Ways to Improve Quickness and Vertical Jump

Hey guys I wanted to pass on some advice to you that I gave to one of my twitter followers this morning. This little bit is about improving vertical jump, and quickness. The guy who asked me for some tips is in the middle of basketball offseason and wanted to know how to improve these so here y'all go:

For improving your vertical jump do not underestimate the power of squats. When you jump you are using mostly your quads to propel you into the air, so make sure that when you workout you show those muscles some love. Also it will help for you to do calf raises along with your squats, and incorporate single leg squats in there as well. What I personally like to do if I don't have a barbell and some plates around is just grab some dumbbells and hold them up at my shoulders and squat with them, and stand on my toes to stretch and work out those calf muscles. For improving quickness I shared that one thing to do is run with ankle weights on while doing sprints or cone drills; but also that working your legs out in the gym will help develop the fast twitch muscle fibers in your legs, and will give you an extra burst. One thing I have always found interesting about the fast twitch muscle fibers are that bodybuilders have been known to be able to keep up with world class sprinters for the first 20 or 30 yards strictly because of the explosive power their bodies possess. I think this picture should give you some motivation for todays workout sesh guys. Enjoy!