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One of the more important items to work on to improve your jumping ability or for any kind of sport for that matter, is stretching. It is important to stretch for the purpose of increasing flexibility, muscle relaxation and to help remove lactic acid from the muscles. These will help you recover from the workout and prepare you for the next one. Improving your flexibility will give you a wider range of motion which in turn will give you the ability to generate more power and it will help prevent injury and speed up recovery. As you get older your muscles are less pliant so increasing flexibility will make them feel better and you will be able to move better. When you do your stretching is very important, do not do it when your muscles are cold. I like doing it after I have warmed up some then again after the workout is finished. How long you hold the stretch is up to you, 10 to 20 seconds is about what most use. Some hold for only a couple seconds. It is also believed that a longer hold will give the muscles time to adapt to their lengthening. Do not bounce because this can cause more damage than good. The act of stretching creates micro tears that is part of lengthening the muscle, bouncing will over do it. Do not stretch an injured muscle The length of time to stretch is up to you but try for at least 5 minutes. That should give you time to hit the major muscle groups, if you are not in a hurry more time would be better. Another great way to gain flexibility is with Yoga, not only will it improve your muscles, it will also help your joints. Which ever sport you participate in, take advantage of increasing your flexibility and you will be able to move more freely and reduce the chance of serious injury. Go to Improve Your Jump for more info on how to improve your vertical jump. This authors interests are Fitness Training and Health.
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