Exercises for Increasing Your Vertical Leap

Overview

Basketball, volleyball, football, soccer, tennis and baseball are all sports that require good hand/eye coordination, lateral agility and a lot of aerobic capacity. But there is one more aspect that is quintessential to all of these sports--the vertical leap. Having the ability to leap can take you from a good player to an excellent player. To increase this ability, here are some exercises that involve weights and the body by itself.

Step 1

Perform some squats. When it comes to weightlifting exercises, there is probably no better exercise for improving vertical leaps than a squat. This is a multi-joint exercise that recruits a lot of muscle fiber in the legs due to the triple flexion of the ankle, knee and hip. They can be done with either dumbbells or barbells.

Step 2

Work your calves. The calves are located on the back of the lower legs, and are important for liftoff when you jump. To strengthen them, do calve raises and farmers' walks. Farmers' walks are done by walking across the floor on your tip toes while holding two heavy dumbbells.

Step 3

Run up hills. Hill sprints take a lot more work than regular sprints on flat ground. Being that you have to fight the excess resistance of the hills, you will be able to work your muscles a lot harder.

Step 4

Do some plyometrics. Plyometric exercises are characterized by fast, explosive contractions that cause the muscles to be shortened and lengthened rapidly. Some examples are depth jumps, box jumps, leaping lunges, butt kicks and stair hops (see Resources).

Step 5

Work your core. The core muscles of the stomach and lower back are where a lot of leaping power is generated. Working this area can pay dividends when it comes to increasing your vertical leap. Some exercises that can be done include crunches, leg lifts, side crunches and back extensions.

Step 6

Jump some rope. Rope jumping is a form of cardiovascular exercise that also tones the arms, shoulders and core, so it is also a beneficial exercise to increase vertical leaping abilities (see Resources).