How to Develop Explosive Power

There are many different ways to develop the type of speed and power needed to excel in sports. No matter which method you choose, a very simple and effective way is to simply start jumping. This doesn’t need to get very complicated or fancy. For some reason, basic jump training has been made overly complex and complicated by many people that try to rig up gadgets, gizmos, and other crap that will do nothing but instill bad mechanics and increase ground contact times.

Where to Start

A very simple way to begin to incorporate jump training into your program is to place them in the warm up prior to engaging in your strength work. I like to stick with a lower volume approach; 10-20 jumps for a while until you adapt. Any more than this is pretty much unnecessary and only increases the likelihood of you hurting yourself or your athletes/clients. Performing jumps prior to strength training has a number of benefits, including:

• Priming the CNS (central nervous system) to recruit the HTMU’s (high threshold motor units), which will call upon the fast twitch/white muscle fibers to start working NOW and get ready to lift very heavy.
  
• They get the body and mind warmed up efficiently.
  
• Keeps you moving and feeling athletic (what good is all that strength if you can’t display it on the field with some speed and power?)
  
• Trains mobility, spatial awareness, and body control. As you land from a basic jump, box jump, etc, you must have decent mobility to get into proper positions to avoid injury; and you must have good body awareness and coordination to stop from falling over.
  

How often should I be jumping?

It depends, really. If you are involved in a sport that requires a HIGH amount of jumping already (basketball, volleyball, etc) then the need for extra jump training may not be very high on the list of priorities. If you are not involved in a sport but still want to jump and feel athletic again, begin by placing 1-2 jump training sessions in per week, preferably before you lift and on non-consecutive days. For example, you could simply perform your warm up, then perform 8-10 sets of 1-3 box jumps, working up to a max height for the day. Then, 2-3 days later, you could perform 6-8 sets of 2-3 standing long jumps going for a max distance. Each time you jump you would ideally work to break the previous weeks’ record. This is a big key to making consistent gains and progress; always shoot to break records! (Below you’ll see a recent video of me hitting a PR Box Jump of 50 inches. Use caution and be smart when performing box jumps at near-maximal heights!)

Don’t make this very fancy or complicated. I think every person, regardless of whether you are a competitive athlete or looking to add some muscle and lose fat, should be jumping and sprinting. It is fun and keeps you athletic, which in the long run will prevent injuries just in case you decide one day to play a game of pick up football or need to sprint. After all we were designed to move this way!

Leave me a comment below with your favorite ways to develop power in your own training or for your athletes! This is NOT the only method I use to develop power, but when in doubt, basic jump training will win over any fancy method any day!

See ya!

John Cortese