Does a Strong Core Make You Jump Higher?

Games like football, basketball, and volleyball require players to remain fit and the best jump is essential. To compete in these games a player needs to be consistent and score for his team. There are various skills that a player needs to work on such as jumping, dodging, running. All these skills cannot be learned unless you practice them. One of the major skills which a player needs to work on includes jumping and especially in the game of basketball.

Jumping skills are essential and if a player does not strive for a higher jump, there are bright chances that he will not be able to play. That is why you might often find a number of players working on increasing the length of the leap.

You cannot achieve a high jump overnight. It takes a lot of practice and doing various exercises. Your lower back has a major role in your jumping. The muscles that have direct contact are hamstrings and glutes, lower back and core, and calves. The knees are an exception because the bone is also involved for making jumps better. Misconception still prevails in the society that only strong bones will help achieve the best jump but muscles have equal role as well.

The million-dollar question is – Does a strong core make you jump higher?

You may try to find the answer to this question all over the internet, but we have done extensive research on this. Keep reading!

Core muscles are specifically focus on the lower body. The stronger the core is, your jump will be supreme. These muscles act as pressure absorbents during a jump. The chances of injury are greatly reduced too. Just like other body parts, you can train the core too. There are different exercises that are effective in building stronger core muscles.

A strong core results in a strong lower back. The lower back has spinal muscles too so you can save the spinal cord as well. Your strong core will prevent the spine from any damage. According to various researches, athletes with a strong core can jump higher than the ones with weak cores. These athletes are also able to maintain their balance during the jump. A strong core will help you gain momentum which will make you jump higher.

How to train core muscles to increase vertical jump

Core muscles are not easy to train and it takes a lot of time and hard work to increase its strength. It must be noted that you always need to train your core muscles at the end of the workout. This is because these muscles help to maintain the balance of our body during the workout. Training them in the beginning will cause a little pain or fatigue which will not be helpful while other exercises. The chances of injury rise in this manner.

Some of the best exercises to train your core muscles include medicine ball, woodcutters, weighted crunches, and hanging leg raises. Most of these exercises are bodyweight exercises and if you want to increase the efficiency, you can also use dumbbells, cables, and medicine balls.

Medicine ball

Medicine ball throws is one of the effective ways to build your core strength which will eventually help you jump higher. This exercise not only helps you to develop core strength but it also reduces your body fat and improves your cardiovascular health. Various exercises can be performed by medicine balls such as squat throws, wall ball, Russian twister, ball slams. These exercises especially target your core muscles and oblique and increase their strength. It also helps you to develop muscle coordination so that you can increase your jump. Medicine ball comes in weight which ranges from 1-10 kg.

Woodcutters

Woodcutter is being considered as an overall body workout. It involves all the major muscles which are required to make you jump high such as core, oblique, hamstrings, and glutes. Woodcutter focuses more on building oblique rather than other core muscles. It is a bodyweight exercise and if you want to add weight, there is no obligation. This exercise should be performed by those who want to increase their vertical jump. In games like basketball, football, and volleyball the twisting of core muscles is very common and that is where Woodcutter comes in handy.

Weighted crunches

Weighted crunches especially target and build up your core muscles. Weighted crunches are also known as sit-ups and best for strengthening core muscles. You need to make sure that you do this exercise correctly or else you might end up having any spinal injury. Crunches can be performed on your body weight but if you need to add more stress on your core muscles, weight addition is not prohibited.

Hanging leg-raises

Hanging Leg Raises targets your core muscles, glutes, and thighs. It is one of the best exercises to reduce your lower belly fat and build core muscles. Hanging Leg Raises can be efficient in making you jump higher. While doing this exercise you need to make sure that your back is straight and you are looking straight. Otherwise you will have severe spinal pain. Also, your core muscles should be fully engaged during the exercise.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that a strong core will help you to jump higher. There are various muscles involved during jump but core muscles play an important role in it. Being an athlete, make sure you have strong core muscles so it can withstand the pressure during the jump. A weak core will not help you to jump high enough; also it will increase the chances of injury. Core muscles help to transfer the energy from the start till the end of the jump.

Basketball players have one of the strongest core muscles as it helps them to jump up to 10 ft. easily.

These players not only train core muscles but the entire lower body. Training the lower body will increase the jump and without consistency and practice, it is impossible to jump higher. Strong core muscles are the key to higher jumps. Focus on them to achieve your goal. These exercises have proven results but you need to have patience because goals are not achieved overnight.