Air Alert Review

Written by Jack Woodrup for VerticalJumping.com

Air Alert describes itself as the Number 1 of ALL jump programs which is a pretty big call for a program that many people claim causes more injuries than it does help you improve your vertical. Is it really the very best there is? Um, no, not really. Read on to find out why.

Quality of Information

Where do we start with this....

The premise behind Air Alert is that by doing many, many repetition's of various jumps it will become second nature, or as they like to call it "habitual". They claim that by doing many repetitions you are "creating instinctual, unconscious jumping ability which is built slowly over time. You are helping the leg muscles develop vertical memory as opposed to horizontal memory achieved by running or walking."

In theory this sounds great. To get better at jumping you need to practice jumping right? Well yes this is true. The problem is that many athletes are just not physically ready for so many jumps.

Air Alert, suffers from the same thing that nearly all jump programs suffer from. Not enough consideration for the starting abilities of the athletes. This is where we suspect the many complaints you see on internet forums etc stem from.

There are other problems associated with a high volume jump program such as Air Alert. Firstly, a requirement to do all those jumps is that it encourages sub-maximal effort, i.e. endurance, not power. Doing 100's of jumps per workout versus 50-80 high intensity, high quality reps is the same as a 100m sprinter going for a 5 mile (8km) jog and claiming this is better for his performance than doing 10-15 x 100m interval sprints. It just doesn't work.

Secondly, it can easily lead to injury and over training. Jumping is a stressful activity on your joints and body. 100's of repetitions several times per week has the a high risk potential to tax your body beyond its ability to repair and recover. The result is that you leave yourself exposed to repetitive stress related injuries.

The exercises themselves in Air Alert are actually all reasonable choices for improving your vertical jump. It is just the volume we have an issue with. Sadly, for a program that does prescribe such huge amounts of jumping, its recovery section is very limited.

Customization

There is no customization available in Air Alert. It is very much a one size fits all approach. They provide the program as it is and you go and do it. Once again, for a program that prescribes so many jumps in its program it really should make some effort to understand where an athlete is starting from.

Presentation

Air Alert is very professionally put together. It has an excellent DVD that comes with it as well as an easy to read and understand training manual. In fact, in terms of presentation, it is actually one of the best available. It is just a pity its program is so bad.

Value For Money

Air Alert only cost $29.95 which is a reasonable amount to pay for a jump program. However, we still can't say that it is particularly great value for money on the grounds that the program is not very well thought out. The huge volume of jumps prescribed is just too big a hurdle for us to get past.

Conclusion

There are just so many things wrong with Air Alert that we simply cannot in any way shape or form recommend it to you. If you want to do the program we would suggest replacing the middle workout with some low volume explosive weight training and doing only half the volume of jumps per workout. Alternatively you could just do 2 workouts a week instead of three.

Even then we would suggest that you take your recovery very seriously. Get plenty of sleep, stretch and foam roll, and eat enough food to ensure you are adequately fuelled for your workouts and your recovery.

Have you used this program?

Have you used this jump program? What sort of results did you see? Did you feel you got your moneys worth? Was the review made by VerticalJumping.com helpful and accurate? The reviews here are just our opinions and we would love to know your thoughts on this program to help others make a more informed decision. Please share your experience with your fellow vertical jump enthusiasts.

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What Other Visitors Have Said

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Get ready to fly - or something 
I`m 17 years old now and just start playin´ basketball with 15 after I found out that I need to become an athlet after i first touch a ball i knew thats ...

Air Alert - Disappointing 
My cousin and I bought Air Alert when we were going into 8th grade and it sounded pretty convincing. We realized it was not helping and they were way to ...

headaches associated with air alert 
A friend and I have been using Air Alert. This was our first week. However, the same friend went a few weeks down, perhaps at around 8. During this time,...

Air Alert is not that bad 
I do not agree with this information. The first time I used Air Alert I gained 4 inches in 4 weeks. I agree with this review on the amount of reps, which ...

It works, but be careful 
I did this program for the first time when I was in grade 9 (14 years old), and it did work - I completed all the exercises on either wooden floor (with ...

Female Athlete (high School)  Not rated yet
Air Alert is extremely hard and I didnt see very impressive results. Air Alert does one thing: teaches dedication and hard work. I busted my shin open ...

Not recommended if you aren't in good shape already.   Not rated yet
I did AA a year or two ago for about 6 or 7 weeks until I sprained my ankle in a game. Looking back on the notes that I took during the time, at around ...

Air Alert is great program  Not rated yet
I got Air Alert when I was 15. I used the program through the summer and fall. The first few weeks I gained a few inches and I kept on jumping higher and ...

I Tried AA and it works but really hurts your knees!!!  Not rated yet
After a long use of AA it put a strain on my knees. My knees hurt when I am not even doing any sports activities. I realized that some of the AA workouts ...

Positive Air Alert Feedback  Not rated yet
I have completed this program before (not just 2 weeks like others are posting) and I went from barely dunking to dunking 2 handed off of 2 feet. I am ...

Effectiveness  Not rated yet
I finished Air Alert III. The first couple of weeks I saw no improvements at all to my jumping ability. I took a week off after week 8 and when I came ...

Air Alert Worked  Not rated yet
I don't know what you guys are talking about..... Air Alert works so well. I started out not even able to touch rim on a 10 foot basketball goal. Now I ...

It did work until it injured me.  Not rated yet
I did the Air Alert up until the sixth week when I wrecked my back doing step ups. I did gain about 5 inches , though. However, since I was injured as ...

Robs Air Alert Experience  Not rated yet
I have used Air alert and its advanced training portion several different times and I can say it works. I put on an easy 6-8 inches of vertical. I wouldnt ...

B-ball player  Not rated yet
I used it back in jr. high, 9th grade i think. I was really excited to use the program and in the begining it seemed to help and i felt stronger.

You ...

Air Alert Scam  Not rated yet
I found the air alert program to work well for about two weeks, but after that I gained nothing more. The program lacks diversification, and the sheer ...

Biggest waste of time  Not rated yet
I did Air alert for 2 weeks the first time.And i injured my toes, took six mounths off and did it again for 13 weeks.My starting vertical was 20 when ...