How To increase A Vertical Jump By Removing These 3 Poisonous Thinking Errors

1. We'll do the easiest one first - it was probably in the search terms you used to find this article. The problem word is in the phrase "how to increase a vertical jump"... any guesses which one it is? If you said "Increase" then you're correct. Go to the head of the class and grab a Gatorade on the way. The problem with words like "Increase" "Improve" and "Higher" is that they are all relative and non-specific words. If you set a goal to increase your vertical, then as soon as you rack up an extra half inch, your sub-conscious will feel pretty good about achieving the goal and will take a break. Meanwhile the conscious mind's left wondering what happened and why you hit another plateau.

The brain will essentially set out to achieve whatever you tell it to do, so you have to be both specific and absolute with your internal programming. Do you remember the phrase "garbage in, garbage out"? If you thought it came from the world of computers, think again - a computer is a model of the human brain primarily.

A better way to programme your subconscious to achieve your next target is to constantly focus on the absolute and concrete achievement that you are striving for. This can be hard to measure on the court when in play, so pick a marker in your training environment - it could be a suspended tag, the hoop or a marker on the wall - that's a specific and absolute goal you can focus on. If you remind yourself that "tomorrow never comes" (as it's always one day away) it'll sink in.

2. Stay with me on this one, we're going to get all Star Wars for a second. Remember the scene in Empire when Luke is standing with Yoda at the swamp trying to raise the fighter out of the water using the Force? Three points for being able to recite the script exactly. For those of you too young to remember it, or who were forced to have therapy and more outdoor pursuits instead of re-running the film again and again, the offending word this time is "try". And as Yoda said - "there is no try, just do." Here's an experiment. Try to pick up a pen. See? You can't do it. Either you do, or you don't. The problem with "Try" is that it pre-supposes that a fail is possible. Get rid of this horrendous little phrase and either "do" or "don't". Okay, I'll let you "test" something if you must. You can "test" a new training programme if you like, but don't try it. Please.

3. Working with a great coach, mentor or trainer is assumed if you've taken your training seriously enough to spend time researching further improvement techniques - preferably all three. Hopefully your coach has drilled the phrase "Feedback is the breakfast of champions" into you by now. If not, take it from me that it is. There are so many things that we don't see from our own perspective, we need someone else to benevolently point them out.

Now, whilst we know that feedback is good, like medicine it doesn't always taste nice. "I'm always ready to learn, but I don't always enjoy being taught" was a phrase from Winston Churchill. Sound familiar?

The last word we're going to erase is.... actually anything you say back to your coach after he or she points out a flaw in your performance. The only word you need to use for the next four weeks of "testing" this out is "Thank-you" (Okay, two words). The problem with most feedback receivers is that when they hear something they don't like, they immediately start to become JEDI - sorry for the Star Wars reference again, but this stands for "Justify, Explain, Defend, Invent". In terms of you changing your physiology and neurology to perform better, the quicker you receive and internalise performance feedback, the more effective it will be.

Picture the feedback scene addressing a mistake in a game from twelve momnths back? Pretty ineffective huh? Make your feedback like a piece of fast food - consume it quickly, with relish and enjoy it... and be grateful!

The importance of you how you programme yourself for success can't be over-stated, and I think it deserves some decent air-time. The language we are exposed to and also use inside our own heads sets the foundation for what our bodies do. Remember - garbage in garbage out isn't confined to the stomach!