Let's first talk about vertical jump. Being able to jump high involves many factors. Some of these factors you can control. When we talk about born leapers, we're talking about the percentage of fast-twitch muscle fibers in the important areas (legs) being higher than average. In most people, the difference in the percentage between slow-twitch (great for endurance athletes) and fast-twitch is relatively small. Usually the person's percentages are close to 50%-50% or 60%-40%. How much fast-twitch do you have? Well, there are tests that can be done to approximate this percentage, however, they are very costly. Chances are you already know if you have a huge difference in these percentages. If you were a really fast sprinter in junior high or you ran a 5 minute mile in junior high, you can make an educated guess.

It has been discovered that this fast-twitch/slow-twitch separation is not so simple. Research has uncovered the fact that along with these great fast-twitch and slow-twitch fibers, there are also fibers that have properties of both of the fibers. Now for the great news. These fibers are influenced in a major way by specific training. Therefore, doing training that focuses on quick movements (jumping, sprinting, etc..) enables these muscles to develop the properties of fast-twitch muscle fibers. In order to train these muscles, we must pay attention to the concept of "specificity." Specificity involves the reaction of muscles or muscle groups to training. If you train a muscle group by moving it at a high speed, then eventually that muscle group will be stronger--but only at that speed. In fact, in recent studies, the concept of specificity has been shown to be even more prevalent in all types of training. If a muscle group is trained at a certain angle, then it will only show strength improvements at that angle. The concept of specificity should be kept in mind in all levels and all types of training.

So, what does this have to do with jump training? Well, many different types of training are used and considered effective, even though some are simply not useful and even dangerous. When a technique produces results, it doesn't necessarily mean that it was that specific technique that produced those results. Sometimes, the positive training effects that occurred, came about in spite of that training technique (because of some other factor). Keep in mind that training should make sense (because of the concept of specificity), so if a technique seems "off the wall" and a friend says it worked for her, don't jump (ha ha) to conclusions.

Let's look at a few concepts we need to keep in mind when jump training:

Stretching: You might be surprised to know that it still hasn't been proven that stretching prevents injuries. The reason you should stretch is to improve your performance. A flexible muscle reacts and contracts faster, and with more force than an non-flexible one. If you did nothing but stretch all day long, you would notice an increase in your vertical jump.

Warm-up: This is a very important part of your workout. A warm muscle (higher temperature, more blood flow in the muscle tissue) will stretch more effectively and will perform more effectively than a cold one. A warm muscle reacts and contracts faster, and with more force than a cold one.

Food and Rest: This is probably the main reason athletes do not see improvements in their performance and leave them injury prone on a regular basis. It is hard for your muscles to recover from a workout if you don't sleep enough. It is hard for your muscles to perform to their potential if they don't have the correct fuel to do so. Eating a 60-25-15% Carbohydrate-Fat-Protein diet is a general guideline for an athlete's diet.

Injuries: Well, it is going to happen to you, so you should be prepared. If you pull or strain a muscle, use ice on the injured area for 48-72 hours. Then use the ice-heat method of icing the area for 20 minutes and then heating the muscle for 20 minutes without a break in between for as long as you have time. If you have a serious injury that you been dealing with for an extended period of time (ACL tear, cartilage tear in your knee, or some other related injury ) you should take extra precautions to not aggravate that injury.

Intensity: Your workout will be for nothing if you don't take an intense approach to your training. Pushing yourself further each week is what will make you stronger, faster, and jump higher.

Listen to Your Body: You will get better at this the longer you sustain a regular workout schedule. Now that I have been working out for 4 years straight with no extended breaks, I know when it's time to slow down, take it easy, or simply rest for a day. If you feel you may sustain an injury if you do your last set of the night (it happened to me recently), then don't take a chance. At first, you will struggle with such decisions, wondering if you are just tired or if you really are near that danger zone. When in doubt, rest.

Periodization: When setting up a training program, always allow for a break period after about 8 weeks. During this break period, your body will recover from the pounding it received during the 8 week training session. This break period should last about a week and exercises, and weight training during this time should consist of the same movements with less intensity (less weight in the weight room). Without this rest, your body will never reach it's potential and will probably aggravate itself into a tendency for injury.

Total Body Training: It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to do a well rounded weight training program while you continue to work on your vertical jump.

Now that we've had a brief lesson in exercise physiology, we can move into the jump training program with a little bit of knowledge. There are only two tried and true means to improve your vertical jump - weight training and jump training.

You should do your jump training at the conclusion of your match, practice, playing, whatever so that you can train to failure without interfering with your performance. Your training should consist of several sets of different types of jumps all used in volleyball. Thus, you can work on your footwork as well as your vertical. Start with block jumps with four different sets of at least 8 repetitions (use an equal number for all four). The four sets were: two-step to the right, two-step to the left, three-step to the right, three-step to the left. This can be done with or without a net (just imagine one if necessary). Concentrate on perfect technique and always use your max jump. Do not rush through the sets - you are not trying to get cardiovascular conditioning. You want your legs to wear out first, not your cardiopulmonary system.

Next, do sets of at least 12 of three different kinds of approach jumps - left side, right side, and middle (i.e. jump straight up and do not glide). One option is to make reps 6-9 be backrow approaches - thus working on broad jumping as well. Again, always use perfect form and your max jump.

The final set is the toughest. It consists of jumping straight up off of two feet using your max jump repetitively. You do this until failure. I don't mean failure as in until you die, but as in until you cannot really jump that well anymore. You can do this by standing under a basketball rim and jumping up to touch it with both hands.

General info: Use repetitions of 8 and 12 for the different sets, and as your legs get into better shape, switch over to doing more sets, ie 2 times through the blocking sets, then 2 times through the approach sets, followed by ONLY ONE set of the death march.

You should be doing this AT MOST three times a week, otherwise you will OVERTRAIN and do yourself more harm than good. Make sure that you get at least one, preferably two days rest (no jump training - playing is OK) between sessions. If you have access to sand, training in the sand will only help you marginally with your jump - the jumping is no different than indoors, but moving through the sand on blocks and approaches may help overall leg strength - but the sand will be much kinder on your joints than the pine wood.

You can optionally supplement the preceding jump training regimen by replacing one day of jump training with one day of weight training. When training legs for jumping, do the following exercises in this order - Squats, leg extensions, leg curls, leg presses, calf raises. All of the exercises should consist of a pyramid of sets which consists of: warm-up, 10-12 reps, 7-9 reps, 4-6 reps, warm-down of 10-12 reps. Each set, except the warm-up should consist of as much weight as you can handle and maintain proper form while performing the specified number of repetitions. The warm-up should be a weight such that you can perform 15 reps comfortably while maintaining perfect form. All of the sets should be conducted to failure - when you can accomplish more reps than the intervals specified, increase the weight. On the warm-down perfect form should be the primary goal.

Since the exercises consist of training until failure, an adequate spotter is essential. The proper technique on all of the exercises is essential. For squats, that consists of keeping the back very straight (not arched either way) and the head up while bending the legs to the point where flexion is just beyond 90 degrees with the feet slightly broader than shoulder width. Bending the legs beyond that increases the likelihood of immediate as well as long-term injury, as well as not being useful to jumping since you do not bend your knees beyond 90 degrees when jumping. Normal repetitions consist of slowly lowering to the proper flexion and then extending back up, NEVER locking the knees. The pace of the exercises should be slow and steady. When training for POWER (SEE CAUTION ABOVE), the speed of the negative phase is unimportant (lowering of the weight), but the positive phase should be EXPLOSIVE. You should come up with as much speed as possible - as though you were jumping - WHILE MAINTAINING PERFECT FORM. You may find that you need to slow the movement down near full extension in order to avoid leaving the ground.

For all of the other exercises, the speed guidelines are the same, but proper form differs. In leg extension, the flexion used should be that limited by the machine, but never too far beyond 90 degrees, and it is vital to avoid LOCKING the knee at full extension. Briefly pause at full extension before lowering. Always keep both feet with toes pointed and keep them approximately shoulder width apart. In leg curls, exercise the same caution against leg locking, and flex to the maximal position and hold briefly, then lower. Again, keep toes pointed and feet at shoulder width. In leg press, again only barely exceed 90 degrees of flexion and do not lock the knees. Feet should be slightly wider than shoulder width. Do NOT hold the weight at maximum flexion. In calf raises, have the feet shoulder width apart and start with the heel below the toes. Extend until the heel is at the maximal position above the toes and pause briefly before lowering until the heel is below the toes again.

General info: ALWAYS use a spotter. ALWAYS use PROPER technique. DO NOT POWER TRAIN until you have been weight training for at least 6 mos to a year on that body part. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, warm up with at least five minutes of light CV work (running, biking, rowing, stairmaster, etc) before starting your workout. Make sure to STRETCH the appropriate muscle group before each exercise.

Be careful not to OVERTRAIN - the cardinal sin of any kind of training. If you chose, do only the former for a long time. Start slowly and build.