Sunday, May 24, 2009

Dynamic Movement Training For All Athletes

Dynamic movement training is the basis for Basketball Strength which has become the fastest growing worldwide trend in athletic fitness. The actual workouts are simple in nature. They initial a dynamic warm up to ensure cardiovascular readiness along with mental alertness. Typically, these warm up last a minimum of five minutes and a maximum of fifteen minutes depending on the athletes overall fitness level. For example; some athletes prefer to skip rope for ten minutes, others like to perform jumping jacks for five minutes, and some even like to jog for fifteen minutes. Each individual case is specific and adhered to that way.

Once the warm up is complete, the dynamic movement training begins. Traveling diagonal lunges are performed specifically for athletic performance. When performed correctly using fitness principles, this exercise stretches and strengthen the legs like no other movement. This a true diamond in the rough. Typically, athletes involved in dynamic movement training perform a minimum of one hundred strides of this exercise. Each specific stride is performed perfectly with strict form and patience.

The second movement within the program is the standing power press. This particular exercise replaces the need for the bench press which has proven to lead to a multitude of athletic injuries. The athlete will perform as many repetitions as possible until the form breaks down. Once this point occurs, that exercise is over. That's right, there is no more bench press when the power press is here!

Dynamic movement training is training for the new evolution of athletes. No longer will athletes rot in the dungeons of commercial gyms learning from bodybuilding trainers. Now, athletes can train the way they are supposed to!



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_Lemanczyk

Top 2 Ways Basketball Hoops Grow With Your Family

Basketball is the ideal sport to play with your family. Kids and adults both have fun shooting hoops, dribbling, and learning the ins and outs of the game. Basketball is also an ideal sport for a growing family because basketball hoops can grow with your family. Many sports have equipment that kids grow out of, but basketball hoops give you more options. Here are two ways basketball hoops grow with your family.

Basketball Hoops Can Be Adjustable

When looking for a basketball hoop that can grow with your family, an adjustable hoop is the way to go. Adjustable basketball hoops grow from 6 feet to 10 feet in ½" increments. You can lower the height for younger, smaller children and raise the hoop for older kids, teens, and adults. Adjusting the height is simple and takes hardly any time at all.

As your children grow and become more skilled in the game, you can adjust the basketball hoop accordingly. This gives your little and big kids the opportunity to play at their level. It can be frustrating for kids to have to shoot at a 10 foot basket. They may end of feeling like it is impossible. But with an adjustable height basketball hoop you can lower the basket and give them the confidence to keep trying.

If you want a little one on one with just your growing teen, you can adjust the height as needed and play. Adjustable height basketball hoops also give your kids a place to invite friends over to play. Knowing that the height can be adjusted to their level will make playing more fun. As your family grows, your hoop can grow too.

Basketball Hoops Can Be Portable

Portable basketball hoops are hoops that can be moved as needed. Most come with a base that you fill with sand or water to give stability to the system. As your children grow, their skill and interests change. A portable basketball hoop gives you the versatility you need for a growing family.

You can set up your portable hoop in the driveway for a built in court. This is great for older kids and teens who know more about safety rules. They won't chase the ball into the street. For younger kids who need more boundaries and supervision, you can more your portable hoop into the backyard. They can play while you supervise them and give them guidance on how to shoot the ball.

As your family grows, you may need more space and decide to move. A portable basketball hoop can go with you. Some models fold completely down so they can be easily loaded onto a truck or stored in a garage or storage area. Some models have rollers on the bottom that can be flipped up when needed to move it to another area. Portable hoops come in adjustable models so you can combine both of these great features for your family to have fun and grow with.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_Parsons

Vertical Training - Basic Jump Science

The height of a jump is determined by the velocity of the center of mass as the body leaves the ground. The faster the initial upward velocity, the longer it will take for gravity to decelerate the body and bring it back to earth. The initial velocity is determined by the acceleration of the center of mass due to the force generated by the body, mostly the legs. So if you want to increase your vertical leap, the goal is to increase the force that your legs can generate. Simple enough right? Just lift weights, and your muscles will grow; your legs will be stronger, and you will jump higher. Well, everyone discovers at some point that jump training is not quite that easy.

The truth is that there are three different muscle and nerve qualities that contribute to a jump. (Notice that I mentioned nerves. Many people do not realize the importance of the nervous system in jump training.)The first quality that affects a jump is maximum strength or limit strength; this is the largest amount of force that a muscle can exert. This is the most familiar muscle quality and the most commonly trained. It is increased by common resistance training, which most people are familiar with. The back squat is an example of a resistance training exercise that would help someone jump higher. The second muscle quality is speed of force development, more simply stated as explosiveness. Muscles cannot instantly exert their maximum force; it takes a little bit of time to activate all the muscle fibers. That time is small, just a fraction of a second, but it is still longer than the time it takes to jump, meaning that the maximum force of a muscle cannot be utilized in a jump.

This is the reason for the gap between strength and jumping ability. Consider this scenario... Let's say Timmy weighs 150 pounds and can exert 500 pounds of force on his center of mass (COM) in the range of the jumping motion. As Timmy finishes the countermovement before his jump, his legs are not generating that 500 pounds of force yet. 2/100 of a second after his muscles begin to develop force, his legs are exceeding 150 pounds, and his COM begins to accelerate upwards. At 1/10 of a second, his legs are putting out 215 pounds of force, and his COM is accelerating faster. By 2/10 of a second, the force on his COM has grown to 350 pounds, but unfortunately his legs and back are fully extended; he's done jumping. Timmy never got to use all his force. These force numbers are purely hypothetical, but people really do take right around 2/10 of a second to jump.

The maximum force an athlete's body can exert cannot be generated in that time. The goal for athletes is to train to increase the percentage of their maximum force that can be generated quickly enough for use in jumping and all athletic maneuvers. This ability is improved by exercises that require fast muscle contraction; power lifts (clean, snatch, jerk) and plyometric drills are the most common. Note though, that exercises that use fast movement do very little to increase the strength of the muscle. It is the ability of the nervous system to quickly stimulate muscle fibers that is the focus of this training. The third muscle quality is elastic strength. This is the ability of muscles and tendons to store energy in a stretch and utilize it in the following contraction. This process, called the stretch-shortening cycle, is what causes a higher jump from an approach than from a standstill. The human body naturally uses a countermovement before powerful motions in order to take advantage of this muscle-tendon quality. When you squat down to jump or pull your arm back to throw, you are using elastic strength to add force to the motion. The trick is that the desired motion must immediately follow the stretch to prevent the energy from dissipating. To demonstrate this, perform a natural jump and take note of how high you got. Then do a jump but pause for a second in the crouched position before exploding upward.

This jump should not be as high, because the energy from the drop into the crouched position dissipates during the pause. Elasticity of the muscle-tendon complex is improved by plyometric training and increased flexibility.

Vertical leap training needs to be tailored to the individual strengths and weaknesses of an athlete in the areas that have been mentioned. Therefore, it is incorrect to offer a single program and guarantee a certain result to anybody who tries it. A basketball player who cannot squat his own bodyweight will hardly benefit from a plyometric program, and a bodybuilder who squats twice his bodyweight will experience little gain from adding 20 pounds to his max squat. An effective training system must target all the facets of vertical jumping.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daniel_Back