A vertical leap is jumping straight up from a standing position on two legs and landing in the same position without using momentum such as using a running start or bounding. This is used in some sports such as slam-dunking a basketball or a blocking a volleyball. To improve your vertical leap, you must have a tall posture to enable you to jump high and land properly without injury and have a strong and flexible core (muscles in the trunk and hips).
Deep Squat With Reach
This exercise sequence increases the strength in your spine, trunk and hips by taking your hips and legs into a full, deep squat and retraining your nervous system how to activate your core to generate strength and maintain a tall posture. This is the baseline for training for the vertical leap.
Stand with your feet shoulder-distance apart and your toes pointing forward in front of a step or a similar platform that you can put your hands on. Raise your arms above your head, and bend forward to place your palms on the platform. While pushing down with your hands, lower your hips into a deep squat, keeping your spine tall and chest high. Hold the position for a few deep breaths.
Raise your left arm up above your head while in the deep squat position, and look up. Keep putting some pressure on the platform with your right hand. Hold that position for two deep breaths, and switch arm positions. After that, raise both arms above your head, exhale and push yourself up, keeping your spine in the same position without pitching your body forward.
Single Leg Cable Push
This exercise trains strength and stability in your standing leg and core muscles while performing a pushing movement. It teaches you to maintain a tall posture while moving your outer extremities and balancing your left and right sides of your core. Use a standing cable machine that is commonly found in most gyms.
Adjust the height of both cable handles to the lowest setting. Stand with your back to the cable column on your right leg, and lift your left leg flexed at 90 degrees at the hip and knee. Keep your spine tall and chest high. Use a light weight, and hold both cable handles in each hand. Start with your elbows by your sides and bent at about 90 degrees. Exhale and push forward and upward while keeping your right buttock firm and your right knee slightly bent. Do not flex the spine or hunch your shoulders. On your next set, switch legs and determine whether one side is stronger than the other. If one side is more challenging than the other, do an extra set on that side. This applies to all exercises.
Single Leg Cable Pull
This exercise is the opposite of the single leg cable push and trains you to maintain a tall posture and to improve your core strength.
Set the cable column height to the highest setting. Stand facing the cable column machine in the same position as the previous exercise. Hold the handles in each hand with your arms extended, and pull them both to your hips while keeping your arms straight. Hold the position for two seconds, and return to start position.
Jump Roping
Jump roping helps you maintain a good posture while developing muscular endurance and rhythm. Start with a basic squat stance position where you feet are hip-distance apart to build a base. Then jump rope with one leg while keeping the raised leg bent at 90 degrees at the hip and knee. This single-leg stance helps you determine whether one leg and hip is stronger and more coordinated than the other. If there is any discrepancy, train more on the weaker side.
References
- "Athletic Body in Balance"; Gray Cook; 2003
- "Athletic Development"; Vern Gambetta; 2006
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