Power Challenge (Vertical Jump)
Why is it important?
Power determines how fast and how far you can move your body weight in a short period of time. Being powerful means that you’ll be better able to lift heavy objects or move yourself quickly. As you become more powerful, you’ll be able to jump higher, which means the next time your school does a SportFit Day you’ll improve your score on the Vertical Jump station.
How can I improve?
Martial Arts
Most martial arts are great ways to improve your power because the movements are fast and explosive. When you practice regularly, your muscles learn how to move your body quickly and forcefully, which are the two main components of power.
Cheerleading
Cheerleading routines often involve jumps, leaps, cartwheels, and throws, activities that require you to propel your body quickly, and which take a lot of power to execute.
Jumping on a trampoline
To bounce on a trampoline you have to move your body and shift your weight to send you upwards. When you push off the trampoline between jumps, your legs have to work hard to propel you back into the air. It takes a lot of power to get your body to change direction against gravity.
Kicking a ball back and forth with a friend
Kicking a ball around is a fun way to work on your power. It’s also a little easier than other activities that improve power because it involves propelling a ball and not your body. Usually, when you kick a ball, your leg moves fast and hits the ball with a lot of force; the energy that you use to move your leg transfers into the ball and sends it flying. That energy is called power.
Sprinting
Sprinting for short distances is a good way to improve your power. Power is a combination of strength and speed; when you sprint, your muscles have to work very hard and fast to move your body quickly. If you do some sprints every other day for a month, you will become more powerful, and you will be able to jump higher on your next SportFit Jump Challenge! Many sports have sprinting elements; for example, if you play soccer, football, or baseball, you are probably sprinting at some point during the game.
California Kick Ball
This game is a mix of soccer and baseball, and it’s a great way to improve your power! Two teams set up in the same style as baseball, but the pitcher rolls a soccer ball toward the hitter instead of throwing a baseball. The hitter kicks the ball as hard as he/she can and runs to first base. General rules are the same as baseball, but the ball handling is similar to soccer. The combination of kicking the ball, running to the bases, and running after the ball requires a lot of power. If you play this game once or twice a week, you will become more powerful and you will improve your SportFit Vertical Jump station score!
Leap Frog
Leap frog requires that you push really hard and fast with your legs to jump over the person crouched in front of you. With this movement, your legs generate a lot of power.
