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Show i Begin training now for basketball cific exercises which concentrate more on the lower extremities. Should you have questions regarding regard-ing a sports medicine problem, we would be happy to review your questions and use them in a future article. Please send them to "Sports Medline," co Dr. Steve Henry, 1361 Tyler Park Drive, Louisville, Kent. 40204. I I By DR. STEVE HENRY I Football is more than midway ' I through its season which means I that few of us are contemplating I basketball. However, now is the I time for you to consider pre-season I training to improve your jumping I ability. I It is a common-known fact that I certain athletes have a greater I natural talent for jumping than I others. Darryl Griffith of the Utah Jazz, Spud Webb of the Atlanta I Hawks and Rex Chapman of the Kentucky Wildcats are prime examples ex-amples of natural jumping ability. What can be done for the high school athlete to improve his jumping jump-ing ability? I discussed this problem prob-lem with Mr. Doug Semenick, who was recently named the United States Strength Coach of the Year. Mr. Semenick is well known for his training of athletes at the University Universi-ty of Louisville basketball program. prog-ram. His program concentrates on a number of important philosophies. philo-sophies. According to Mr. Semenick, ' vertical jumping is a total body movement and he believes the upper up-per shoulder muscles and chest muscles should be equally conditioned con-ditioned with those of the lower extremities. In the upper body, the deltoid or shoulder muscles (the large muscles along the spinal column), col-umn), and the rectus abdominal muscles (stomach muscles) all play an important role in creating velocity veloc-ity to elevate the body off the floor. He refers to these muscles as the jumping chain, which begin in the upper body and also involve the gluteal muscles (the buttocks), the quadriceps, the hamstring, the gastrocnemius gas-trocnemius and soleus muscles of the calves and even the smaller muscles of the feet. Mr. Semenick's program includes in-cludes pre-season and in-season conditioning. He recommends resistant re-sistant hip and back exercises, leg squats, thigh thrusts, leg extension exercises, leg curls for hamstring strengthening, and bent-knee sit-ups sit-ups for the abdominal muscles. He has also found that his jump conditioning condi-tioning program improves with weights and weight training. Semenick issues caution to those athletes who attempt to improve their jumping ability with the use of simultaneous long distance running. run-ning. Numerous studies have shown that the leg strength or leg jumping ability is lessened by long distance running. In summary, Mr. Semenick recommends re-commends a total body fitness program similar to many of those programs used in gym educational courses. Once an overall conditioning condi-tioning program has been started, the athlete can progress to specific jumping exercises. Next month we will discuss spe- |