Spring It On: Jump Like A Champ!

As I was doing the 100 rep squat challenge from Fitness Blender yesterday, more specifically the squat jumps, I realized something. My jumping powers have disappeared!!!

I’d love to feel like this:

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But I feel more like this:

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Anyhow, you get the idea!

There are many benefits to jumping:

• Strengthen muscles in the lower legs;
• Get a great cardio workout in;
• Can be done anywhere;
• Improve endurance.

When I think about jumps, I have jumping rope, jumping jacks, mountain climbers and burpees that come to my mind. And that is soooo exciting!

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Back in my rhythmic gymnastics days, I remember those sweaty killer summer workouts with no air conditioning inside when we had to jump for 30 minutes or so. They were super intense and so EFFECTIVE! Definitely, one of the best ways to shed some extra pounds! That being said, I found the following workout that seems like fun.

I also came across another at home circuit workout which incorporates  a variety of jumps *YAY* and I am super excited to complete it sometime this week.

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However, please, remember the safety measures in order to avoid the injury. According to Female Athletes First, these are the things you have to be aware of when jumping:

Take-off:

1. Use your arms when you jump, meaning, take your arms back behind your body for balance and to prepare for the jump. Jumping is a coordinated movement involving many muscle groups in the body. The muscles in the shoulders, back, chest, arms, core, hips, legs and feet all work together to put you in the proper position for take-off and to propel you up into the air. Strengthen these muscle groups for increased stability and power.

2. Use the thumbs-up rule, which is driving or punching your arms and hands with thumbs upward on the jump. This arm and hand motion can account for approximately 10 percent of the height jumped.

3. Knees should be bent at least 60 degrees or greater and hips flexed 30 degrees or greater before the take-off. In other words, bend your knees more and squat down farther before you jump. Your ankles will be flexed 25 degrees or greater if you do this.

4. Keep a neutral spine before take-off and not a rounded back or sunken chest position. You also don’t want to be bent over too much at the waist. To learn more about Neutral Posture, see our article in the Get In Condition section.

5. Keep knees over your feet. We don’t want to see “knocked knees” while in the squat prior to the jump.

6. Jump straight as an arrow. Maintain a tall hips posture and project them upward (and at times forward) for height and distance.

Landing:

1. Try to land softly, light as a feather, we don’t want to hear a loud landing.
2. Land on the ball of the foot and sink into your heel.
3. Land with flexed hip, knees and ankles to absorb the landing forces.
4. Maintain a straight back, neutral spine position.
5. Land with chest over knees and knees over the feet. Again, don’t land “knock kneed.”
6. With multiple plyometric movements, try to be like a super ball. Be as quick and elastic off the floor, the idea being to spend the least amount of time in contact with the floor.
7. Land on two feet if at all possible to help absorb the landing forces.

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What are your thoughts on jumping workouts? How do you incorporate them in your routine?

xoxo
Olena