Can You Boost Your Hang Time?
We have all heard of “Hang Time“, but is it genuine? In one word, “no” – scientific proof will back this up. Despite the fact that this will seem unbelievable to many, it is the truth. But, in actuality, any basketball player (including “Air Jordan” himself) just makes it look as if they are floating in the air.
Here’s the details of what is happening when a basketball player jumps (or any other game where jumping is involved).
Coming down the court, a player jumps and the laws of physics take over. These laws state that every action has an equal and opposed reaction. What this means in layman’s terms is that the player pushes against the floor and the floor exerts a force back. This action/reaction makes the player to leave the floor. When a player pushes harder on the floor, the floor pushes back harder causing the player to be propelled higher.
This action is compounded as a player is running at the same time as he is jumping. His center of gravity will go along a parabolic course for the duration of this process. A persons “center of mass” is located close to their midsection. This means that, if the person were to stay in exactly the same position for the duration of the whole jumping act, his/her midsection (and therefore, full body) would follow this path. However as a player jumps while running, the center of mass is lifted – and manipulated.
By raising his knees, he’s raising his center of mass relative to his head. He does that on his way up. As he comes back down then, he puts his legs back down. This makes his center of gravity lower. This in effect raises his head in relation to the center of mass. The head does not follow the parabolic path. It remains in the same place.
If you can picture it then, the head follows a smooth route up and down although the person’s center of mass does not.
In essence, the player’s head is the key to why we believe in hang time.
When one person looks at another, they tend to not look at the middle of their body. Instead, we usually look at the other person’s head. What happens at that second is a bit of an “illusion”, but it truly is happening. The head stays in the same place for an unnaturally long time because the person changes his center of mass.
Well, if “hang time” is not true, how is it that one person can remain in the air longer than another person? The only choice left is that he can JUMP HIGHER! If you can’t improve your hang time then, you have to learn to jump higher! How can you do this? These Vertical Jump Program Reviews will offer you more information.
To get the most out of your vertical jumping exercises, you should consider a vertical jump training program. Check out these Vertical Jump Program Reviews to check which are rated the best and to find more information on How To Jump Higher.
