We have all heard of “Hang Time“, but is it [real|genuine|actual|factual|existent|valid]? To get straight to the crux, scientific laws rule this, there is no such item as “hang time”. Some people will swear that this can’t be – exclaiming how they have seen one player or another hang in the air longer than another. The reality is that no matter what it may seem like, no player can float in the air longer than any other..

Read below for information on what actually happens as any player jumps.

As he is coming down the court and jumps, scientific laws begin to apply. The laws assert that the first action causes an additional action that is the same in intensity but in the opposite direction. 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.

If a player is running during the jumping process, his/her center of mass follows a parabolic path, which in essence looks comparable to a rounded off mountain top. A persons “center of mass” is situated close to their midsection. This means that, if the person were to continue in just the same position for the extent of the complete jumping action, his/her midsection (and consequently, complete body) would go along this path. Typically though, a player does not stay in the same position. He will bend and twist.

One thing that players often do is lift one (or both knees) while he is jumping.. He does that on his way up. As he comes back down then, he puts his legs back down. This makes his center of gravity lower. This in effect raises his head in relation to the center of mass. The head does not follow the parabolic path. The head stays at one height.

If you can imagine it then, the head follows a even course up and down although 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. We frequently concentrate on a person’s head (or at least the upper part of the entire body) . What happens at that instant is a bit of an “illusion”, but it really is happening. The head stays in the same place for an unnaturally long time since the person changes his center of mass.

If one person can’t hang in the air longer than another, what is the solution? The REAL answer is because that person JUMPS HIGHER. If you can’t improve your hang time then, you have to learn to jump higher! How can you do this? Check out these Vertical Jump Program Reviews for extra information.

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 see which are rated the best and to get more information on Improving Your Vertical Jump.

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