must check:
http://web.iwebcenters.com/powernetics2/index2.html
what does everyone think of this stuff?
looks kind of fun actually, check out the super cat…this white guy has a 48" vertical :o after training with it!
(if u want proof of the vertical, the owner gave me a video which explained all of the exercises…but then at the end that same guys does the craziest dunks!)
I want one!
why not just do jump squats, depth jumps, oly lifts and jump a lot? 
i was also thinking jump squats!
i still think it would be fun to experience the angles and stuff though
the angles of the platform is different though
no balance required - err its not functional :karate:
ive been using dumbells (between 15 and 30 lbs in each hand) and jumping onto a bench or a aerobics step about 12-16 inches high. seems to be working…
What’s the deal with the Supercat machine? In the animation, the guy ends up in a slightly piked position. This does not look optimal for vertical jumps, yet that is what they are supposedly training.
xlr8
I’ve known Barney and Gary Fuller for years, and have seen Gary’s vertical increase from a modest 18" to a 3 step 48". The only resistance training he did was the supercat machine his father–Barney invented. I’m not saying that he couldn’t have developed an equal vertical by other means, but his was developed by the machine. On a side note, I have seen athletes who could squat 500+ and power clean 300+ that could not keep up with Gary rep for rep in his workouts.
where is gary now?
why are these angles used advantagous? why do they claim this machine is better than just doing regular jump squats? also can someone post some of the exercises they recomend doing on this, i have one one of these at my school.
you can ask for a training video and they will give one to you freely as they did for me (all i wanted to do was see his dunks:D)
it shows you all the different exercises they have on there.
what type do you have?
the supercat
Unless he has moved recently, Gary is in Tx. Barney, the inventor of the machine, is an interesting person to talk to. He is fascinated with jumping ability and how to develope it. Barney feels that his machine is superior to barbell jumpsquats because he can load much more weight and move it in a more explosive manner than the jumpsquat, which can be a little awkward. I personally don’t feel his machine is the whole answer, but I certainly agree with Barney on much of his reasoning. Gary is verification.
does an increase in vertical leap translate into more speed on the track?
if it does, say you increase your vertical jump by x" where in the 100m race will this translate into? The start? The Drive Phase?
i will assume the start unless someone can prove otherwise…
is there any way i could get in touch with barney?
also, increased vertical jump would probably help in the drive phase unless the icnrease comes from a technical improvement. otherewise by increasing your vj you have probably icnreased power capabilities and tehrefore will be faster in the drive phase.
just select “contact us” and ask for a free video
Originally posted by TJ2K
does an increase in vertical leap translate into more speed on the track?if it does, say you increase your vertical jump by x" where in the 100m race will this translate into? The start? The Drive Phase?
i will assume the start unless someone can prove otherwise…
This was a cool thread:
http://www.charliefrancis.com/board/philboard_read.asp?id=139&recordnum=40
It sounds like sprinting and weight strength will boost vertical jump, but using vertical jump to boost sprinting is a little risky. This is a quote from Herb in that thread:
I didn’t do any lifting to achieve this. I had a coach who gave me a jumping program which consisted of jumping up stairs, and jumping on the spot. and, I tried the Toyota Jump Training Program, which was basically skipping, and again, just plain old jumping. My friends and I would measure our verticle almost every day after school to see if we had become any better. After a couple of years they stopped jumping and I kept on going. When I swithched to track I had a huge imbalance between my quads and my hammys though. 7 years later, I am starting to balance out.
Wouldn’t the similarities between VJ ability and sprint ability be much greater than the differences, meaning that the ability to express rapid force is key to both qualities and therefore highly correlated. I think that the research bears this out. I do think however that VJ ability is able to express itself more efficiently in phases in which ground contact is longer.
StrongerAthlete.com
March 25 “Ours is the age which is proud of machines that think and suspicious of men who try to." - Howard Mumford Jones
Power Training
At a recent Track & Field clinic a vendor was handing out flyers from a company called “Powernetics.” Barney Fuller, President of Powernetics, wrote, “The first point I want to make is that we cannot build a powerful explosive athlete by training and conditioning him with slow strength movements, such as slow heavy squats. The reason is simple; the ingredients necessary for pwer development are not present.”
He went on by indicating that by the time type II (fast twitch) muscle fibers are recruited in a set of a slow controlled movements this will instill slow motor impulses into these fibers.
StrongerAthlete.com could not disagree more. Good scientific research that we have found that is not misleading, does not indicate that fast movements in the weight room develop powerful and explosive athletes. In fact it says the opposite. A movement that creates momentum could not possibly develop power in the athelte because the tension on the muscle is not constant. Fast movements mearly express power. [See Expressing vs. Developing Power].
Fuller continued stating that he tested an athlete on his jumping and squatting machines. One athlete could not jump as many times as the athlete that trained on their machine. Could it be that this athlete is not adapted to expressing his power with that machine because he never apparently used it before?
StrongerAthlete.com claims that Fuller is defying the Principle of Specificity by saying that the squat and jumping machine will transfer to better athletic performace. [See Specificity I & Specificity II].
It was our understanding that we are trying to improve our athletes performance in their specific skills of the sport they are training for. As soon as a leaper machine is introduced in a football game on the 40 or 50 yard line then this athlete will do great.
The rest of Fuller’s article went into several other studies such as this jumping machine increased an athletes vertical jump 30 inches over his high school career. What does this tell us? That he is a good vertical jumper, period. We are also sure that he practiced this skill as well but that was not mentioned.
Fuller went on by saying that training in this fashion will recruit more fast twitch muscle fibers. If this is so, did the athlete reach momentary muscular failure on the leaper? Obviously not, because it is impossible! Everyone should read a physiology text illustrating the principle of muscle fiber recruitment.
There seems to be a contradiction with what he is claiming and what science indicates from what we have found. He does state that muscle fiber is recruited in an orderly fashion but says fast movements are the best to train the type II fibers. StrongerAthlete.com asks the following question: If this is the most productive way to train for power and explosiveness, then why are there athletes such as Junior Seau, Jerome Bettis, Lavar Arrington, Ray Lewis, etc… and other athletes that are on the teams of our Teams page? Did the strength trainers of these programs develop an unproductive program?
We do not think so. We respect what Fuller is trying to do, which is develop better athletes and his equipment probably can develop some power and explosiveness but we believe it is narrow minded to think that it is the only and the best way. StrongerAthlete.com believes that slow controlled training coupled with sport specific training is the most productive way to train. Not to mention the safest.
Coaches, there are many training philosophies out there that are very productive and successful that are Olympic-lift based and some that are not Olympic-lift based. However, all coaches should seek out the safest, most productive, and efficient program possible.
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Originally posted by spin65
Wouldn’t the similarities between VJ ability and sprint ability be much greater than the differences, meaning that the ability to express rapid force is key to both qualities and therefore highly correlated. I think that the research bears this out. I do think however that VJ ability is able to express itself more efficiently in phases in which ground contact is longer.
They probably are similar, its just a matter of what’s a good way to develop either one. Jumping is probably the best way to develop jumping, and is probably valuable for sprinters if not used too much because this will overdevelop the quads. Sprinting is best for sprinting, and because great sprinters have great power they also have good VJs, but if they wanted to just focus on improving VJ they would probably focus on jumping.
While I’m not sure that I’m a believer in the Powernetics machines (I prefer free weights), that article by StrongerAthlete.com is riddled with errors. For example, they state:
<i>A movement that creates momentum could not possibly develop power in the athelte because the tension on the muscle is not constant.</i>
However, constant muscle tension is not a requisite for the development of power! As a matter of fact, Olympic-style weightlifters are arguable the most pwerful athletes in the world and most of their training involves explosive (momentum) lifts.
They also perpetuate the myth that momentary muscular failure is necessary for effective strength training even though there is no evidence that this is the case.
Anyway, these are just a few snippets. If you are really interested in the details, head over to Mel Siff’s Supertraining group and do a search on HIT.
xlr8