Issue 093

October 2012

Our quest to attain the Olympic motto continues with leg drills to ensure you jump higher for longer

Barry Gibson

Strength & conditioning trainer

Barry Gibson BSc and MMA-CSCC is the owner/founder of GrappleFit Training, and an S&C coach focusing on combat sports.

Two things need to be trained to improve your jumping ability… Strength and your rate of force development. Obviously the strength portion is the bit we are all most familiar with. Strength is defined as the maximum amount of weight, blah, blah, blah.

Anyway, naturally, we all appreciate the need for lower-body strength. So here’s my top-five drills to build explosive power in your legs.

Squat

First, we are going to include Zercher squats here to hit the upper back too and add a little fight-specific harshness to the squat. Un-rack the barbell in the crook of your elbows and squat as normal with your weight back on your heels. Four sets of six reps will hit the spot – no more than six reps for strength development. 

Dead lifts

Obviously we need a hip-dominant movement in here too, and the dead lift is king. Perform on other days to squats, and if you’re going heavy try alternating squats one week, and deads the next.

Glute/ham raises

Yes, this is a repeat muscle group, but the importance of the posterior chain in explosive legs cannot be overlooked. 

At this point we are moving into movements that will increase your rate-of-force development – so, first, a little definition. Rate-of-force development (RFD) simply means the speed at which you can generate force. To put it bluntly, you need to practice your jumping to be good at it too. 

There are various ones you can practice. I have athletes implement them all at Grapplefit Towers. It’s no different from working different types of pressing and pulling to improve various lifts and to avoid stagnation. 

Broad Jumps

This is a two-footed standing long jump kind of affair, and involves you traveling forward over a distance. In all RFD drills do not neglect the importance of the arms to help develop or add to total body explosion. No more than three jumps per set with plenty of rest.

Depth Jumps

Stand on a box and step off it. Upon landing, immediately rebound and perform a box jump onto a higher box or tire. Again, no more than three jumps per set.

Ensure you get adequate rest and don’t dive headlong into this if you are new to jumping and bounding.