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Jumpsoles Product ReviewJumpsoles
are an institution in the world of vertical jump training. They have been around for a long time and have helped many people improve their jumping ability. However, Jumpsoles are not without their critics. Some people claim that it is just the training that causes the vertical improvements. Other people claim they are dangerous and can cause injuries. To find out our thoughts on this icon of vertical training read on.
 What Are They?For those unfamiliar with them they are essentially a platform that straps onto the front of your regular training shoes. This forces your calves to do more of the work. The idea is that this raised position makes your calf muscles and Achilles tendon more springy and powerful. Our Training ExperiencesFor the most part we found the Jumpsoles to be tolerable to train in. Certainly this was the case more so for the 2 leg jumping exercises. When we wore them for single leg jumping exercises they felt heavy, cumbersome, and quite frankly awkward. This was a big drawback for us as we prefer the single leg drills such as the 123 Jump, as we believe they provide greater benefits to not only vertical jump, but for sprinting and other sports related movements as well.All in all they were not comfortable to train in and if anything I felt they detracted from the quality of jumps you could do. Also there are some jumps that we absolutely wouldn't recommend you do in them such as depth jumps. Proprioceptors: The Only Really Beneficial Use of JumpsoleIf the training experiences mentioned so far were all the Jumpsoles had to offer, we absolutely wouldn't recommend buying them (as it is we actually STILL don't recommend buying them). However, the addition of the proprioceptor plugs certainly adds something to their value.What difference does a few small few rubber plugs make? A lot of highly respected coaches such as Paul Chek get very excited about the benefits of training in unstable environments. Instability really forces you to recruit extra muscles to stabilize your joints and body. Training with Jumpsoles and proprioceptor plugs creates such an environment. The theory behind the proprioceptor plugs is that in the same way that barbell squats are better than the leg press because of the way they recruit more muscle fibers, when using them with Jumpsoles exercises such as the split squat, lunge, step up and weighted jump squats, they add to both the difficulty and effectiveness of our workouts. Of course like many theories this is better on paper than in reality. The reduction in the weight you can use due to the added instability results in far less benefits than developing some extra balance provides.
If You Are Desperate Try This Simple Jumpsoles WorkoutUnilateral training requires more balance and recruits more muscles to act as stabilizers. After a while your muscles and body will adapt to the type of training and you will get quite good at the single leg exercises.To make these exercises that little bit harder, try this simple Jumpsoles + proprioceptor plug workout. We call it the 4X workout and whilst it looks fairly easy, it is a killer. It can be done 2-3 times per week with 60-90 seconds rest between sets. When doing this workout, and any workout for that matter, choose a weight that is heavy enough to challenge you over the prescribed number of reps, but not too heavy as to force you to sacrifice good technique and form.
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