One of the most sought after skills that athletes are seemingly working constantly on improving for their routines would be perfecting their jumps.
While every athlete has portions of the routine that they would consider their favorites, for many athletes, being front and center and being able to show off their jumps is right at the top of the list.
To take it one step further, many athletes strongly covet the point position at the front of their routine’s jump sequence as a badge of honor, which they strive for and proudly take seriously if the honor of being point jumper should happen to be awarded to them.
Recognizing this, how can one improve their jumps and perfect them as best as possible?
Even if an athlete’s goal is not to become point, it may still be to be in position to maximize how well their jumps are able to be beautifully integrated into the jump portion of the routine.
Regardless of whether one is looking to improve on their toe touch, right or left hurdler, pike, etc., there are a variety of things that can be done to help ensure you are progressively getting better and maintaining as best a jump as you possibly can.
The most basic way that will naturally lend itself to enhancing your jumps is by stretching.
This may seem like a no-brainer, but it is often taken for granted as to how much diligently working on your flexibility will have a by-product effect on and truly elevate the quality of your jumps.
Another way to work on bettering your jumps is by putting a focus on strengthening the muscles that are used most often in the process of carrying out your jumps.
Although one can make the case that strengthening your entire body is ultra-important for jump improvement, exercises specifically focused on building your leg and hip muscles are unarguably critical.
In addition to stretching and becoming stronger, implementing drills that are aimed at advancing your jumps is extraordinarily important.
Drilling could be as simple as a workout that you can do by yourself at home, or it can be something much more elaborate that you work through with a teammate or two.
Be purposeful in your workouts, ask a coach to see if they may have some ideas that might be helpful with regard to any of these exercises and which ones may have the quickest impact.
A simple internet search will churn up a variety of activities that are all quite helpful in working to perfect your jumps.
There is so much information in fact, it is easy to become overwhelmed.
Every athlete is different.
Between inquiring with coaches and researching on your own, pick a finite number of exercises that you believe (with all things considered) make the most sense and then commit to consistently doing them.
Flexibility, strength training, and drills.
By persistently focusing on these three areas properly, you are sure to get your jumps to the level where your progress will be the envy of many who are able to see just how beautiful your jumps will become.
