The Vertical Jump Obsession in Basketball Spreading Faster Than You Can Possible Imagine

Basketball is a great sport. Now I know you don't need to be an American to make this statement. Why do I say this? Well, it is because of the experience I had last year when I traveled to a Remote village in one basketball African country basketball Cameroon.

I've always wanted to go to Africa, so I made this childhood dream a reality last year. My choice of this African country was due to the fact that I wanted to be away from basketball for a while. And knowing that Cameroon is a big football nation, I thought basketball would be pretty dead there. So I won't have to think about vertical jumps for a while. But I was completely wrong.

After spending 5 days just relaxing and shuttling between my hotel room, nightclubs and parks, I was a bit bored so I decided to ask the hotel receptionist if there was any gymnasium where basketball was played. I explained to her that I would like to check on my vertical jump status. I was asking out of frustration because I knew there won't be any basketball court. I did not even think she would know what a vertical jump is. To my surprise she said there were actually 5 places where I could play basketball just around that neighborhood

So I decided to go check them out and see for myself. You would not imagine the quality of play these guys had there. The teams were so professional that I wonder why Cameroon is so unknown in basketball. After watching for a while, I decided to play with them. The fact that I came from America did not help me at all. Everybody was on me. Why not? After all America is considered the best in basketball, and every American should be able to play. Sounds funny, eh?

We had a short vertical jump contest after the training, and I bet you I was defeated hands down by this local unknown guy who is not even playing professional basketball!! They even had a vertical jump club in their gym. I console myself by saying that maybe it's because of the 5 days relaxing when I did not touch a ball. But deep in my heart I knew something was wrong here.

The vertical jump obsession is real, and it is spreading fast round the world. Especially in basketball.

Watson Nji F http://thejumpmanual.blogspot.com/ is a track and field sports consultant. For Quite a while now, He has been working with some of the big names in this industry and has accumulated a huge amount of experience and know-how in physical Education.
Visit his website at http://thejumpmanual.blogspot.com/ and find out what he recommends for effective vertical jump training.

Grow Taller by Performing These Free Exercises - Part II

If you have not read the first part of this article, I recommend you to read it. In this part I will give you more exercises by performing which you will be able to increase your height and become more fit.

First Exercise - Jumping Stretch - In this exercise you have to try to jump up as height as you can and in the mean time stretch your arms up. This is commonly practiced by basketball players who want to learn how to dunk. It is good if you have some kind of a measurement like ceiling, so you can try to reach that by jumping. Maybe you have not noticed but all basketball players are quite tall, this is also effected by exercises they perform. Always remember to warm up before this, stretch your spine, etc...

Second Exercise - The Yawn - This exercise is quite simple really and it can be done almost at any place. You do it by standing straight and putting hands behind your head. Then bend your upper body backwards in that way basketball out the spine. The motion is similar to the one performed in the bridge exercise only in standing position. After you do this for about 5 seconds return back to default standing position.

Third Exercise - Super Stretch - Another effective exercise that can be performed anywhere. It is a variation of the previous exercise only here you put your hands straight above your head and then lean back only little so you can feel your spine stretching. Do this for about 5 seconds and then return to standing position.

Try to perform these exercises daily and you will be stretching your back in no time. They will also make you more flexible.

If you want to find out more about stretching exercises or tips on growing taller, I advice you checking out my Grow Taller Page

Books on Golf

Good books on golf are a treasure house of golfing techniques for serious golfers. In fact, for golfers who are willing to take basketball basketball game as a profession the golf books are of great help for them. The golf books are generally penned down by world renowned golfers who share their secrets of golfing techniques with beginners. If you are aspiring to become a professional golfer taking up a good book on golf would help you to overcome your shortcomings efficiently and help to attain a high level of perfection. You may take a note of the following books that are regarded as top ranking books on golf.

Top Ranking Books on Golf

Harvey Penick's Little Red Book - The book is an ever useful book for golfers of all levels. The book motivates all golfers to pay the game with efficacy. The book is simple in presentation and grabs the attention of all golf lovers because of some very useful techniques of golf.

Dave Pelz's short game bible - This book is written by world renowned golf teacher named Dave Pelz. In this book he shares some effective golf techniques that are taught in Dave Pelz's golf school. This book is written in an approach to lower down the score and also to improve the finesse swing.

Ben hogan's five lessons - Ben Hogan's name is common in the golfing world. He is regarding as one of the finest strikers in the history of golf. In the year 1953 he won 5 tournaments including the British Open and US open. In his book he talks about the fundamentals of golf and adroit striking techniques.

On Learning Golf by Percy Boomer - The author of the book named Percy Boomer is a renowned French golf teacher. This book holds golfing techniques that he has acquired from his 25 years of experience in the game of golf. This book is ideal for beginners to get a clear idea of the game. One specialty of the book is that it contains a good number of imageries to make the game more comprehensive for young learners.

Golf is Not a Game of Perfect - The book has been written by Dr. Bob Rotella in collaboration with Bob Cullen. This book talks about the strong focus with which the game is played by professional golfers leading to the enhancement of a high level of positivism.

There are several other books on golf. You are recommended to go through few of the good golf books to get to know about the game.

George Chekov is an expert in the game of golf. He has also written several articles on golf in the internet. You may look out for a good golf guide that will provide you information on top ranking books for golf.