Learning how to run faster, longer, and jump higher is a crucial skill for any athlete to master.
Whether you want to learn how to jump higher to dunk a basketball or run longer to complete a marathon, it’s going to take some time, some training, and a lot of hard work.
I love to play basketball, baseball, flag football, volleyball, and tennis, all of which require a tremendous amount of speed, agility, and vertical leaping ability.
In basketball, I play forward. I work the post, grab rebounds, and sprint up and down the court.
In baseball, I play center field. I sprint for balls in the outfield, steal bases, and jump for the occasional balls at the wall.
During flag football, I play quarterback, receiver, and linebacker.
As for volleyball and tennis, I’m a monster at the net, spiking balls and blocking anything that comes my way.
Sprinting, jumping, and the ability to move laterally all play a huge roll in my success.
The thing is, I play not only for the fun of the sports and the great amount of exercise I get, I play to win the game.
In my quest to win the games that I play, it’s crucial that I have optimally trained my body for success.
Whether you’re a sports enthusiast like me, like to run marathons, sprint the 100-yard dash, or jump over opponents on your way to a rim shaking, earth shattering dunk, your performance will vastly depend on your genetics, muscle fiber type, body mechanics, environmental factors, fitness equipment, and most importantly your workout programming.
In high school, I could barely dunk a basketball.
I thought it was all dependent on how much weight I could lift with my calf muscles.
Little did I know, there was a lot more to it.
As I was getting my degree in Kinesiology, I discovered how important other muscles are to help me run faster and increase my vertical jump.
One thing I discovered was the ratio of a certain muscles volume compared to the whole leg muscle volume is of great importance when trying to run faster and jump higher.
One study showed that in order to maximize vertical jump height, you need a 4% of your total leg muscle volume to come from the soleus, 15% to come from the gastrocnemius, a whopping 52% to come from the vastus muscle group, 0% from the rectus femoris, 12% from the gluteus, and 18% from the hamstrings.
This resulted in a 15% increase in vertical jump height.
Clearly, the muscles that help you jump higher primarily come from the vastus, the hamstrings, the glutes, and the gastrocnemius.
By optimally training your muscles to achieve this ratio, you could go from grabbing the rim to dunking with ease.
While the study above can give you important insight as to one way you can train your muscles for maximum effectiveness, let’s look at the other ways that could help you run a faster 5k, increase your vertical jump by 10 inches, and leave your opponents standing in the dust.
Use these 6 critical steps to:
Run Faster and Jump Higher
Step #1 Analyze and Understand Your Genetic Makeup
The first way to run faster and jump higher is by understanding your genetic makeup and what your body is going to be best at.
Genetics are a big reason you are either made for sprinting or running long distance.
According to one article by the NIH, the ACTN3 gene provides instructions for making a protein called alpha (α)-actinin-3, which is predominantly found in fast-twitch muscle fibers.
Fast twitch muscle fiber types are made for sprinters.
You can usually tell at a young age as to which type you have.
I knew I had fast twitch muscles and that my body was made for sprinting.
I could beat almost everyone in a footrace or a swim sprint but struggled to keep up with people on the 1-mile run.
According to the same article by the NIH, some people have a genotype referred to as 577XX and have a complete absence of (α)-actinin-3, reducing the proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibers and increasing the proportion of slow-twitch fibers in the body.
The 577XX genotype is more common in endurance athletes like cyclists and long-distance runners.
Once you understand your genetics and the way your body was built, the faster you can use that information to train your body for maximum results.
Step #2 Train Your Muscle Fiber Type
There are three distinct muscle fiber types found throughout the body: slow twitch type I muscle fibers and fast twitch type IIa and IIb muscle fibers.
The slow twitch muscle fibers primarily use oxygen for fuel, have high endurance, provide continuous energy, offer extended muscle contraction, and fire slowly.
Slow twitch muscle fibers, also called red fibers, contain mitochondria that create adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the chemical that fuel contractions.
Steady-state endurance training will increase mitochondrial density, improving the efficiency of how the body uses oxygen to produce ATP.
In order to train these muscle types effectively:
- Pick exercises that keep slow twitch muscle fibers under contraction for an extended period of time
- Use lighter weights, higher reps (15 or more)
- Do the exercise with less intensity over a longer time period
- Perform the exercise more frequently with limited rest periods.
This type of training will be ideal in teaching your body how to run a faster mile, swim a longer distance, and cycle further without fatigue.
The next muscle type is the fast twitch IIa and IIb muscle fiber types, also called “white fibers” because of the lack of blood within them.
The fast twitch muscle fibers primarily use anaerobic metabolism for fuel, have low endurance, provide short bursts of energy, fire quickly and will be recruited only when the force demands are greater than what the slow twitch fibers can produce.
The fast twitch type IIa can be classified as fast oxidative glycolytic because the muscle fibers use oxygen to help convert glycogen to ATP.
These muscle fiber types are essentially a combination of type I and type II muscle fibers, using aerobic and anaerobic metabolism to create energy.
The fast twitch type IIb can be classified as fast glycolytic, which rely on ATP stored in the muscle cell to generate energy.
These are the primary fast twitch muscle fibers, producing instantaneous bursts of power and speed.
In order to train these muscle types effectively:
- Pick exercises that keep fast twitch muscle fibers under contraction for a short amount of time
- Perform high intensity, explosive reps with heavy weight
- Max out at 4-8 rep ranges
- Rest longer between sets
This type of training will be ideal in teaching your body how to run a faster sprint in track, swim faster over a short length, out-jump your opponents for rebounds and beat the cornerback up the field.
Can you change from one muscle type to another?
According to one study you can convert within the slow twitch type 1 and fast twitch type 2 muscle types themselves.
Other studies say you can convert from type 2a to type 1 over time but not type 1 to type 2a.
The lesson is, if start out as a sprinter and convert to a long-distance runner, you may never get those muscle fiber types back so be forewarned if you decide to change training styles to long distance workouts rather than sprint workouts.
Step #3 Use Proper Body Mechanics
If you want to run faster and jump higher, proper body mechanics may just be the thing to push you over the edge.
Let’s look at long distance running, sprinting, and jumping individually to make sure you are using excellent technique.
1. Long Distance Running Technique
In order to run with perfect form, focus on the position of your head, shoulders, arms, hips, legs, and feet.
First, keep your eyes forward over the horizon. Keep good posture and don’t put your neck in an awkward position. You may pay for it later if you don’t.
Next, keep your shoulders loose and low. Keep them level and relaxed.
Third, relax your hands and swing your arms forward and backward. Elbows should be bent at about 90 degrees. Always remember to relax.
Next, your back and torso should be in a tall, upright position that helps you to breath. Your hips will stay aligned if you keep your torso upright.
Use a slight knee lift during your stride and allow your feet to land directly under your body. Keep a slightly flexed knee on impact.
Last, your foot strike should be somewhere between midfoot and the ball of your foot. Roll onto your toes and push off the ground. Keep it soft and smooth.
2. Sprint Technique
Running at such a fast pace is going to put your body in some unnatural positions that could be adding seconds to your sprint time.
If you want the fastest time possible, you really need to be aware of body mechanics.
In the end, body efficiency is going to make you faster.
Let’s look at the 100-yard dash:
Starting Phase
A good start may not win you the race, but it could lose you the race. An explosive start should begin with the back leg briefly extending and then exploding forward to take the first step. During this, the back arm should also drive forward. The hips should extend, continuing to push your body forward on the balls of your feet, while you maintain a forward lean.
Acceleration Phase
Next is the acceleration phase. During this phase, you want to continue to keep your head down, driving your legs, building up speed, arms pump back and forth, all while pushing off the track with your toes. focus on a large range of motion at the hip. Continue to drive until you reach max velocity.
Stride Phase
The stride phase is done best with an economy of movement, a relaxed upper torso, shoulders aligned, short strides, great leg speed, a still head arms pumping, and a classic high knee lift. A forward lean at the end just may put you ahead of your competitor.
A short person with a low center of gravity has a great advantage in the initial phase of the race whereas a taller person will excel later in the race with greater arm pump and stride length.
Most say it’s best to be somewhere in the middle.
3. Jump Technique
A great leaper has a great advantage over his basketball and volleyball opponents.
A perfect technique, with proper energy transfer could add inches to your vertical jump.
Let’s look at the standing vertical jump technique:
First, start with your arms up, feet pointed forward underneath your shoulders, and on the balls of your feet.
Second, kick your hips back, drop your body quickly, and swing your arms down and behind you, keeping your back and head in neutral spine.
Next explode through the hips, pushing through your feet, and accelerate your body and arms upwards.
Last, land softly. Try to catch yourself on the way down, landing in to a controlled and decelerated squat. If you land straight legged, you dramatically increase your chance for injury.
As a general rule of thumb, anytime you are trying to figure out how to run faster, run longer, or jump higher, you need to keep your body mechanics simple, fluid and as efficient as possible in order to maximize the force in the direction of the movement.
Any wasted movement will cause small breaks in the system costing you valuable time and height.
Add some resistance to your jump using the INNSTAR Vertical Jump Trainer. Easily increase your vertical jump, improve leg strength and explosive power with this easily adjustable device.
Step #4 Create an Environment for Success
Ever wonder why professional athletes’ children always seem to become professionals themselves?
It all has to do with the way they were brought up.
In general, athletic performance can be dramatically influenced by the surrounding environment.
Certain factors that could lead someone to athletic success include the amount of support a person receives mentally, physically, nutritionally, and financially, the environment that the athlete has access to, and willingness of their caretakers to support their endeavors.
One review article shows how important coaches, parents, culture, relative age, and size of birthplace affect the performance of an athlete.
I remember growing up, my father would shoot hoops with us, play catch with us, or gather the neighborhood for a game of touch football almost every day after work.
He made it easy for us to enjoy the games he played growing up and passed that enjoyment onto us kids.
Excellent athletic performance was engrained in us from the very beginning.
You could also look at the external factors that could affect athletic performance.
External environmental factors that could affect athletic performance include things like dehydration from the heat, poor performance in the cold, snow, or rain, high pollen or poor air quality areas, and training at high elevation.
We know that all these factors will likely lead to worse athletic performance on the playing field, but training in these conditions may be the best way to elevate an athlete’s game overall.
One study showed that turning up the heat might be the best thing for an athlete competing in cold weather.
The data showed that exposure to heat provides considerable ergogenic benefits in cool environments, in addition to performance benefits in the hot setting.
Overall, the best thing to do would be to surround yourself with the things and people you need to perform at the highest level.
Find a coach that drives you.
Place environmental stressors on your body that help you excel in all situations.
Do these things and your chances for success goes way up.
Step #5 Train Your Body to Run Faster and Jump Higher
If you want train your body effectively, you need to be training the entirety of your bodily musculature to some extent.
Like I said in step one, train for longer runs or distance cycling with lighter weights, higher reps, more frequency, less intensity, and over a longer time period.
Train for power, speed, explosiveness and maximum vertical jump height with heavier weights, lower reps, less frequency, higher intensity, and over a shorter length of time.
Choose full body exercises, along with exercises that optimally work individual muscle groups.
Ten basic exercises that should be included are the:
- Squat
- Deadlift
- Bench Press
- Row
- Pull Up
- Plank
- Lunge
- Hamstring Curl
- Bicep Curl
- Shoulder Press
Make sure you are doing variations of the above exercises to make sure you are hitting your muscles at every angle.
If you want the best exercises for every muscle, check out my article: The Best Exercises for 9 Major Muscle Groups
Part of your training should include the exercise itself.
If you’re running the 100-meter dash, practice sprinting. If you’re trying to jump higher, try some box jumps.
Focus on quality reps.
As a long-distance runner who likes to compete, it would be best to incorporate about a 33/66 split and do a runner’s workout that incorporates both styles of training.
You may need utilize your fast twitch muscles to sprint the beginning and end of the race, while needing your slow twitch muscles for the majority of the race.
As a sprinter and vertical leaper, you need to find ways to get the most out of each rep.
Use these 5 tips to get the most out of your training and instantly run faster and jump higher:
1. Wear a weight vest while you work out. It will challenge your body’s musculature and cardio capacity that much more. You can find one of my favorite weight vests in #13 of my article: Top 20 of the BEST Pieces of Functional Fitness Equipment
2. Use chains or bands on the ends of your barbells to get the most out of each rep. Each rep will get harder at the top, challenging your lift to the very end.
3. Do each rep explosively. Train your neurological system to work quicker.
4. Do HIIT training to build endurance. Short bursts of exercise followed by short rests will get you in great athletic shape.
5. Workout 2-3 times a week. Make sure you rest and recover and give your body time to repair. Consume at least half your body weight in protein, eat your vegetables and get at least 7 hours of sleep a night.
Excellent workout programming could the thing that teaches your body how to increase vertical jump by 10 inches, how to run faster in track and football, and how to jump higher in basketball and volleyball.
Step #6 Get the Best Exercise Equipment
If you’re using exercise equipment from the 1990’s, your probably not going to be on the same level as athlete using equipment from this day and age.
You need to train with the equipment that puts you in the best position to succeed.
A long-distance athlete who wants to run faster in less time needs to invest in something like an indoor cycling bike.
On the other hand, a sprinter might benefit from some battle ropes, allowing them to pump their arms harder during the run. Check out my article: The 10 Best Pieces of Functional Fitness Equipment for Athletes for some of my best equipment recommendations.
If you’re just going outside and jumping and running, it’s not going to get you very far.
You need to stress your muscles in a way that elevates your game to the next level.
Find a barbell with bumper plates for your power cleans, deadlifts, and snatches. Use a weighted sled to stress your calf muscles during your sprint training.
It’s all about finding the best fitness equipment that fits your needs.
As for a runner’s longevity, a good quality shoe could give you a comfortable and stress-less run.
What are the best running shoes for women?
Not that I would know, but I’ve had several people recommend the ASICS Women’s Gel-Venture 6 Running-Shoes. The superior comfort, removable sock liner, and trail specific outsole make running up and downhill easy. They are, inexpensive, and comfortable, like running on air.
What are the best running shoes for men?
The men’s version of the shoe above is the ASICS Mens Gel-Venture 6 Running Shoe. The inexpensive, sleek and comfortable style make this shoe a winner among most runners.
What’s the best basketball shoe?
I own a similar version of this shoe. The Nike Men’s Air Max Infuriate 2 Mid Basketball Shoe‘s great quality, slick style, and quality craftsmanship make playing basketball a piece of cake in these. You can’t beat it for the price.
Summary: How to Run Faster and Jump Higher
Training for long distance running, sprinting, and the vertical leap all require a certain amount of knowledge, discipline, and consistency. Once you understand what you want to train for, tailor your body mechanics, environmental factors, and workout programming to fit your athletic training style and needs. Utilize nutrition and equipment technology to put yourself a step ahead. Remember, you are either moving forward or falling behind. If you want to be the best, you should always be at least 2 steps ahead of the competition.
What do you train for? Did this guide help you out? Comment below!
