Vertical leap is one of the top barometers of athletic ability. Whether it is for basketball, football, soccer, hurdles or any sport that involves jumping, vertical leap is a measure of explosive power. The theory goes, the more explosive the player, the more athletic she is. Improving your jumping ability can improve your performance in most dry-land sports.
Strength Training
Improving overall strength of the muscles used to jump can improve overall jump height. According to Criticalbench.com, the vertical leap is 10 percent hips, 50 percent quadriceps, 15 percent calves, 15 percent hamstrings, and 10 percent arms. Critical bench also says that isolating muscles doesn't work to improve jump height because that tends to increase muscle mass, which can be detrimental to jump height. Instead, perform compound exercises like the deadlift, squat or lunge to see maximal gains.
Olympic Lifts
While improving overall strength will certainly help to improve jump height, these exercises are missing the power element that jumping requires. Olympic lifts, which are almost entirely done utilizing power, will fill this void. Examples of Olympic lifts that will help improve vertical leap are power cleans, clean and jerk, and snatch.
Plyometrics
Finally, to improve jump height include plyometrics in your workout program. Plyometrics are powerful athletic movements that test the power of your legs in a more athletic manner than Olympic lifts. Plyometrics are typically done using body weight, and jumping on or over objects, whereas Olympic lifts involve lifting a very heavy weight as quickly and powerfully as possible. Plyometrics are much more specific to increasing jump height, as you can actually begin testing the height of your jump, and steadily see the improvements by jumping over progressively larger objects.
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