So I wanted to right a brief guide to help supplement the jump manual that people might find highly useful, just stressing a few things I think are important and adding a few suggestions of my own.
1.
Follow the instructions: You'd think I wouldn't have to mention this, but seriously...
follow the instructions.
2.
Stick to it: Consistency and discipline is probably the hardest part of implementing any training regimen, or any habit for that matter.
There are a few things you can do to help keep you on track.
First, tell other people what you're doing.
As silly as it seems, this is probably the most effective trick.
When you tell other people close to you about a new habit you're implementing (how you're getting started with the jump manual) and especially if you tell them why, you will feel obligated to continue on the path you started (even if it's just to protect your ego, haha).
Plus if they are supportive people they can even help you along your path, encouraging you to keep on track.
Even better you can do it with a friend, introduce a buddy to the jump manual techniques and train together.
Second, set up some kind of reminder system to keep your training in mind, especially during the first few weeks.
The first 3 week of implementing a habit are the hardest, because sometime you just forget.
Having a system to remind you that you need to train is a great help, it could be as simple as a piece of paper you hang on the wall in your bedroom.
3.
Track your progress: Tracking your progress with the jump manual will allow you to check back and see how fair you've come.
I keep an excel spreadsheet because I'm a bit of a geek, but a small notebook you bring with you to the gym is great too.
Write in the date of the workout, the general time (morning, afternoon, etc), exercises, weights, reps, and comments.
Tracking your progress gives you feedback on your workouts so you know what works and it helps you get in touch with the rhythms of your body and how you perform under various circumstances, a key piece of knowledge for any athlete.
Plus tracking your progress with your vertical leap will let you know how effectively the jump manual is working for you.
4.
Eat healthy: the jump manual goes into great detail about proper nutrition, so this is really just a reminder.
Proper nutrition is key to health and fitness and will be crucial in giving you maximum results from your workouts.
5.
Get lots of sleep: I honestly cannot possibly convey how important sleep is.
Sleep is probably THE most important aspect of health and fitness, but it never gets any press time.
You need a minimum of 8 hours of sleep a night, if you're in your teens or 20's you should be getting close to a little over 9 hours of sleep every night.
Both REM and deep sleep are critical to developing physically.
Your body actually learns muscle memory while you sleep (in what are called sleep spindles) if you're developing any kind of technique which trains muscle memory (like proper jumping technique as outlined in the jump manual) you're going to memorize those movements in your sleep.
On top of that, most of your body's repair functions occur while sleeping, when you break down muscle fiber during a workout, the majority of it gets built up again while you sleep.
Sleep is so important; it's actually the best predictor of longevity (lifespan).
If you are not convinced right now that getting 8 hours of sleep is absolutely CRITICAL (I seriously cannot stress this enough) to your results go to some research in Google, I know you'll be turned.
I'm not kidding about this, you have to get plenty of sleep is you want to see dramatic improvements.