it up a bit? It worked for Cap. (But don’t expect a movie career to ensue!)
The process of how to increase vertical jumps can be mastered by anyone who is willing to learn, change, and work smarter and harder. As Bruce said:
“If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will extend to your work and your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go further. “