Vertical Jump Training » Increase Vertical Jump

Persistence Is a Key to a Better Vertical Leap

Rodney — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 10:03:36 +0000

If you have ever paid attention to baseball, you have probably heard an interesting fact about the baseball legend Babe Ruth.

Of course, Babe Ruth held an amazing record for his ability to hit home runs. However, he also holds a considerable strike out record as well.

Why the contradiction? Why is someone so spectacular and so awful at the same accomplishment? The answer is persistence. You must always persist, persist, persist with the upmost perseverance!

That is the secret to his success and it will be the secret to your success in your jump program. If you keep at it and stay focused, you will have a remarkable vertical leap.

Thomas Edison’s inventions were critical to the society we live in. However, he has hundred of more useless and failed inventions than successful ones. This fact does not make him any less brilliant or essential.

It does not matter goal. Whenever you examine the records and performance of any superstar, you are bound to see more failures than successes.

The players with the best vertical jump have more jumps that fall short to their name than sky high leaps. However, they keep trying and the success they do have is spectacular.

No matter how hard you try at it, you are going to have a failure. The longer you work toward you goal, your number of failures will increase. However, your number of successes will also increase.

This is the law of averages. You can only fail so many times before you will hit the target.

You may not hit the target every time. You will hit the target far more than the person with less time training and with less failures under their belt.

The most successful people will keep at it, no matter how many times they miss their target, and use the law of averages to their advantage.

Vertical jump programs are dependent on persistence. Day in day out, you must maintain your resolve to do all that you can. It is a mental strength that will help you stay on course. This mental strength will virtually guarantee your success.

You are probably saying this is a great philosophy, but what about when you do not see results? It is easy to stay persistent when you see an improvement, but sometimes it may take longer.

This is when you will need perseverance. You will need to address your negative thoughts. Learn to replace them with logical, positive thoughts that include short term and attainable goals.

This is also a good time to visualize yourself in the future. If you keep up your plyometric workouts, think about how advanced you will be.

Possibly right now you are only jumping a few inches higher every 10th time you jump. If you keep up the steady work, can you see yourself jumping 2 inches higher in over 50% of your jumps?

If you persist for 6 months, will you be able to jump 5 inches more in over 75% of your jumps?

This type of visualization can make or break your training program. You have to see yourself jumping higher. You have to envision yourself bursting forth with sudden and powerful energy.

If you can keep up this type of visualization, it will help you persist and meet your goals.

Giving up now is the worst thing you can do. If you give up and convince yourself you will try again in the future, your mind will forever believe it has a way out.

However, if you persist in your commitment you will see your ratio of success begin to increase sharply and so will your vertical jump.

Vertical Jump Training Is Whole-Body Training

Rodney — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 05:48:17 +0000

One of the biggest mistakes made by any athlete is only training one body part. They believe that only one body part is used to perform a certain athletic ability. They train and train that body part and never understand why they do not make any progress.

For example, someone who wants to improve vertical jump ability may believe that the movement requires the body to descend into a ¼ squat position.

Therefore, they may believe they only have to perform squats while training. Furthermore, they may believe they do not have to do fully loaded squats with a full range of motion that goes past the required parallel.

The mistake becomes bigger from that point on. They train exclusively using a ¼ squat. However, they pile on a lot more weight than they would if they performed a full, deep squat because a ¼ squat can naturally handle more weight.

This is the biggest pitfall of any athlete while training. If you are using this train of thought you are never going to achieve the full potential height of your vertical jump capability.

The explosive vertical jump requires a body full of strength, not just legs. To get that strength, you need strength training.

The purpose of strength training is to improve the overall strength of all muscles involved in the motion. However, you would be surprised just how many muscles are involved with the movement.

You would also be surprised how training the whole body will make the muscles you need stronger and quicker.

In the example above, a full deep squat is a better way to strengthen all of the muscles involved in the vertical jump even though you may be able to handle more weight doing a ¼ squat.

The full squat activates all of the muscles in your legs, including your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. This builds strength. However, it also keeps the lower portion of your body developmentally balanced.

It also prevents knee injuries and muscle strains throughout your exercises to jump higher.

Simply doing a ¼ squat will not strengthen the muscles of your posterior chain, which are essential to giving your full leg and lower back the support and strength to explode.

It also puts an unusually high amount of strain on the knee tendons and joints. Essentially, you do not end us as strong or as injury-resistant as you would if you trained for a full squat.

There are times when a ¼ squat is useful to help increase a vertical jump. This happens only after you have established a base of strength and you are refining your development.

At that point, short periods of ¼ squats will be useful for strength advancement. This will help you push your jump another inch or so, but only after you have become strong and increased the jump by several inches.

This is only one example of how training your total body is more effective than training your specific muscle groups. The same goes for every part of your body.

Just you’re your lower body, training your total upper body will be far more effective than just getting your biceps and abs.

Do not skip any body part. If your training program spends time focused on body parts you do not feel are pertinent to the vertical jump, do not skip ahead or take them for granted.

Furthermore, if you find a vertical jump technique or training program that does not include full body training, it is not a quality program. If you find a total-body training program, you will have total body success.

5 Safety Tips While Increasing Vertical Jump

Rodney — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 12:35:35 +0000

Training to increase your vertical jump is the thing that can take your athletic ability to the next level. It not only improves your jumping ability, but it increases your power as an athlete.

Plyometrics is the best was to train if you want to master the vertical jump. Before you begin, here are some tips to help you make the most of your training and stay safe:

1) Always Warm Up - This cannot be stressed enough. The main cause of injuries is failure to warm up properly. Many people use their busy schedules as an excuse and claim they do not have enough time to warm up and train.

The fact is if you cannot make the time to warm up, you probably are not as committed to your training as you should be.

You must thoroughly warm up your entire body before you start your training. Stretch your legs, your arms, your abdomen, your neck, and everything else. Quality training programs, like The Jump Manual will teach you how to stretch out properly.

2) Foot Placement Is Critical - Another leading cause of injuries is incorrect foot placement. Feet should be planted at the beginning of a movement.

Feet should land firmly, landing with your ankles fixed at the end of a movement. You should do this during your training and while you play.

If you do not have the right foot placement, you are risking injury to your legs and back. However, if you are not landing right you will also not be training right.

Your muscles will be training at the incorrect angle and your muscle will not learn to instinctively and explosively move with the correct form.

3) Aim For The Ball Of Your Foot - As you learned earlier, foot placement is critical to training safely and correctly. Your landing during plyometrics is the most important part of foot placement.

Landing on the ball of your foot is the natural way to land a jump. It will help you maintain your balance.

If a ball-footed landing is not possible, you may land flat footed. This is not preferable because it does not give you as much balance control.

However, if you realize a ball-footed landing is not possible as you come down, a flat-footed landing is better than landing with your ankles turned.

4) Always Train On The Correct Surface - This is just as important to safety as stretching and foot placement. Plyometric exercises are quick and powerful. If you are performing them on the wrong surface, you could easily and permanently damage your ankle or knees.

Never workout on a wet or damp surface or you may easily slip while performing high-speed exercises. Sprung floors are ideal. However, you can also train on dry, cut grass or an athletic track.

5) Give 100% But Start At The Beginning - Another common mistake is to start your training at too high a level. Plyometrics takes a 100% commitment. If you get hurt, feel sore, or feel like you are giving too much you will be more likely to give up or not commit fully.

The best way to keep this from happening is to start at the beginning level of your program. No matter how athletic and in shape you already are, you should still start at the beginning to prevent injury.

Also, do not advance yourself to the next level prematurely. If you are using a quality program, you should trust it to advance you accordingly.

These tips will keep you safe. As you progress in your training, you will stay injury free. When you reach the end of your training and have safely increased your vertical jump by several inches, you will be glad you were patient and careful.

Increase Vertical Jump With Your Own Plyometric Workout

Rodney — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 11:16:53 +0000

Use this guide to help you design your very own plyometric workout routine designed to increase vertical jump. Use all of this advice, but remember that you can change the routine around as much as you need to fit your specific needs.

Remember, that you can do more than just one routine per workout and these routines are supposed to be combined with other routines to fit your needs.

Plyometric exercises are designed to connect force and explosive power. In other words, increasing the ability of your muscles to become stronger and move faster. Plyometrics are simple exercises that almost never require extra equipment. Athletes around the world use them because of their simple yet extremely effective methods to increase vertical jump.

Having routines for your workout is what makes the workout unique for you. There are a few major types of routines you can perform. Determine what type of routine you want to do, and do exercises in that type of routine. Here is a list of the major routines, their purposes, and their exercises:

1) Low Intensity Plyometrics - These exercises are less intense than other plyometric training drills and are usually performed as warm-ups. They are great exercises to start off with as a beginner, but should still be done by anyone regardless of experience. You should not become very fatigued after this exercise routine because it is supposed to be harder than a normal warm-up, but it still is not supposed to be very intense. An example of a low intensity plyometric exercise is the box drill (also known as “4 star drill) where you jump around in a square shape. Here are some other low intensity exercises:

Ankle Bounce
Slalom Jumps
Box or “4-star” drill

2) General Jump Plyometrics - These exercises are moderate intensity and consist of average exercises without many major changes. The exercises classified in this routine are usually supposed to be performed with a high amount of repetitions. Everyone should do these exercises, but they should be the hardest routine that a beginner performs. Once you have become experienced at these plyometric routines first, then you can move on. An example of a general jump plyometric exercise is squat jumps where you squat down and jump as high as you can. It is a generic exercise that can be mixed up into many different forms. Here are some other general jump exercises:

Squat Jumps
Paused Squat Jumps
Consecutive Broad Jumps
Leapfrog Jumps

3) Power Development Plyometrics - These workouts usually involve using a lot of power when going from a paused or stopped position into movement. Power development plyometric exercises are designed to use as much power as possible and transfer into motion as quickly as possible. These drills are usually very intense and you should be fatigued afterwards. Only people that are experienced at plyometrics should start this routine or any routine below. An example is the standing broad jump where you go from a crouched position to exploding forwards. Here are some other power development exercises:

Standing Broad Jump
On-box jump
Box Squat Jump

4) Full Extension Plyometrics - These exercises usually include full range movement with your muscles extending as far as they can. Full range strength is important for athletes. These exercises are great for improving acceleration and agility as well as improving your vertical leap because they usually strengthen your hips and hamstrings. An example of full extension exercises is rhythmic squat jump because it requires you to extend your body to its full range. Here are some other full extension exercises:

Rhythmic jump squat
Low squat ankle jump
any other exercise where you fully extend your muscles

5) Short Range Plyometrics - These exercises are the opposite of full extension except that you are supposed to perform both with full intensity. These exercises involve as little ground contact as possible. Short-range exercises focus mainly on speed and less muscle extension. A great example of short-range exercises is sprinting because it requires speed and less contact with the ground. Here are some other short range exercises:

Sprinting
Power skipping
3 steps + jump as high as possible

To design your own plyometric workouts you need to decide what aspect of your vertical that you want to improve. For example, you can jump really high but you are a slow jumper and take too long to get that high. This should be your workout routine:

Low intensity plyometrics workout to warm up
Short Range plyometrics to improve jumping speed
Low intensity plyometrics workouts or general jump plyometrics to cool down

If you are quick to jump up, but cannot jump very high, then this should be your workout routine:

Low intensity plyometrics to warm up
Power Development Plyometrics to improve jump height
Low intensity plyometrics or general jump plyometrics to cool down

Maybe you are average at both jumping speed and height. Then follow this workout:

Low intensity to warm up
General jump to work everything
Full extension to improve jumping ability and also agility
Low intensity to cool down

You can do more than the suggested routines in a workout, or you could do less. It depends on you. If you have just done the three from an example and still are not tired, then add another one. Or if you are too tired after the second exercise, then you can stop there. It all depends on how you feel after each exercise. Always work your hardest though, or else you will never be able to increase vertical jump.

Make sure that you do not do the same combination of routines every day because then you will become weak in other areas. You can do a certain combination more frequently than others because that is where you need work, but you still need to mix things up a little bit.

Also, plyometric workouts fatigue the nervous system quite a bit. The nervous system usually takes five times longer to recover than your muscles. So, make sure to never use plyometrics as endurance training.

The e-book Jump Manual is the place to find more plyometric exercises that you can fit into your routine.

The author is a trainer of countless professional basketball players and has helped increase their vertical by huge amounts. He has trained professional and Olympic basketball players.

If you really want to increase your vertical then you need to read the Jump Manual.

Understanding Plyometric Training Exercises To Improve Vertical Jump

Rodney — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:31:05 +0000

Plyometrics are probably the most popular exercise among athletes and trainers who are looking to improve vertical jump. They are uniquely simple exercises and usually do not require equipment. It would be hard to find a successful vertical jump trainer who does not use plyometric training. There is simply nothing like it.

Ask any basketball player who has ever trained to increase their vertical and succeeded. Nine times out of ten they increased their vertical using plyometric exercises.

Origins - The term plyometrics come from an American track and field coach named Fred Wilt. It is based on Latin with “plyo” and “metrics” meaning “measurable increases”. The original plyometrics was basically just two types of jumps: depth jumps and shock jumps.

Depth jumps are stepping or jumping off of a raised bench or platform and jumping as high as possible after landing. Shock jumps involve stepping or jumping off of a raised surface as well, but you jump from much higher than depth jumps. Instead of jumping up when you land, you bend your knees and absorb the impact.

As plyometrics became more popular, people started adding more and more similar exercises to the list and calling them plyometrics.

Purpose - Plyometrics are exercises that enable a muscle to reach maximum strength in as short of a time as possible. The combination of speed and maximum strength is referred to as power.

Power = Speed x Strength

Power is needed to perform almost every movement and skill in sports. It is the ability to perform maximum strength rapidly. Power is the key in plyometrics training. It is what helps you jump high. Without power in your legs, you would never be able to jump high for basketball.

Plyometrics revolve around jumping and then quickly pushing off. Plyometric exercises focus on two aspects of speed strength: foundation strength and explosive strength.

Foundation strength is the ability to have as many muscle fibers as possible work for you in an instant. Explosive strength is the ability to keep a motion going against opposing forces.

Both speed strengths are used in jumping. When you bend down and start to push off to jump you are using foundation strength because your muscle fibers are instantly working for you to jump. As you push into the air you are using explosive strength because you were able to transfer the foundation strength into motion by jumping against the force of gravity.

Reactive strength is a big part of plyometric exercises. Reactive strength is basically “spring-loaded” strength. It requires one movement followed instantly by another. Transitioning from one movement to another instantly adds extra force to the second movement.

Reactive strength can be used in a lot of activities. But, if you hear the term plyometric activities do not confuse it with plyometric training. Plyometric activities are things like walking, where plyometric training is intense drills and exercises.

A key to plyometric trainings effectiveness is reducing the amount of time that you are on the ground while training. The time between when you are on the ground and able to jump up again is referred to as the “amortization” phase. Plyometrics are great for reducing the amount of time you spend in the “amortization” phase.

Plyometrics training exercises have many benefits. Here is a list of just some of them:

Develop explosive power
Teach nervous system to react quickly and forcefully with muscles
Increased muscle speed
And much more

Other training tips - Everyone’s body is different, which is why everyone should have a different plyometric training program. You should determine what aspect of your vertical needs the most work, and execute drills and exercises designed specifically for improving the muscles involved with that aspect.

Your nervous system is just as important as your physical strength in plyometrics. Plyometrics are basically a combination of reflexes and muscle movement to jump higher.

Before every workout it is extremely crucial that you warm-up, and after every workout it is extremely crucial that you cool-down. Warm-ups are important because they develop movement skills and warm up your muscles to really work during the plyometric training exercises. Cool-downs are important to help your muscles relax and reduce soreness for later. It also helps to keep your legs trained in the motions used in plyometrics.

While most plyometric drills do not require equipment, there is always different equipment that you can use to make drills easier or harder to perform. Here is a list of some equipment that can be very helpful for you to use:

Cones - Cones are a great way to mark a goal for a certain distance you that want to go. They can also be used as obstacles that you have to move around, enhancing the exercise.

Plyo Boxes - Plyo boxes are sturdy boxes that are as low a six inches and as high as thirty inches. Plyo boxes are great because they are sturdy enough to hold your weight and can be used in any exercise where you need an elevated surface.

Body Weights - Body weights are any type of equipment that you can wear to increase the weight that you have to carry when exercising. You can use a body vest, which will add extra weight to toughen a jumping exercise. Ankle weights are also great for jumping exercises.

Whatever you use the body weights for, make sure that you do not use too much weight because you might get hurt.

If executed correctly, plyometric exercises can be a vertical jump trainer’s best friend. Make sure you do not overwork yourself, but also do not under-work. If you really want to jump higher, then you should commit yourself to doing plyometric exercises and developing a routine of your own.

The ebook Jump Manual is a great book that provides an in-depth explanation of plyometric training for basketball.

The book’s author is a professional basketball trainer and has worked with plyometrics for years. He has helped athletes around the world increase their verticals exponentially. He has also trained Olympic and NBA basketball players.

If you really want to increase your vertical using plyometrics then Jump Manual is one of the best training guides you can refer.

3 Plyometric Exercises To Increase Vertical Leap

Rodney — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:16:41 +0000

Plyometric exercises are one of the most effective types of exercises you can perform to increase vertical leap. Plyometric exercises are designed to increase your reactive strength. Reactive strength is sort of like a spring. The more reactive strength you have, the faster you can react from one motion and do another motion.

The reason so many athletes use plyometric exercises is that they are a great way to connect force and explosive power. Essentially the drills are designed to tune and strengthen your leg muscles to be able to jump higher faster. They are relatively simple exercises and usually do not require any equipment, but they can give incredible results.

These are three plyometrics exercises that you should work on to increase your vertical leap. Make sure that you do all of these plyometric training exercises correctly.

1) Slalom Jumps - Start by standing with both feet on the same side of a line. Keep your feet together and jump to the other side of the line without touching it. Keep jumping back and forth for as long as you can.

Make sure that you jump as fast as you can while doing this plyometric exercise because you will see the most results in your vertical. You can measure the exercise by the amount of times you have jumped over the line, or you could keep jumping over a certain period of time. Either way works.

If you want to mix up this plyometrics exercise, then imagine that you are jumping over a basketball from side to side. Do not actually try to jump over a basketball because your legs might get tired and you could accidentally slip on the ball.

Another variation you could perform is jumping with one foot. Make sure you jump and land with the same foot on both sides of the line. So, if you jump with your right foot on one side of the line land on that same foot on the other side. Do this as fast as you can.

2) Squat-Thrust (Burpee) - This exercise is one of the most effective plyometric exercises. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Squat down low enough so your hands can touch the floor on both sides of your legs.

Once you have gotten into that position kick your legs out behind you like a push-up. Then, bring your legs back in and jump as high as you can. Continue to repeat this exercise for as long as possible.

Make sure that you keep a good form throughout the exercise. When you are in push-up position make sure that your back is straight. When you bring your legs in and jump make sure you are jumping straight up with your arms swinging into the air.

This exercise increases the ability of your legs to react and jump sooner. It is great for basketball players who want to win more jump balls or grab more rebounds.

Move through all of the motions as fast as you can to increase your agility. Moving slowly will hardly help at all.

There is a great variation of the exercise that you can do. When you are in push-up position you might as well do a push-up. Not only are you strengthening your leg muscles, but you are also building some upper-body strength. Every little bit counts in basketball, so you should do everything you can to gain the upper edge over your opponents.

3) Low Box Depth Jump - All you need for this exercise is a box or platform that is around a foot off of the ground. Start by standing on the box with either your entire foot on the box or just your heels with your toes hanging off.

Step off of the box and immediately when you land jump as high as you can. If you want you can jump in front of a raised object like a basketball goal and try and reach for that whenever you jump.

If you have more than one box that is the same height as the first one you can try a variation of the exercise. Place one box and then place the next one between three and four feet ahead of the first box. Start the same as before and step off, but when you land and jump off of the ground, jump onto the next box. Turn around quickly and do the same thing to the first box.

If you are lucky enough to have more than just two boxes or raised platforms that are the same height then you can just continue the drill without having to turn around. Make sure you move quickly because this drill is a great way to build normal and reactive leg strength and tune your legs for speed.

Plyometric exercises have proven time and time again that it is possible to increase your vertical jump. Doing plyometric exercises is a must for anyone who is looking to dunk the basketball that cannot at the moment. Your workouts should always include some form of plyometrics. Plyometric leg exercises are supposed to be performed fast, so that means training slowly will get you nowhere.

It is recommended that you heavily integrate plyometrics into your daily workouts. All of the athletes that need to increase their vertical do plyometrics, so why wouldn’t you? You will never be able to reach your full jumping potential without doing plyometrics training exercises. Plyometrics and other types of exercises combined into the same workout can be an incredible combination and it is highly recommended that you use that combination.

The e-book Jump Manual is a great reference to find more plyometric training exercises that you can perform.

The author has helped basketball players increase their vertical by over 15 inches and trains professional and Olympic basketball players.

If you really want to increase your vertical leap then you need to do plyometric exercises and the best way to find the right ones to do is to read the Jump Manual.

3 Effective Exercises To Jump Higher

Rodney — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:38:05 +0000

A persons’ vertical is measured by how high they jump. So, it only makes sense that in order to increase your vertical you need to work on exercises to jump higher. Not all jump higher exercises are alike, but they all have the same purpose: Increasing your vertical.

Follow these three effective exercises to jump higher carefully. If you do not then your time will be wasted. Don’t be afraid if you mess up because it only shows that you are giving the exercise effort.

1) Low Squat Ankle Jump - This is one of the unique basketball workouts to jump higher. Squat down low and stay on your toes. Make sure you do not rest on your heels because this takes away the effectiveness of the drill.

Stay in the squat position and bounce up and down on the balls of your feet. Do not get high enough so that your legs are straight. Try and keep your legs as close to your chest as possible.

Make sure that you use as much force as possible when you are bouncing. The harder you push, the stronger your leg muscles will be. Try and get into a consistent rhythm and focus on keeping that rhythm. This will move your focus from the strain on your legs to the rhythm of the exercise to jump higher.

Do the exercise for a certain amount of repetitions, take a rest and then do it again with more repetitions than the first time. The more you do, the stronger you will get. Keep reminding yourself whenever you do the workout.

If you really want to reap the benefits of this exercise go as low as you can. It will most likely strain your muscles a lot more, but it will be worth it later on the basketball court.

2) Power Skipping - This jump higher exercise is just like skipping as a child, except that you use a lot more effort and speed. Use a flat surface like a basketball court that you can skip down.

Start at one end and push off as hard as you possibly can with one foot while shooting the other leg into the air. Try and touch your knee to your chest. Alternate all the way down the court and repeat the other way down.

This point of this drill is not to see how fast you can get to the other end. You want to jump as far up as you can and not as far forward as you can.

One of the techniques to jump higher when power skipping is to get into a rhythm.

Start by jumping off of your right foot with your left leg in the air
Land back on your right foot
Step forward with your left foot and jump off of your left foot with your right leg in the air
Continue this all the way down the court

Make sure you push as hard as you can off of your foot.

3) Box or “4-star” drill - In this drill all you will need is enough room to make a box with each point spaced about two feet from each other. This is one of a few great ways to jump higher.

To start, imagine four different points on the ground in front of you that form a square and are about 2 feet apart. Number those four points one through four.

Stand on number one and jump with both feet to number two. Make sure to keep your feet together. Stepping forward with one foot completely ruins the drill and will not help you at all in your quest for a better vertical.

Next, jump to the side and land third spot doing everything the same. When jumping from the second spot, do not turn towards the third spot and jump forwards. You should have to jump sideways to get to spot three. Then you want to jump backwards to spot four, and to the left and back on spot one.

Instead of jumping clock-wise like you just did, jump counter-clockwise this time. Once you get back to spot jumping counter-clockwise you have done one repetition. Do as many as you can, and remember to keep your feet together.

If you want some variations of this exercise, then you can jump on one foot. But if you only jump with one foot, then you have to stay on that same foot throughout the workout. Once you have done your set amount of repetitions, switch feet and do the same thing.

These are just a few of the jumping higher exercises and leg workouts to jump higher that you can perform. Make sure you follow instructions and execute all of the drills properly. Always push your limits. If your muscles are not feeling any strain, then you are not doing enough repetitions. Try doing double the amount of repetitions that you did or at least work until you feel some strain.

If you really want to maximize your training be sure to check out some of our other guides. The best way to increase your vertical leap is to mix up the exercises you work on in order to tune your leg muscles for anything.

The e-book Jump Manual is perfect for finding more effective exercises to jump higher.

The book was written by a professional basketball trainer who has helped a number of professional and amateur athletes to increase their vertical.

If you really want to jump higher than you ever thought you could and reach heights you never thought were possible, then you definitely need to check out the Jump Manual.

3 Vertical Jump Exercises to Increase Jumping Ability

Rodney — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:10:07 +0000

Why do you want to increase your jumping ability? To get more rebounds, blocks, or be able to dunk? Whatever your reason, you have come to the right place.

Here we will teach you how to increase your jumping ability using three different exercises. These exercises WILL increase your jumping ability if you do them right. The three vertical jump exercises are:

Rhythmic Squat Jumps
Box Jumps
Standing Broad Jumps

These exercises for jumping are only for players who are willing to work hard to be able to jump higher. Only giving 50% effort in these exercises will not help AT ALL.

1) Rhythmic Squat Jumps – (also referred to as “leap-ups”) involve (you guessed it) jumping rhythmically. If you do not jump with a rhythm, then you are doing the exercise wrong.

First, you need to squat down to almost as low as you can go. Make sure you keep your balance though, because neither of us wants you to fall and hurt yourself (injury for you and bad publicity for us). ALWAYS be on the balls of your feet. Never jump or land on your heels.

Next, you must jump as high as you can from that squatting position. Use your arms as momentum to propel you. Your arms should start low and swing into the air as you jump. Try and compare yourself jumping to a cannonball exploding out of a cannon.

Pretend that you are trying to grab a basketball in the air every time you jump. Visualize yourself catching the ball. This is good to help focus.

Land on the balls of your feet and in one fluid motion squat down and explode back up using everything that you have just read. Keep doing this for a set amount of time. Make sure you keep a rhythm going.

If you lose your balance or mess up in any way, don’t worry. Just get back into position and keep going. Soon enough you will become an expert at it.

Always remember to be fluid, explode, and stay on the balls of your feet.

Also, you do not have to do it exactly like we say. You can mix things up and try the exercise with just one foot. As long as you follow the proper form you should be just fine.

Whatever variation you do, you can be certain that these jumping higher exercises will increase your jumping ability.

2) Box Jumps – Just because this exercise for jumping is called a box jump does not mean that you have to use a box. You can use stairs, a chair, or any other elevated (but sturdy) platform with a flat surface.

Make sure you start off with a low platform and work your way up. Start with both feet together flat on the ground with a box, or elevated surface, in front of you. Squat down just like the Rhythmic Squat Jump and explode up onto the platform. Then, you want to step off and repeat the process again.

There are other ways to do box jumps. You could do the jump with one foot, but make sure you start pretty low because it is usually harder to jump with only one foot. You could also try doing the jump rhythmically like the squat jump.

Squat down on the balls of your feet, explode up onto the box landing on the balls of your feet. Then, come down and repeat. Still keep in mind that you need to stay fluid throughout the jump. Just like the squat jump you need to remember to be fluid, explode, and stay on the balls of your feet.

This exercise is best done with a partner behind you, because if you fall backwards you will need someone to catch you to avoid injury. If you are doing a lower height, then a partner probably is not necessary, but it is extremely important to have a partner when you are doing a higher box.

3) Standing Broad Jumps – The Standing Broad Jump is a very explosive jump that really works your legs. All you need is a long, flat surface where you can jump (a Basketball Court is perfect). This drill is kind of like the childhood leapfrog where you jump forward instead of up.

In this drill you need to go as low as you can (on the balls of your feet, of course). Use all the same techniques as the Rhythmic Squat Jumps except that instead of jumping up, you jump forward as far as you can using both feet.

This drill does not need to be as fluid as the other two, just explode forward, keep your balance, and then explode forward again.

Try not to fall, but it is bound to happen as this is a very hard drill and takes a lot out of you. If you do just get back up like always and try again.

After you have jumped the length of the court a few times with two feet try using one foot. One-foot broad jumps are really, really hard, so it is expected that you will fall down. If you don’t fall, then you are almost always not trying hard enough or you are not jumping as far as you can.

Just like the others you need to explode and stay on the balls of your feet. Fluidness is not so much of a concern because it is a really hard exercise.

If you do the Standing Broad Jumps right, then your legs should be really sore the next day (and usually a few more days). If you are not, then you are not doing the exercise correctly.

These three exercises for jumping higher are designed to increase your jumping ability with little to no equipment required. When properly executed, these drills are designed to help increase your vertical drastically.

Always remember to stay on the balls of your feet and explode for each drill. Explosion in drills is crucial because it builds up your quickness. If you are jumping for a rebound in a game but do not explode up, then you WILL lose the rebound to your opponent, and you WILL look like an amateur.

Also note: you must continue these exercises over time. You cannot just do them once and expect to jump 5 inches higher. Try to make a schedule and work on certain exercises on certain days to maximize your muscle gain.

The e-book Jump Manual is the perfect reference for all types of workouts designed to increase your vertical leap.

The author has helped increase the vertical of basketball players like professional dunkers, NBA players, and Olympic athletes.

He consistently helps athletes work to over 40 inch verticals. The Jump Manual is a great place to start or continue your journey to an amazing vertical.

4 Important Tips on How to Jump Higher in Basketball

Rodney — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:50:09 +0000

This article will give you all kinds of tips on how to jump higher. The main purpose of this article is to help you use your jumping ability to its full potential in basketball. These tips will help you learn how to jump higher in basketball than you originally could.

There are many jump higher exercises that you can do, and a lot of them require almost the same type of work. Use these tips on how to jump higher whenever they apply to your workout. They will help you jump higher than before you used them.

Make sure you read all instructions carefully so you can get the most out of your workout. Every little bit counts when it comes to increasing your vertical.

1) Arms – When you jump make sure you swing your arms. This gives you momentum when your arms shoot into the air. Start with your arms straight out, as you crouch down to jump swing your arms down. Then as you explode into the air, swing your arms up as high as you can get them. If you jump without your arms, then you will not get as high as you are capable of getting.

When you jump up and hold your hands up pretend that you are getting a rebound. That way you will tune your body when you are trying to get a rebound in a real game. Pretty soon you will start naturally swinging your arms when you jump. This is a great sign because you will be jumping higher than before.

2) Learn your jumping style – This may be the most important of the tips on how to jump higher. There are two main types of jumping styles: speed and power. If you know your style, then you will have a better knowledge of how you should train. Use this section to help determine which jumping style is yours.

Speed – You are a more fluid and natural jumper. Your jumping can be described as springy or bouncy. You are usually better at jumping off of one foot rather than two. You are not always very strong (there are exceptions). Smaller players are usually, but not always, speed jumpers.

Power – You are a more explosive jumper who jumps using pure strength. Instead of being a bouncy jumper, you are a powerful jumper. You are usually better when jumping off of two feet instead of one. You are usually naturally stronger and bigger than speed jumpers. Bigger players are usually, but not always, power jumpers.

Speed jumpers will get the best results on their vertical by doing high-load workouts like squats (see Overview of Different Jump Workouts). These workouts will help the most because your legs naturally push you into the air higher. If you can add strength to your natural ability, then you will be dunking in no time. Heavy load exercises are great for people wanting to learn how to jump higher to dunk.

Power jumpers will get their best results from plyometric workouts and exercises that require constant motion and not necessarily require weight. These workouts will help the most because your legs already have natural strength, you just need to teach them how to move correctly and make up for what speed jumpers have naturally.

Note: Just because you are a speed jumper that does not mean you should not also do plyometrics and constant motion exercises. And, just because you are a power jumper does not mean you should also not do heavy load exercises. You should at least do a little of everything, you just want to emphasize certain things more.

3) Variety – Even though an exercise may work to increase your vertical, try and switch things up after a while. Doing only one exercise will keep your muscles tuned to just that one workout, making them less capable to do other types of workouts that require the same muscles.

If you are working out at a gym, try using a different machine than you normally do to work the same muscle. This will tune the specific muscle to be able to work more than one way.

4) Intensity – Whenever you are doing a workout, exercise, or playing a game you should always be intense. Intensity helps you focus on the work you are doing and makes you care less about the pain. Intensity trains your mind to help you work harder. If you are intense you focus on the goal ahead of you.

Picture this: You put two athletes with the exact same jumping ability together. You tell one to jump with intensity and the other to just jump. The athlete who jumps with intensity will win 10 times out of 10 because of the intensity. Being intense shows that you are willing to do the work.

Make sure you use all of these tips whenever they apply to the exercise you are doing. Just because one of the tips seems weird does not mean not to do it. Each one will help you get the most out of your exercises and increase your vertical jump.

If you are doing a workout do not be afraid to breath loudly or grunt. It sounds weird, but making noise can take your mind off of the pain of the exercise that you are doing. There have been athletes who have said that making a little extra noise helps them lift five pounds more than if they did not make noise. Every little bit counts in workouts. So if all you have to do is something as harmless as making noise, then go ahead and do it.

The e-book Jump Manual is the perfect book to use to find tips on how to jump higher. The ebook’s author has trained multitudes of athletes to succeed in increasing their vertical height.

He has helped athletes increase their vertical by over 10 inches in just 12 weeks.

If you really want to increase your vertical to its highest possible height then you need to get the Jump Manual.

Overview of 4 Different Vertical Jump Workouts

Rodney — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:37:52 +0000

This article will give you many different vertical jump workouts that are great for basketball players. The main purpose of all of these exercises is to increase the height of your vertical jump. Jump workouts work so well because they strengthen the muscles needed to be able to jump higher.

Some of these exercises require equipment, while others need nothing but your determination to succeed.

Use this Overview of Different Vertical Jump Workouts to help you test different workouts to help you jump higher and choose your favorite. Do not worry if you cannot do some of these exercises perfectly because mastery of the workouts comes from a lot of time and effort. If you put time and effort in, then you will soon become an expert.

Make sure you stretch before all workouts. You do not want to pull something and not be able to play basketball for a little while.

1) Squats – Squats require a barbell (just like you would use for benching) and weights to go on the barbell. It is one of many workouts to jump higher that can really improve your vertical.

To perform a squat, rest the barbell centered on your shoulders and squat down low. Then, slowly rise back up keeping the bar parallel to the ground. Remember to always keep your back straight and never to be hunched over.

When you first start squatting, go with a pretty light weight and just aim for repetitions. That way you can get the hang of the squatting motion before you start really lifting.

If possible, you might want to put padding on the part of the barbell where it rests on your neck because all of the weight from the barbell resting on your neck can make your neck sore. If you do not have padding you could always put a towel between your neck and the bar. Neck padding is not needed to do the exercise, but your neck will thank you later if you do.

When you are lifting weights, especially when they are more than you normally lift, make sure you have a spotter with you. A spotter is a lifting partner who stands behind you and makes sure you don’t get hurt while lifting. Spotters are recommended for anyone, no matter how strong they are.

2) Standing Hip Abduction – A more moderate jumping workout that does not require weights is the Standing Hip Abduction. All you need to do is find a wall or something else you can lean against.

Lean your hand against the wall and raise your raise your opposite leg as high as possible. Try and hold this position for around 5 seconds. Then, slowly let your leg go back down and repeat. Now do the same with your other leg. You should feel tightening in your outer hips and glutes. If you do not, then try holding your leg up for even longer.

If you want to really push yourself then hold your leg up for as long as you can and time it. Try to do the exercise again and beat your first time without resting in between. If you push yourself, then you should be able to make it.

Cable Standing 1 Leg Hip Abduction @ Yahoo! Video

3) Jump Rope – Jump ropes are not just for little girls. They are a great way to build speed, agility, strength, or warm you up before a workout. Of all the vertical jump workouts, jumping rope may be the most surprising to people.

If you are jumping rope to warm up, then just jump slowly. Make sure you keep a rhythm and do not slam the ground when you land.

When jumping rope, you should not even be able to hear your feet touch the ground because you are just jumping lightly.

If you are looking to get a workout then start out slowly, and then rapidly increase your speed.

Don’t worry if you mess up, because everyone has to start somewhere and pretty soon you will become a pro at jumping rope. Jumping rope is a really great way to increase your leg speed and strength.

When you start off, you can use any jump rope (borrow your little sister’s for all that we care). But, if you really want to increase your speed, agility, and strength then you want to get a speed rope. Speed ropes are the best kind of jump rope for what you are looking to accomplish. They always move as fast as you swing them and are designed to cut through air with amazing speed.

4) Sprints – Ah yes, the dreaded sprints. Sprints are an extremely great basketball workout because not only do they help build the leg muscles needed for a higher vertical, they also get you into great basketball shape.

Even though sprints may not be your favorite activity, it is important that you do them and push yourself to your limits. Jogging WILL NOT help you here; only sprints.

Find a flat surface that is 25 yards or longer. A basketball court is perfect. Sprint as hard as you can back and forth along the length of the court. Don’t stop until you absolutely have to. When you do stop, get a drink of water and start running again.

Make sure every time you turn around and run back along the basketball court you bend down and touch the line. If you are not running on a basketball court, then pretend that there is a line for you to touch every time you turn around. This may seem like a little detail, but it is extremely important because that little motion works your leg muscles a lot more than you think.

Throughout all of these exercises you need to push your body to its farthest possible limits. If you set a goal to jump rope 100 times in a row, then why not go for 125 as soon as you reach 100. Or maybe try and sprint down the length of the court 10 more times even though you cannot feel your legs. Little things like that can make the biggest difference in the world. Fatigue is a mental problem, so beat it by just doing a little more than you thought you could.

A great way to motivate yourself is to tell yourself that your opponent probably is not working out like you are right now. So every repetition, extra length that you run, and rope you jump puts you that much farther than your opponent.

The e-book Jump Manual is the perfect reference in which to find more than just an overview of different vertical jumping workouts.

The e-book’s author has increased the vertical of professional basketball players.

He consistently helps athletes increase their vertical by as many as 15 inches. If you really want to jump as high as possible then it is highly recommended that you get the Jump Manual.