Strength development is an integral part of improving vertical jumping. The latter does in fact require the former, to a degree. So how much of that strength development needs to come from pumping iron?That is an important question. After all, not everyone has regular access to a weight room or has the required collection of black iron at home. Does that mean that athletes facing this kind of equipment restriction cannot meaningfully build their jump reach?On that front, there is good news and there is bad news. Let us consider the bad news first and get it out of the way.Jump improvement routines that include the use of free weights or weight machines are basically rendered useless when a potential trainee has no opportunity to access such equipment.
Since strength development is an important component of growing vertical jump, dependence upon facilities that simply are not in the picture leaves a prospect with no choices.The truth is that many jump improvement programs are weight lifting dependent. Remove that component and the entire program loses it’s value.However, the good news is that there are appropriate alternatives. Strength development can be achieved in other ways, no weight lifting required. In the interest of full disclosure it must be said that utilizing weight lifting for strength development is the most direct and least time consuming path to develop explosive jumping strength. Let it not be said that alternative training is necessarily more desirable.But let’s make sure to understand that there are other ways to achieve the same ends and when weight lifting facilities and equipment are just plain not available, the goal of making huge improvement in jump reach is not lost.
What is important to note here is this: a valid and effective system of vertical jump training will provide all of the necessary alternative exercises to get the same strength and power end result that can be gained by lifting weights.Any vertical jump program that does not provide that second path is not worth the time it takes to read about it, let alone the money it would cost to get involved.There is also a much larger point to be made relative to this topic. Never overlook the fact that vertical jump development which can secure an increase of ten inches or more will entail a great deal of other focus beyond improving strength.If an athlete is serious about becoming a functional leaper, it is an absolute prerequisite to engage in a jump training system that is comprehensive. Better jumping is a skill composed of a number of important factors. Unless all of them are competently addressed, outcomes will be diminished accordingly and a lot of hard work will equate to only limited returns.Equally as significant, it must be training that has proved to be effective with other athletes on all levels as well as in the competitive arena of real world sports. If a jumping development system does not have a documented performance record with practicing athletes, it has only minimal value, if any. The proof is in the doing and there needs to be evidence of success.There are a wide variety of approaches and programs that address vertical jump development.
Very few meet the criteria listed here. Thus very few are valid since the time, effort and expense related to most of the others are not reasonable or acceptable. In the end, a dedicated athlete seeking to build their jump reach does not need to waste precious resources.The bottom line is that weight lifting is not a requirement for becoming a leaper. But strength development is necessary. Use a program that provides both the alternative to weights (along with weight lifting as well) and focused attention to all of the other aspects of significantly growing jump reach which make the time and effort invested worthwhile.Anything short of that is a waste of resources and notably restricts success.