Exercises To Jump Higher
Strength + Speed + Technique = Higher Jumps
Random Training Aids to Increase Your Vertical Jump
Some athletes were blessed with a great vertical jump and others were not. If you are one of these athletes that has to work for every inch of hops, some of these random training aids will help you boost your vertical. These are not listed in any particular order.
Weighted Vest
This handy device can increase any athletic attribute tremendously. You can increase your speed and strength with a weighted vest. These are vests that you can wear during your training. They have little pockets in which you can add weights. You can sprint, jump, play ball, and do pull-ups while wearing your vest. Most retail stores carry vests up to 40 lbs. You probably need to shop online for heavier vests.
Jump Boxes
Jump boxes are primarily used for plyometric training. Plyometrics are vital to your jump higher program. With these boxes, you can perform box jumps and depth jumps. These can also be used as a box to perform box squats. Boxes come in various heights. There are box sets that are stackable so you can adjust the height of your box.
Weights
In order to increase your vertical jump, you have to get faster and stronger. You don’t have to build muscle like a bodybuilder but you have to become stronger than what you are now. Weight training is the best way to increase your strength. A membership to a good gym or your school gym should supply all the weights you need. If you prefer to workout at home, your basic set up should include a rack for squats and bench press, an adjustable bench, barbell, and weights. That should get you started.
Jump Rope
Jump ropes are one of the most underrated training aids due to its simplicity and “old school” roots. Athletes have been jumping rope for many decades. So how does this increase your vertical jump? It helps develop quickness and reaction speed. It’s also a great conditioning tool to help shed any unwanted fat.
Cones
Cones are good for setting up your plyometric drills and sprints. If you want to jump higher for basketball, you need to be doing these drills. Drills like forward bounds, slalom jumps, suicides, and sprints benefit from having cones to measure your distances and to keep you from cutting that 60 yard sprint 10 yards short.
Protein Supplements
Good nutrition should be part of any jump higher program. If you aren’t maximizing your eating habits, you are cutting yourself short. Protein supplements are not a must have but they are helpful. Hard training athletes need more protein than suggested by the RDA. It’s often recommended that athletes get 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight. So, if your weigh 200 lbs, you should get 200 grams of protein daily. If you find it difficult to get that much protein from real food, you can supplement with protein shakes to reach your daily protein intake.
These were a few random training aids to increase your vertical jump. If you are not blessed with great leaping ability, you are going to have to work for it. With the right jump higher training program, you can definitely increase your vertical and some of these training aids can help.
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Get Stronger and Faster to Increase Your Vertical Jump
If you are an athlete that participates in sports such as football, basketball, or volleyball; you should be working diligently to increase your vertical jump. This is important because it is a good measure of how explosive one is. In football, great explosion is vital to beating the snap count or breaking through tackles. A good vertical in basketball can be the difference between getting 6 or 10 rebounds a game. Even if you weren’t blessed with great hops, you can always work to improve. Increasing strength and speed are two facets of a jump higher program.
Get Stronger
In order to jump higher, you have to get stronger. Strength training is a great way to build one’s explosiveness from the ground. You may know someone that has great hops but isn’t particularly strong and may start asking why I need to get stronger. People have different genetics when it comes to athletic ability. You may be lacking when it comes to jumping but know someone who can jump out of the building with very little training. However, if either of you want to improve beyond your natural jumping ability, you need to get stronger than you are now.
The best strength exercises to jump higher involve working your glute, quad, calf, and hamstring muscles. These body parts are largely responsible for your jumping ability. Exercises such as squats, box squats, lunges, and leg presses will strengthen your legs.
Get Faster
In addition to getting stronger, you need more speed to jump higher. Try this experiment. Find a box or a ledge about 24” high that you can jump onto. Jump on it as explosive as you can with two feet. Did you make it? Now, try the same feat but do it in slow motion. Difficult, isn’t it? This is an illustration as to why you need speed to jump higher. Combine that with added strength and you’ll be adding inches to your vertical in no time.
There are different ways to get faster when it comes to jumping. Sprints are great for adding explosiveness. They train your fast twitch muscle fibers and develop your speed. Distances of 40-100 yards will increase your explosiveness. Speed squats are also a great way to add speed to your jumps. These are also referred to dynamic effort squats. These can be performed on a box or without. Take a weight that is 50-60% of your max squat. You will perform 10 sets of 2 reps. Each rep is performed as fast as possible. Rest 60 seconds in between sets and repeat.
You can increase your vertical jumping if you work at it. The best way to increase your explosion is to get stronger and get faster. Improving these two attributes should be part of an overall jumping program.
Jump Higher for Basketball
Editorial Comment: The article below describes great tips to jump higher for basketball. While we believe jump shoes can be helpful, improving your strength, speed, flexibility, conditioning are most important when trying to jump higher for basketball. Ajump higher program should emphasize the physical attributes mentioned above.
Millions of peopleplay basketballaround the world. Whether you are visiting a park, driveway, backyard or gym, you must have come across several people who have been striving hard to jump higher and dunkthe ball in. There are a number of ways which can help you do so, such as the following:
1. Strength shoes are much popular amongst professional basketball players, who make it a point of giving credit of jumping high to these shoes. These shoes actually work to strengthen the leg muscles enough, so that one can jump at length without any difficulty. These are easily available at sport shops or online stores.
2. Charles Barkley, a retiredbasketball player mentioned in his book that by jumping rope every day he advanced his ability of jumping. The same method can be used forhigh jumps.
A jumping rope that works best is of leather, because it works for a longer time. If you are not using a jumping rope, you can simply jump at one place for around ten minutes, as this would have a similar effect.
3. By doing lunges one gets to strengthen his or her upper and lower leg muscles to a great extent. Working out with two small dumbbells or a small rod also helps but make sure not to use too much weight in the beginning. Also only do 2-3 sets of ten initially.
4. Try to walk on the balls of your feet as this is also known as an effective way.
This exercise is not as exhausting as the rest and works really well. With time you can increase its difficulty level by going uphill and not letting your whole feet touch the ground.
You may get to know about various methods that can help you jump higher for basket ball. But you need to make sure to be committed enough, and willing to work hard in order to reach the goal. Performing exercises to jump higher will improve your ability to dominate the game.
Exercises to Jump Higher
There are many skills that are important to excel at sports like basketball. Many players practice their shooting, defense, and speed but they often neglect to perform exercises to jump higher. There are many players that have that natural ability to jump. There are others that need to work to increase their vertical jump. If you fall into the latter group, you need to perform specific workouts to increase your vertical.
Why should you add exercises to jump higher into your training arsenal? Each year, athletes are jumping higher and game is being played above the rim. Players need to get to the rim and rebound. If you want to advance to the college or pro ranks, having a high vertical will increase your chances. Even point guards will benefit from learning to jump higher as it will improve their defense and rebounding. Think triple-double!
If you want to learn to jump higher, specific jump higher exercises should be performed as a part of a jump higher program. A good program will include many facets such as explosion, strength, nutrition, and flexibility. All facets combined will result in a higher vertical and a better player on the court. For best results, do not neglect any component of a jump higher program.
Plyometric Exercises to Jump Higher
If you are looking for a workout to increase your vertical jump, here are some specific exercises you can utilize to jump higher.
Plyometrics
Plyometrics are exercises that improve explosion and elastic muscle strength. Regular plyometric exercises can help you improve your vertical. Here are a few plyometric exercises you can perform. This is a very tiny sample of plyos.
Depth Jumps: This exercise involves dropping off a box and jumping as high as you can once you hit the ground. This exercise will improve your reactive strength. Find box or a platform that is about 12” high. Drop down (not jump off) the box and once you hit the ground; jump as high as you can. Repeat several times.
Box Jumps: This exercise involves jumping up onto a box. You start by standing on the ground and jump onto a box or platform of varying heights. These jumps can be performed with one foot or two feet for variety. Start at a height you can confidently jump and increase over time.
Forward Jumps: This plyo movement is like performing a long jump from a standing position. Continue jumping forward with two feet as far as you can over 10-20 feet. Repeat for several sets.
Strength Exercises to Jump Higher
In order to increase your vertical jump, you must perform strength exercises to jump higher. Strength is often a limiting factor in jumping ability because many basketball players neglect strength training. If you want to jump higher, YOU have to get stronger.
One great strength exercise is the barbell squat. It works all the muscle needed for a higher jump: hamstrings, glutes, abs, quads, and calves. This exercise is performed by placing a loaded barbell behind your head on your trap muscles. Look straight ahead or slightly above. Squat down until you thighs are parallel to the floor and return to the starting position. Repeat for 8-10 repetitions. This was a simplistic description of the squat but you should learn finer points of squat form before loading heavy weights for safety.
Speed Exercises to Jump Higher
Sprints are a great way to improve your explosion and power. Many athletes use long distance running exercises to increase their endurance. While increasing endurance is important, speed and power is of equal importance. I can’t think of any other exercise that is better for endurance, speed, and power than sprints. They will improve your leg strength and speed. If you really want to challenge yourself, try these sprints on a hill! Remember, speed x strength = power!
This is only a partial list of exercises to jump higher. In addition to performing jump higher exercises, you need to improve your agility, nutrition, jump technique, and strength. One great resource that covers all these areas is the jump manual. This is a complete program to increase you vertical to make you a better player.
