The Air Alert system created by TMT Sports claims to be the most popular and effective jump training program available. It guarantees that you will gain 8 to 14 inches in your vertical leap as well as become a better athlete in general, if you work the program properly.  The Air Alert program competes directly with the Jump Manual and Jump Attack programs.  You can read about the Jump Manual in my Jump Manual hub, if you like.

We ordered the program online on the Air Alert website. The program arrived well-packed and in a timely manner less than 2 weeks later. The package contained a professionally produced DVD, illustrated training manual, measuring chart and training chart.

What is Air Alert

The Air Alert website describes their program like this:

“This amazing step-by-step system is a specialized training program that utilizes a unique and highly effective principle we developed in 1991 called Habitual Jump Training™. This principle is based on slowly and safely building muscle memory through habituation. This technique, also known as the Kangaroo Effect provides consistently high gains through repetitive, motion training as opposed to strength training which is what most other programs offer. As you train with frequent repetition, jumping muscles develop memory or habit making jumping effortless and instinctual similar to that of a kangaroo”.

Having two sons who play basketball at the high school level, we purchased the Air Alert program with hopes of seeing their vertical leap and general athleticism improve. My family is not height-challenged and at 6 feet tall I am shorter than my 3 brothers and my father. So the genes for average or better height are certainly there. However, at the time they undertook the Air Alert program my eldest son was 17 years old and 5’ 10”. My younger son was 15 and about the same height. In the basketball world, that’s not tall!

Tim, the older son, had already played varsity ball for 3 years and was quite athletic. He was quick, agile and could grab rim easily with one hand. Tyler, my younger son, was much less athletic, a bit on the slow side and was unable to touch the rubber guard on the underside of the backboard on a good day! He was usually one of the last to finish when running sprints and lines. What he lacked in athleticism he made up for in discipline, fundamentals and brains.

Working the Program

The first task after getting familiar with the program is to measure your starting vertical leap. This is accomplished by taping a measuring chart at a predefined height and then jumping at and touching the chart. The point at which the chart is touched is then noted. The difference between the measurement upon completing the program and the starting measurement is the increase in your vertical leap. Air Alert guarantees between 8 and 14 inches of improvement in your vertical leap.

The program consists of 6 basic exercises including Leap Ups, Calf Raises, Step Ups, Thrust Ups, Burnouts and Squat Hops. The workouts are done 3 times per week in precisely arranged repetitions and sets. The difficulty level of the workout increases each week. The 3 days of the week alternate week by week and the schedule is designed to allow sufficient time for the legs to recover between workouts. We found that this was not always the case but it wasn’t problematic. The final week of the program schedules 4 days of workouts.

The workouts are designed to increase leaping ability slowly and each workout is designed to prepare your legs for subsequent workouts. The complete program requires 15 weeks to complete. The program warns that you will actually experience a decrease in vertical leap during the first several weeks of the program as your legs adjust to the strenuousness of the program.

Tim and Tyler had little problem keeping up with the program during the first 5 weeks. After that, the intensity and pace of the workouts left them winded, stiff and sore. As the program progressed they experienced some achy joints but nothing that was unusual given the workouts. Near the 12^th week Tim experienced an injury unrelated to the Air Alert program that required him to stop the workouts for 2 weeks. He then resumed the workouts as normal. Nearing the end of the program the workouts were difficult enough that Tim and Tyler both were dreading the thought.

The Proof is in the Results

As mentioned earlier, my older son Tim was a decent leaper before he began this program. He also had to take a break in the program due to the unrelated injury. Such breaks are not recommended in the Air Alert literature and its effect on the results we saw are not clear. Regardless, Tim was able to complete the program. However, he did not see the guaranteed 8 inch minimum increase in his vertical leap. He did gain about 4 inches which is nothing to sneeze at. Now he is able to easily dunk the ball with one hand and grab the rim easily with both hands. This has also helped improve both his rebounding and drives to the basket.

It was difficult to tell if Tim realized an increase in quickness and agility as he was already quite quick and agile. I do believe completing the program gave him added confidence and this seemed to be reflected in his aggressiveness during games.

Tyler experienced much more dramatic results. He started the program near the end of his freshman season. The first thing we noticed was a marked increase in his foot speed. Where Tyler would have been trailing the play on fast breaks he could now keep up and even get out in front of the play. He saw significant reductions in his sprint times and was finishing in the lead group when running lines. As his endurance had improved he was able to shave over a full minute off his mile-run time. I’m sure that some of this can be attributed to practice and games throughout the season. However, because of the timing of the improvements, it was apparent to us it was primarily the result of the Air Alert program.

Tyler also saw the desired improvement in his leaping ability. Previously he was unable to touch the bottom of the backboard. Now he was able to consistently touch the rim. He is not yet able to dunk but he did realize an 8 inch increase in his vertical leap. We saw immediate improvement in his rebounding, elevation during his jump shot and his general fitness level. His increased lower body strength helps in posting up, low post defense as well as boxing out during rebounds.

Caveats

I would not recommend starting this program just before or during the basketball season. You really need a 15-week window to complete the program to avoid having it having it adversely affect your play. In some areas this is not easily accomplished as the regular season is followed almost immediately by spring ball and then summer ball.

You must work the system exactly as designed to see the guaranteed results. Taking time off, varying the schedule, varying the workouts or taking too many or too long of breaks may cause you to not to realize the results you hope for.

You must also do the exercises using the proper technique demonstrated on the DVD. Failure to do so could result in muscle strains or worse injuries. This is an intense workout program that must be performed correctly. Of course, this is nothing peculiar to Air Alert.

Also, the Air Alert program is an intensive, strenuous program that puts the entire lower body under a great deal of stress. I would not recommend this program to anyone who is recovering from lower body or back injuries unless they have been cleared by their physician to do so.

Conclusion

This program made for an interesting experiment considering the difference in my two sons leaping abilities at the start. The results were about what was expected. The accomplished leaper didn’t see great gains. The other did. Still, they both did see substantial gains in their vertical leap. The benefits didn’t end there as Tyler also saw increases in lower body strength, foot speed and agility.

In general, the Air Alert program is a good product that delivers on its claims when used as directed. The user, however, should temper their expectations in light of their current leaping ability and level of athleticism. If you are already touching the top of the box on the backboard, you may have already maxed out your vertical leap! The potential for substantial improvement is certainly there.

This program, though clearly targeted at basketball players, could also be of great benefit to anyone participating in volleyball, track and field or any sport that requires leaping.