andrew_carter said:*I'd imagine the back muscles do a lot of work when
hopping, what do you reckon? *
Squats. Lunges. Then more squats. Then just jump.
A couple of weeks ago I was talking with a powerlifting
buddy of mine (nationally ranked in the ~140 lb class;
deadlifts somewhere around 500lbs!). I wanted to get into
olympic lifting because of the zen effect. He said it was
really hard to find a place to do it (most places don't like
people dropping multiple hundreds of pounds from 6-7 feet in
the air), and that -the only people who did those excercises
were people who needed explosive jumping abilities!- Odd
coincidence in timing, eh?
I remember another story about an Olympic reunion in NYC
where all different kinds of atheletes were working out at
the same gym. Apparently one of the loudmouth velodrome
sprinters was razzing the olympic lifters, saying things
like, "you guys may be big and strong but I'm quick and
strong!" This track sprinter could easily get above 240 rpm
while riding, so he had the right stuff genetically.
Anyhow, the lifters got a little tired of the
"entertainment" and challenged this guy to a test. Olympic
lifters measure their explosive power by jumping vertically
and landing on an object (much as unicyclists do). They
brought out the board and had the sprinter jump up onto it.
They kept raising the board and he topped out at 4'6" (1.37
meters). Everyone was impressed.
Then this unlimited class olympic lifter who had to weigh at
least 260 lbs (about 120 kilos) asked the sprinter how tall
he was. He said 5'8"
(1.72 meters). They set the board at 5'8". The big guy
effortlessly hopped up onto the board, stared at him for
a few seconds, then hopped down.
The sprinter shut up. The lifters went back to lifting in a
quiet gym.
Apparently the big guy was over 40 years old but could still
run 40 yards in under 4.4 seconds, squat with over 700 lbs,
etc. A VERY, VERY quick and strong guy. American football
teams had been recruiting him his entire life but he wanted
to keep his knees into his old age so he turned them down.
He was a lawyer pulling down well into the 6 figures so he
didn't need the money or fame.
Squats. Lunges. Then more squats. Then when you can't do
anything anymore, jump a lot to train your nerves to fire
lots of fibers at the same time. Don't forget to ice the
knees and rest if they feel stressed.
Good luck,
Tim
--
cyberbellum - Level 1.0 rider!
Optimists think the glass is half full. Pesimists think the glass is
half empty. Engineers think the glass is too big.
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