How To Train Your Hamstrings To Jump Higher
Welcome back. We are talking about the hamstring and how to train it to jump higher off of one and two feet. So Isaiah, what is your favorite way to train the hamstring? What do you think is the most effective way? What exercise positioning?
Isaiah:I have my opinion. I wanna hear yours. So, I actually, I am I'm in this weird spot where I don't know how important hamstring training is for two foot jumping specifically. But I do think it has a lot of value specifically with its transfer to the poles. For example, an RDL, I feel like can strengthen that the what what would the like the mid shin position in a power clean?
John:Yeah, after the first pull. Yeah, like between the first pull.
Isaiah:Yeah, in between the first and second pull or like the end of the first pull. I have found it to making a lot stronger in that position and when you're in when you're stronger in that position, you can get more loading out of the the catch or the triple extension. I topped these all ships, baby. Yep. Yep.
Isaiah:Yep. It can also yeah, I I would actually say that's the main the main thing. I also believe in balancing out like if you're doing a lot of like like doing a lot of anterior work, you should do balance it out with posterior chain stuff. I think there's probably, this is completely, I have, I haven't looked at any studies or anything. This is purely bro sciencing it, but I do feel like it could have some health benefits to not just only do quad quad work.
John:I have a lot of different opinions with one foot, actually. One thing is I think By
Isaiah:the way, that's for two foot specifically.
John:For two foot. Yeah. Yeah. For one foot, I think that it's really important, actually. I think that one major contributor to success in one foot jumping is the ability to pre contract the quad prior to touchdown, meaning you're generating tension in the rec femme, medialis, intermedius, lateralis, those four quad muscles.
John:And to do that, what allows you to still angulate the knee but be able to generate that tension is co contraction, meaning there's muscles contracting on both sides. And I think when the hamstring is really, really weak and specifically lacks rate of force development, you can actually lead, it can lead to pulls great prior to touchdown. I've seen this a handful of times in really, really elite jumpers. I don't really see it in Bailey's pushing me backwards on my chair. I don't really see it too often in guys that aren't very talented, but with really, really, really capable guys, especially very fast takeoffs.
John:You'll see them pull their hamstrings sometime. And
Isaiah:seen it with two footers on the penultimate. It's pretty rare, but I've seen him
John:the the plant leg or the penultimate step?
Isaiah:The penultimate step specifically.
John:Used to get that. Steven used to tweak his hamstring. He also I mean, he had a lot of hamstring tendon issues actually on that.
Isaiah:Yeah. And Steven had a ton of speed and would push hard on his penalty.
John:He was he accelerated fast.
Isaiah:Like, both. Like, he was running fast and accelerating through the penultimate really hard.
John:Yeah. I think I definitely agree with that. It seems like there's a really important aspect of the hamstring being able to generate force fast because the hamstring or because the quad is pre contracting so quickly. Yeah.
Isaiah:So if
John:your hamstring can't generate that force fast enough, it's gonna it's gonna pull and know who's who
Isaiah:jumps just like him by the way
John:by the way if you wanna get faster RFD in your hamstring, click the link in the description. Anyway, what were you saying?
Isaiah:The you know who jumps just like him Like Steven?
John:Yeah. Like Steven. Like Steven. Like Steven. Crossfire.
Isaiah:Steven Selly, by the way. If you guys don't know who we're talking about, look up Steven Selly dunks. Is he a pro?
John:No. He's not a pro.
Isaiah:Big following on YouTube, though.
John:Hoop and Nate? Yeah. Bro, I
Isaiah:want you to I want you to just as a as a side thing in your free time.
John:Side quest.
Isaiah:Just look just watch them both side by side. I Hooper Nate's more mobile. Like, Steven had a, like, externally rotated hits. But if you look at their approach and the speed and the rhythm, they're both right left. Like, they it's so similar.
Isaiah:Like, it's just like full sending it, and it's pretty pretty cool. It's pretty cool to see.
John:I think Nate is now speaking of him. I think he's we talked about it, but I think he's probably 38 to 40 invert. He'd PR'd his flight time at point eight eight or something like that and obviously got his first dunk. Oh, I was, you know, I was thinking about
Isaiah:him on here. She get Yeah.
John:She get know that
Isaiah:he dunked. He dunked. How did he interview him. But besides the point, so we see some benefits, co contraction, and on the penultimate step potentially on two feet.
John:I was gonna say too, the other I do think it helps. Specifically. I've always seen a really strong correlate with my RDL and one foot jumping when I feel really good in RDL. I feel really really good jumping off one foot. I think part of it is that when you're dunking specifically, you don't have as high of run up velocities.
John:I haven't noticed that as much in high jump, but definitely dunking and burr testing. Because the run up is so much slower, I think it's more of a propulsive activity in the hip when you're actually pushing off the ground. And if you watch from the backside in a lot of dunkers, there's, like, a ripple from, like, the outside of your butt cheek all the way down into your leg and your lat. And that's the hip basically forcefully contracting, and the pelvis is undulating. One side's pushing down.
John:One side's pushing up.
Isaiah:It would be fascinating to see someone, like, in the no diddiest did no diddy way possible. It'll be fascinating to see someone dunk butt naked just to see, like, the no ditty in the most You
John:know, when you were lifting today, I was thinking the same thing. I was like, yeah, dude. I wish she was naked right now.
Isaiah:This is in the in the manliest, most scientific way possible.
John:Right. Like Right. Straight testosterone way of viewing it. Anyways yeah. But I I think, yeah, for hip extension, for sure.
John:When it comes to flexion exercises, I don't see as much value outside of just, like you said, making sure that you're not leaving you're leaving no stones unturned. I do think that there is a little bit of benefit there. I mean What about accelerating into the into the plant, like, into the takeoff. I think there's some benefit there. You might get a little bit of even if it's just one or half a percent, there might be some benefit there as well.
John:What were you gonna say though?
Isaiah:What about flexion? Knee flexion?
John:That's what was saying. Yeah. For like knee flexion exercises. Okay. Okay.
John:I think that you might get, you know, something like a Nordic or something like a hamstring curl. Yeah. I think one is body comp. I've always seen, like, really good body comp changes when I'm just able to do those specifically lying hamstring curls because they're so easy to integrate. You can add them as an accessory work at the end of a workout.
John:It doesn't really tax you at all. Even as a one foot jumper, there's really not much there. And I think also the the neurological aspects with like eccentrics. Yeah. Really, really positive.
Isaiah:You you can also get it offloads the back too. You do a lot of hinging, I can really stress your back and yeah, we with our workouts, we usually like alternate like a day of RDL and then the next day will usually be some kind of flexion and then we also program if we're doing like like loaded back stuff like let's say heavy back squats. Right. Usually we do.
John:I'm not I'm not loading up heavy RDLs.
Isaiah:But if we're doing like belt squat or front squat, we like pairing that with RDL.
John:Yeah. I think they pair really nicely because it is a good way to still maintain stability in the core, which when we say the core, we're talking about all the intra abdominal muscles, meaning the deep core muscles of your abs, of your obliques, of your low back and not just necessarily like your abs. Know your your rectus abdominis. We're talking all those deep muscles and I think it's a really easy way to kind of neglect those muscles if you're only on the belt squat or you're only on the machines. I've even noticed that myself you do need to develop those deep you know core stability muscles jumping at the end of the day is really high forces ground reaction forces and so if your spine can't handle that you're going be in trouble, but you don't want so much where that bucket's overflowing.
John:So I think, like you said, when you're especially when you're really heavy backspots in a really high volume, high intensity, like heavy workload, it is one of the easiest things to throw in there where you can still check boxes, but you're not necessarily overdoing it too much. So I feel like it offers a lot of utility there as well. Yeah. That's why I guess that
Isaiah:by the way if you're curious about what our training looks like there's a free week that you can get in the description.
John:Oh, yeah that is there. At the end of the video, guys. We'll see you tomorrow.
