Hang Time – Can It Be Increased?

We have all heard of “Hang Time”, but is it existent? To get immediately to the crux, scientific laws direct this, there is no such item as “hang time”. Lots of people will not consider this, pointing to their favorite player and at the same time exclaim how he can dangle in the air longer than someone else. The reality is that no matter what it may look like, no player can float in the air longer than any other..

Here’s the details of what is happening when a basketball player jumps (or any other game where jumping is concerned).

As he is coming down the court and jumps, scientific laws begin to apply. These laws say that each action has an equal and opposite reaction. What this means in layman’s terms is that the player pushes against the floor and the floor exerts a force back. This action/reaction makes the player to leave the floor. The more force the player uses when pushing against the floor, the more force the floor exerts back – resulting in the player going higher into the air.

This action is compounded as a player is running as he is jumping. His center of gravity will go along a parabolic route during this process. A persons “center of mass” is located near their midsection. This means that, if the person were to continue in just the same position for the duration of the complete jumping action, his/her midsection (and therefore, entire body) would follow this route. Typically though, a player does not remain in the identical position. He will bend and twist.

One thing that players often do is raise one (or both knees) while he is jumping.. He does that on his way up. On the way down, of course, he lowers his legs back down and that, in turn causes the center of mass to come back down. This in effect raises his head in relation to the center of mass. The head does not follow the parabolic path. It remains in the same place.

If you can imagine it then, the head follows a smooth path up and down though the person’s center of mass does not.

In essence, the player’s head is the key to why we believe in hang time.

When one person looks at another, they tend to not look at the center of their body. Instead, we frequently look at the other person’s head. What happens at that second is a bit of an “illusion”, but it really is happening. The head stays in the same place for an unnaturally extended time since the person changes his center of mass.

Well, if “hang time” is not real, how is it that one person can remain in the air longer than another person? It comes down to the actuality that one person can JUMP HIGHER than the other! If you can’t increase your hang time then, you have to learn how to jump higher! How can you do this?

To get the most out of your vertical jumping exercises, you should think about a vertical jump training program. Check out these Vertical Jump Program Reviews to get more info.