Vertical Jump

People always ask themselves, “How can I jump higher?” Many might think it has to do with footwear, genetics, or you just simply need years of training. But, with a few simple exercises, you can get a higher jump within a few weeks. First, you must loosen up all the leg muscles by rolling them on a foam roller. This will get rid of all the tight knots you might have in your muscle and it will lengthen them. You should roll the muscles slowly for about 30 to 40 seconds and stop when you hit a tender spot. You should manly work on the calves, hip and quads. Next, you want to do the Bulgarian split squats. This squat will give your legs power and balance to improve your jumping ability. Lastly, you should practice depth jumps. They will improve your explosiveness and will help your lower body muscles stimulate when you need to catch air. To preform this exercise you start by stepping off a box and then bursting up the second you land on the ground. Start on a box 6 to 8 inches of the ground and increase the height of the box as you become stronger. Do these exercises constantly for a couple of weeks and you will see huge improvements in your jumping ability.

Smoothies

You just finished your workout. You are exhausted. Your body is aching and your dripping sweat. Now, you must refuel the body and smoothies are the perfect snack to consume after a workout. They offer a simple way to get protein, carbs, and antioxidants into the body to help build muscles, restore glycogen, and fight inflammation and cell damage. Your smoothie should consist of 15 to 20 grams of protein, blended with greens, veggies, or fruit. You should consume the smoothie 30 to 60 minutes after the workout to get maximum benefits.  A smoothie you can try at home is, ½ a cup of almond milk, a tablespoon of creamy peanut butter, a cup of frozen berries, one banana, a teaspoon of honey and cinnamon, and a scoop of protein powder. This is my all time favorite after workout smoothie, because it tastes great and gives my body all the essential nutrients it needs after a tough workout.

Elevation Mask

Do you want to take your training to the next level? Well, using the elevation mask you can go from good to great. The mask stimulates the effects of training in high altitude environments by restricting the amount of air you are able to take in by adjusting the masks intake valves. Using the mask you can replicate a workout at 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 thousand feet. This unique resistance training, not only, cuts your workout training in half, but also has many benefits to it. It conditions the lungs by creating pulmonary resistance, strengthens the diaphragm, and increases lung capacity. The elevation mask also increases anaerobic thresholds and the surface area and elasticity in alveoli. Although the mask comes with many benefits, it’s a good idea to start it slow at 3 thousand feet and spend the first several minutes with basic deep breathing and walking before starting the workout.

Resistance Band Training

Resistance Band workouts are a great way to tone the muscles without using weights. They are inexpensive, rubber bands that come in a variety of resistances depending on your fitness level. These bands allow you to exercise every large muscle group in your whole body, like the deltoids, biceps, triceps, chest, latissimus, and obliques. With the bands you can hit all angles of the muscle by just alternating your movements. You can use resistance bands safely on your own, and they bring a great variety to your workout. Unlike lifting weights that make your muscles stiff and bulky, resistance bands help boost your stamina, flexibility, range of motion, and they give you a nice shape without looking too buff.  

The following picture holds just a few of the many exercises you can do with the resistance band. Pick about 10 exercises, focusing on any part of the body, and do 3 sets of the workout, with a minute break in-between each set.

TRX Workout

The TRX suspension band, short for total-body resistance exercise, is a great way to get an all-in-one workout that combines both flexibility and strength training. This training technique was invented by a former U.S. Navy Seal to bring a challenge to your workouts by using gravity and your own body weight. It is unnecessary to use weights to build muscle when can use your own body weight through suspension training. TRX bands allow you to incorporate different areas of your body with exercises that focus on all angles of the muscle. For example, just a simple move like the bicep curl that you do with normal dumbbells can become a bicep-core stabilization exercise with the help of the TRX bands. It is important to know, that when doing a suspension workout, your movements need to be slow and controlled so the muscle tension will last longer; therefor, building more muscle and endurance.

(Do 3 sets of the workout with a 2 minute break in between each set)