Vertical jump: What Is It And How Can You Increase Yours?

A useful trick for use in sports such as football, baseball and basketball, increasing your vertical jump can be hugely beneficial for your athletic performance. Before you begin, it is important that you speak to your GP in order to ascertain whether you have any health concerns which may stop you from exercising. This will help you to avoid any injuries and ensure you benefit from your exercises as much as possible without suffering from muscle fatigue.

While you should give your workout everything you have in order to see results quickly, your workouts should be no longer than an hour. In addition, aim to work out your entire body, not just your legs – studies have shown that by strengthening your arms as well as your legs, you can improve your vertical jump quite dramatically. Likewise, improving your flexibility can help you here, as it can provide you with a more forceful jump and better coordination skills.

Plyometrics can help you to increase the power of your jump in just six weeks, so you should base your strength training on exercises such as squats and deadlifts which will ensure you develop strong leg and gluteus muscles. Squats should be deep in range in order to have an impact on your jumping ability, whilst deadlifts should be done with explosive movements. Lunges and box jumps are also useful in the early stages of your training.

Another way to improve your vertical jump is to strengthen your core, as this will also help you to burn your stomach fat – fat around your stomach won’t help you to jump as high as you would normally be able to. You can do this by taking part in whole body exercises and watching your calorie intake. Overall, increasing your vertical jump is a simple task – you just need to give yourself some time in order to build a stronger and more flexible body.