Here is the second part of the “Response To Vertical Jump” blog…
Comment: Why do you NFL players and Olympic lifters have higher verticals then NBA players?
[Alan Stein] I am well aware that the highest combine verticals for certain NFL positions (cornerbacks, running backs, and wide receivers) are statistically higher than the average combine verticals for potential NBA players. No argument. I assume the same is true for elite Olympic lifters; although I haven’t seen the stats. The elite-level football players at those three positions in particular, almost all of the time, were born with the same genetic advantages I keep mentioning. A prototypical cornerback in the NFL is EXTREMELY explosive. He has to be, or he wouldn’t be playing at that level! Again, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t worked hard and trained properly, it means he was born with certain tools that allowed him to develop such explosiveness through training. Not everyone was born with the tools to be an NFL cornerback; just as not everyone was born with the tools to dunk a basketball or play in the NBA. Bottom line is this: in order to be a successful cornerback in the NFL or to be an Olympic caliber weight lifter, it is favorable to be extremely explosive and powerful. Both require very short bursts of high intensity power. There are always exceptions; but this is the general rule.
Comment: I think with hard work an average person can beat someone with genetic talent.
[Alan Stein] Beat them in what? A vertical jump contest or playing elite-level basketball? If you are talking about basketball, there are too many factors above and beyond vertical jump that determine a person’s chances of playing college or professional basketball. Fundamental skills, basketball IQ, experience, height, and competitiveness are just some of the factors that are equally, if not more, important than jumping ability. In this scenario I am well aware that “hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” That is one of my favorite quotes. Yes, someone without superior genetics can still attain a high level of success in a given sport. Yes, someone born with the right tools is not guaranteed to be successful. I have never implied otherwise. But if you think EVERYONE has the potential to have a 40-inch vertical jump or can dunk a basketball, then you are truly mistaken. This is why I wrote my original blog. Most (not all) vertical-jump programs claim that “anyone” can gain “8-12 inches” on their vertical, which by my definition, would be “amazing results.” And again, I know for a fact, that is 100 percent not true.
Comment: Take a marathon runner who wants to be more explosive; he only has a 15-inch vertical jump. Assume he has a slow-to-fast twitch ratio of 80 percent to 20 percent in his legs and hips. If you put him in a weight room and give him a superior vertical-jump program by making him lift heavy, do squats, deadlifts, etc. for one year. He will gain more fast-twitch fibers, probably make him 80 percent to 20 percent the other way — fast twitch dominant. Then add plyometrics for six months and you will probably have an athlete with a 35-inch vertical. Am I wrong? You can’t argue science!
[Alan Stein] What you are claiming as “science” is absolutely incorrect. A person’s muscle fiber types are determined at birth and they can’t be changed through training. Given your example of someone with an 80-20 split of fast twitch to slow twitch will always have that ratio… hence the reason they have achieved success in running marathons (they were born with a genetic predisposition to being successful at endurance activities) in the first place. Now, you can certainly put them on a “fast twitch” program and improve and maximize their 20 percent; but you can’t change the genetic make-up anymore than you can train someone to be taller. By training their 20 percent; you will probably see some improvement in their explosive capabilities but they will not be “amazing” results by any stretch of the imagination. And using your examples, you are certainly aren’t going to get him to add 20 inches to his vert. Not a chance. Do you really think if you trained Lance Armstrong this way you could get those results? Do you think you could do the reverse and put Usain Bolt on a “slow twitch endurance program” he would win a marathon or Tour De France? Absolutely, positively, NO WAY.
To reiterate, I am not saying athletes can’t make improvements, they most certainly can. “Slow twitch” athletes can make improvements in explosiveness and “fast twitch” athletes can make improvements in endurance if they are training appropriately; but neither group can drastically alter their genetic make-up. Neither group can attain “amazing” results; which is what most of the vertical-jump con artists claim… hence my blog. “You can’t turn a jackass into a racehorse.”
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