Does Gaining Muscle Mass Affect Your Vertical Jump?

AI Thread Summary
Gaining muscle mass can positively affect vertical jump if the focus is on developing the right type of muscle, particularly fast-twitch fibers in the legs. Increased strength in jumping muscles like the quads can enhance explosive power, potentially offsetting any negative effects of added mass. However, excess muscle in non-jumping areas may hinder performance due to added weight. It's crucial to balance muscle bulk with speed and explosive movement, as sheer strength without explosiveness is not beneficial for jumping. Observing the leg development of elite volleyball players can provide insights into optimal muscle composition for enhancing vertical jump.
EJ50
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
I've been bothered about this for a while now. As a volleyball player, I am constantly looking for ways to increase my vertical. So, my question is:

Will an increase in muscle mass decrease my vertical? On one hand, I am getting stronger and therefore should be able to push harder off the ground. On the other hand, obviously, it makes sense that one would not be able to jump as high with greater mass.

Furthermore, does it matter where on my body I am putting the muscle? I would like to work on my upper body, but if the increased muscle mass lowers my vertical, then I'm not sure that that is best for me.

I've posted this question in a few different places to see what different answers I get from physicists and body-builders. I imagine the responses here would be a tad more eloquent and professional.

Any response would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance
 
Physics news on Phys.org
The right sort of muscle in the jumping muscles - mostly the quads - should increase your jump. The right sort for the occasional jump is fast-twitch rather than slow-twitch, but I don't know to what extent one can control the development of one vs the other. The extra mass of jumping muscles should be far more than offset by the extra explosive power.
In contrast, most other muscle will be a hindrance, as it's just dead weight.
There will be an optimal amount though. Muscle bulk is not the same as muscle strength, and speed of movement is important as well. Being able to squat 200KG slowly is not the same thing as lifting one's own 70kg body in an explosive movement. Bulging body-builder muscles would probably be counter-productive, even in the quads.
Why not have a close look at the legs of top-level volleyball players?
 
The rope is tied into the person (the load of 200 pounds) and the rope goes up from the person to a fixed pulley and back down to his hands. He hauls the rope to suspend himself in the air. What is the mechanical advantage of the system? The person will indeed only have to lift half of his body weight (roughly 100 pounds) because he now lessened the load by that same amount. This APPEARS to be a 2:1 because he can hold himself with half the force, but my question is: is that mechanical...
Some physics textbook writer told me that Newton's first law applies only on bodies that feel no interactions at all. He said that if a body is on rest or moves in constant velocity, there is no external force acting on it. But I have heard another form of the law that says the net force acting on a body must be zero. This means there is interactions involved after all. So which one is correct?
Let there be a person in a not yet optimally designed sled at h meters in height. Let this sled free fall but user can steer by tilting their body weight in the sled or by optimal sled shape design point it in some horizontal direction where it is wanted to go - in any horizontal direction but once picked fixed. How to calculate horizontal distance d achievable as function of height h. Thus what is f(h) = d. Put another way, imagine a helicopter rises to a height h, but then shuts off all...
Back
Top