~!~!Why Air Alert is bad!~!~ (posted originally by Jaspar__XX)
This thread was orginally posted by Jaspar XX but it was closed due to the large amount of spam it received. Jaspar has provided excellent information and it is ACCURATE.
In this thread, please NO SPAMMING, FLAMING, CRITICIZING, MAKING FUN OF OTHERS, GOING OFF TOPIC I don't want to see this thread closed.
I give all the credit to Jaspar__XX as he provided all the information. I don't give a shit if it's copied from the internet, it's accurate and you guys will respect that.
The original thread by Jaspar__XX
Quote:
Dear lord...let me clear some things up.
First off, Air Alert is garbage. It causes muscular imbalances and micro tears in the knee tissues. It can totally screw you up...not always, but why take the risk? True, It does work, but it will only give you 8-14 inches if you already have a terribly low vertical jump. Ill explain this scientifically.
How high you can jump has to do with how much power you can produce during your jump.
Power = Force / Time
So, being able to produce a lot of force in a small amount of time gets more power, while a deficiency in either of these areas will result in a much lower vertical than you would have by having high skills in both of these areas. People who are well developed in both force and speed are what we call "explosive".
Now, so you want to increase your vert by a lot, in a safe, healthy way that won't end up with you in a wheelchair?
Well. First off go to http://www.terminalvertical.com and read around, its one of the BEST sources of jumping/sports related training information and has a lot of smart people on there.
Basically, you need to train your strength up to an acceptable level.... being able to squat and deadlift 2x your body weight, and bench at least 1x your body weight is considered to be at good strength. For a chart, go here...
http://www.biggerfasterstronger.com...ngth%20File.pdf
You should be close(within 20-30lbs) of "good" in all of these exercises before you start training the speed portion of the power equation. If you don’t even know what those exercises are, or have never done them, it's a good indication that you need to get stronger. You can gain a LOT of inches(I wont say how many....its IMPOSSIBLE to say that as a blanket statement, it all depends on the person) just by doing strength training. Go to http://www.terminalvertical.com or http://www.bodybuilding.com for info on making a workout.......but don’t just post asking for someone to make you one, look around and then ask specific questions you know? There’s plenty of info available so look around first.
Secondly. Ok, say you're strong, meeting all the strength requirements, and you still want to increase your vertical jump. Well, you cant just keep squatting your entire life and expect to continue improving. There are two ways to train the "Time" Component of the Power Equation...........explosive training and plyometrics.
Explosive training consists of exercises like jump squats, reactive squats and the like. Go to http://www.terminalvertical.com to get information on these exercises, everywhere from videos to guides on the proper form...there's even a few explosive weight training programs available....Free of charge.
Plyometrics. One of the most discussed kinds of training and one of the most misunderstood ones as well. Plyometrics are exercises done with no added weight that focus on making your muscles contract faster, which creates more force....example: try jumping without swinging your arms or bending your legs....then do it with both of these motions included...you will jump a LOT higher. This is because when you contract your muscles and stretch them, they store elastic energy...much like stretching out an elastic band...when you let it go it releases the stored energy. The faster it is stretched and released, the more power it has. If you stretch it very slowly and then relax it very slowly, then there will be very little energy released. If you stretch it out vert quickly and then let go of it,IE stretch it and let it go VERY quickly, it releases a LOT of stored energy, thus generating a lot of force.
Unfortunately, with your body, this stored energy is lost over time, and converted into heat if you wait too long to release it. Example: trying do the same jumping exercise as above, but remain in the sitting position after you bend your legs for a few seconds, and then jump. You wont jump nearly as high as when you bend and jump back up as fast as you can.
So, the stored energy is largely dependent on how strong you are....the strength portion of the power equation...you can generate more force depending on how strong you are. Plyometrics decrease the time it takes for your muscles to contract and release the energy...resulting in more energy released...and hence more power, and more inches on your vert!
The problem with plyos is that they are largely ineffective unless you have a good strength base(which I explained above) which is why a LOT of people don’t see gains when using these programs.
So, here is a guide on making yourself a good plyometric program
http://www.athleticadvisor.com/Weig...gram_design.htm
with descriptions of how to do them. You should do a program every few months to maintain your gains because unless you play basketball or volleyball, or go PK'ing in this case(which I do by the way [Big Grin] ) your muscles will settle back into a slower contraction...because that’s what it's used to in everyday life.
So basically, do a good strength program, a good explosive training program and then a plyometric program in order to get SICK hops.
The point of the article? To show you why Air Alert is bad. Aside from causing muscle imbalances and screwing up your knees....look at the program from your new view of how vertical works...
The biggest factor in vert is your P-Chain(glutes, hamstrings, lower back, quadriceps). This accounts for about 70% or more of your vert. Calves are about 10%, and your upper body and swinging the arms, and your abs, count for the rest.
Air Alert works mostly your calves right? At least in the most hardcore way. Second, it DOES NOT train strength or speed of you muscles....it trains endurance. Endurance training has actually been shown to reduce strength and explosiveness. So doing 50000000 leap ups can actually take down your vert and doesn’t give you as much productivity as you could be having.
Secondly, you should have a good 2 days of rest between any high intensity workout...and slowly increase that intensity. Air Alert has 3 workouts a week, and the reps almost DOUBLE in some cases bi-weekly.
So, the short of it is: Air Alert can screw your knees, ankles, and legs ups(tibia mostly), cause micro tears in the knees, and cause soft tissue damage. It also doesn’t train you in the most effective or scientifically sensible way...in some cases it may even take down your vertical. The process above(strength, explosive training and then plyometrics ) will get you WAY higher gains, that are permanent(provided you keep playing sports and things), make you explosive and quicker, and not hurt you in the long run.
So don't do Air Alert when there's cheaper, safer, more effective ways of training.
P.S For everyone who thinks that lifting weights may stunt your growth until you are older, this has NOT been proven and is totally false. The only way it can possibly stunt your growth is if you lift WAY too much weight and lift it improperly, and damage your growth plates. Don't believe me? Check out this article(there are TONS of great articles by this guy, Peter Mundy. Check it out.)
http://groups.google.com/group/Pure...288bac4b9e5aa/#
Hope I've changed your minds about Air Alert. Later.
So There you go. =).
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