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• Mar 22, 2008 9:21 am US/Central
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  Good Question: Why Can Some Athletes Jump So High?

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Good Question: Why Can Some Athletes Jump So High?

(WCCO) With the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament complete, many fans marveled at the athleticism of the players who seem to fly through the air.

Ron Barthell e-mailed us this Good Question:

"As we head into the season known as 'March Madness' on CBS, why is that some basketball players/athletes can jump so much higher than others?"

"If you want explosive fast power, you've got to have the muscle powers to generate that," according to Curtis Hammond, human anatomy instructor in the Kinesiology Department at the University of Minnesota.

Asked how much of a factor genetics is in jumping ability, Hammond responded, "Huge."

"You have to be born with a certain percentage of the type of muscle fiber you need. You have two basic types: your strength and your aerobic," he added. "It's those strength fibers that distinguish whether or not you can jump."

In the NBA, the average player can jump between 28-32 inches high. On the Minnesota Timberwolves, Randy Foye has been measured at a 38 inch vertical leap. Vince Carter's 43" jump is one of the best in the NBA today. Michael Jordan flew through the sky at that same height in his heyday. But 5-foot-7 Spud Webb got even higher, jumping at least 46 inches, nearly four feet in the air.

"At the pro level the difference between one pro and another, a lot of it is genetic," said Hammond.

According to Hammond, the core of the jumping skill lies in one group of muscles. "It's all a vast tapestry, but it's the ones right in front called the quadriceps."

He said with training you can actually change your muscle fiber from one type to another, improving your strength fiber. And proper jumping technique is also critical.

"You could certainly double or triple your jumping height through training. You want to train your physiology to allow you allow your muscles to stretch and recoil. The longer you pause, you lose all that energy to heat," he said.

But even the best training can't make up for the advantages of good genes. "You have to be born with a certain percentage of the type of muscle fiber you need," said Hammond.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)