We have all heard of “Hang Time”, but is it existent? The short response is “no” - science supports this. A lot of people will not believe this, pointing to their favorite player and at the same time exclaim how he can dangle in the air longer than somebody else. The truth is that no matter what it may appear like, no player can hover in the air longer than any other..
Here’s the facts of what is happening when a basketball player jumps (or any other game where jumping is involved).
Coming down the court, a player jumps and the laws of physics take over. The laws state that the original action causes another action that is equal in force 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 while 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 throughout the jumping process, his/her center of mass follows a parabolic course, which essentially looks similar to a rounded off mountain top. A persons “center of mass” is located close to their midsection. This means that, if the person were to stay in precisely the same position for the extent of the complete jumping action, his/her midsection (and therefore, whole body) would go along this route. However as a player jumps while running, the center of mass is lifted - and manipulated.
By raising his knees, he’s raising his center of mass relative to his head. 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. It remains in the same place.
So what you get is for a fraction of the time in the air, the head stays at the same height, but ,during the entire time the center of mass goes up and down.
In essence, the player’s head is the key to why we believe in hang time.
When we look at each other, we don’t generally look at the person’s “center of mass”. We as a rule concentrate on a person’s head (or at least the upper part of the complete body) . What happens at that instant is a bit of an “illusion”, but it actually 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 true, how is it that one person can continue in the air longer than another person? It comes down to the reality 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 ought to consider a vertical jump training program. Check out these Vertical Jump Program Reviews to get more info.