Home » What is the best way to train athletes to jump higher?
What is the best way to train athletes to jump higher?

Plyometrics is a type of training commonly used to improve vertical jump. Muscles are composed of fast and slow twitch fibers. The higher the percentage of fast twitch fibers, the more explosive the muscle is. Athletes looking to increase explosiveness and vertical jump, focus on plyometric training to increase the percentage of fast twitch muscle fibers in key muscle groups. To be effective, plyometrics needs to be performed with high intensity efforts to recruit the fast twitch fibers that are crucial to improving the vertical jump.
Plyometric training programs have been found to increase vertical jump height in multiple studies. The length of these jump training programs range from 6 to 24 weeks, including pre‐pubertal, pubertal, and adult athletes. A recent meta analysis, found that to achieve improved jump heights training has been anywhere from one to five sessions per week or tallied as total training sessions from six to greater than 25 sessions. Despite the large variety of variables in these studies, improved vertical jump performance is a consistent outcome after plyometric training.
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Dr. Rahman Kandil is a fellowship-trained sports medicine Orthopedic Surgeon specializing in shoulder and knee surgery. Dr. Kandil treats a variety of bone and joint conditions including general orthopedic injuries, fractures, and ligament/muscle/tendon injuries. Dr. Kandil received his undergraduate degree in Biology with a minor in Management Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He attended medical school at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, MA and graduated in 2011 with multiple honors. Dr. Kandil completed both his internship and residency in Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Virginia, School of Medicine, where he received the Chief Resident of the Year award in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery. Following his residency graduation, Dr. Kandil further sub-specialized and completed his fellowship in Orthopedic Sports Medicine and Shoulder Surgery at Stanford University Hospital. Read More-->