When you think of the sports that include the most amount of jumping, you think of basketball and volleyball. And these sports benefit you greatly if you want to jump high.
The two sports have introduced and launched some of the best athletes in the world. But why is this the case?
As we will discuss more thoroughly in this article, let’s not forget about the importance of having a higher vertical jump in all aspects of sports. And if you want to improve your vertical, you can go to higherverticaljump.com
Whatever sport you enjoy spectating, it seems like some of the most entertaining athletes are among the fastest, most skilled, and overall most athletic.
Why is this though? And could this be one of the reasons why there are so many fans of basketball and volleyball? Perhaps.
Athletes in these two sports target the same muscle groups which mostly include their core (i.e. abs) and legs. These are the most important muscles when it comes to a higher vertical jump.
As these athletes constantly train the same muscles by playing these sports and do the same motions over and over again, it will only be a matter of time until their bodies have developed to the point where they can jump 30-40 inches off of the ground.
But let’s consider soccer players. Although they constantly train their legs and abs, it seems like they are typically not able to jump as high as basketball or volleyball players.
There is an answer to this, and it is the types of muscle fibers that each sport trains.
Soccer, on one hand, trains the legs and abs in a way that is tailored towards muscle endurance – in other words, allows the player to constantly run at a consistent speed for long periods of time without getting exhausted. These are called slow-twitch muscle fibers. Some athletes with great slow-twitch muscle fibers are soccer players, marathon runners, and swimmers
On the other hand, basketball and volley train the legs and abs in a way that is tailored towards muscle explosiveness and extremely quick movements with power. In other words, this allows the player to put a lot of energy into one single movement such as a jump when spiking the ball or dunking. These are called fast-twitch muscle fibers.
As professional athletes are training constantly based on their respective sports, they will either train their bodies to have great slow-twitch or fast-twitch muscle fibers. And in the end, they will excel at either one.
This is such an interesting observation when it comes to different sports.
Although every sport is filled with world-class athletes, each sport develops the athlete differently. Not only on the technique and skills that they improve at but the way that their muscles are able to develop and strengthen throughout their hours of training.
This is why you don’t see many regular people dunking the basketball at a community center pick up a run, but in the NBA it’s just another regular day at the office.