Exercise Toes
Jumping is a critical skill for many athletes and dancers. This article will cover ways in which you can improve your vertical jumping ability, as well as the rest of your body's health by exercising your toes.
Contents
Steps
- Lose weight. Less mass to propel into the air means you can jump higher.
- Build some base strength. Jumping is a demanding activity and your ability to do it will improve if your muscles are stronger. Some relevant exercises, in order of importance:
- Squats
- Calf Raises
- Transverse abdominal exercises
- Dorsi-Flexor Exercises
- Hip Flexor Exercises
- Toe Exercises
- Abdominal Exercises
- Upper Body Exercises
- Improve your flexibility. If you're jumping over a hurdle, it helps to be able to swing your leading leg wherever you want it to go so that you can maximize the momentum of your jump. If you can bring your leg a little higher than the person next to you, you've got an advantage. Also, The best jumpers have 3:2 strength ratio between their quadriceps and hamstrings, respectively. If you're not flexible, you tend to develop an imbalance of strength that will limit your ability to jump. [1]
- Improve the explosiveness of the movements important to jumping through plyometrics.
- Take one or two preliminary steps; the energy developed in those steps can help generate additional upward lift.[2]
- Get into position. Your hips should be flexed at 30 degrees, knees bent 60 degrees, ankles flexed 25 degrees in order to generate the most power without injuring your knees.[3]
- Be careful that your knees don't point inwards in a "knock knee" position; they should be positioned over the second toe.[4] Have your arms at your sides.
- Push your body up with your legs, springing off the balls of your feet. Simultaneously do the following:
- Swing your hands up into the air, towards the ceiling, for additional momentum;
- Breathe out when you're doing the motion (like when you lift weights).
- Land on the balls of your feet and "roll" onto your heels. Upon impact, bend your knees to absorb the shock.
Tips
- Unless you have other fitness goals involving the lower muscles, your strength-building exercises should use weights very close to your personal limit, with few repetitions.
- Visualize by closing your eyes, imagining yourself exploding upwards. Visualize yourself with large leg muscles that are tightened like springs, ready to blast you up into the air. Say to yourself "I feel myself getting more powerful and much lighter." Then jump again. You should observe a noticeable increase in your vertical jump.
- Some popular plyometric exercises include ankle bounces, box jumps, jump rope, standing broad jumps, and squat jumps. These can all be found with quick online searches.
- Get a knowledgeable coach to check your form, especially in regards to running jumps. It is a very overlooked aspect of jumping.
- Sports psychologists have been studying the effectiveness of "mental practice" in improving athlete performance for many years.
Warnings
- Also look before you leap--you can jump into someone or something dangerous.
- Be wary of advertised jump programs. Do your research before buying one. This is very important.
- Don't over-do workouts. Jump training is about short, high quality efforts rather than long, low intensity work.
- Don't push yourself beyond the limit of safety. Pain is your body telling you to stop and you need to listen. If you're sore from a workout, that means you went beyond what your body's used to. When you're sore, you shouldn't push yourself. If the pain is severe, go to the doctor. You may have pulled a muscle or sprained something.
Related Articles
- Strengthen Your Ankles
- Do Physical Therapy Exercises for the Feet
- Exercise Your Fingers
- Do a Toe Touch
