Playing any type of sport, whether recreationally or professionally, takes a number of fundamental skills. If you are involved with football, volleyball, basketball, baseball, soccer or parkour, you know the importance of leaping ability. Improving your hops goes hand in hand with improving your all-around fitness levels, because the training involved is intense. Not only will you be able to leap higher, but you will also improve your muscular endurance — crucial during a long game or match.
Step 1
Exercise your jumping muscles with weight-training exercises. The glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings and calf muscles are all primary movers in leaping. Target all of these muscles with exercises like squats, legs presses, lunges, step-ups, stiff-leg deadlifts and calf raises. Use the heaviest weights you can handle, perform a full range of motion and use a spotter when necessary. Aim for 10 to 12 repetitions and four to five sets of your exercises.
Step 2
Execute plyometrics exercises, which are performed in an explosive fashion. These involve a slow stretching of a muscle followed by a fast contraction. Perform plyometrics exercises like box jumps, jump squats, leaping lunges, depth jumps, bounding and lateral hops. Aim for eight to 10 reps of each exercise and do four to five sets. Safe landing techniques, such as landing from toe to heel from a vertical jump, and using the entire foot as a rocker to dissipate landing forces over a greater surface area are important to reduce impact forces, the American Council on Exercise reminds.
Step 3
Increase your core strength to boost your power output. Perform exercises like reverse crunches, Russian twists, side bends, stability-ball crunches and sit-ups. Your stomach generates a lot of force when you leap in the air. Do 15 to 20 reps and three to four sets of these exercises.
Step 4
Stretch your muscles before and after your workouts. Move your body through a dynamic warm-up before you exercise to get your muscles loose and primed for action. Arm circles, alternating toe touches, leg swings, knee highs, ankle bounces and trunk twists are examples. Stretch your muscles statically after your workouts to keep your muscles lengthened, and to prevent soreness. Hold static stretches for 20 to 30 seconds. A forward bend is an example of a static stretch. Stand with your feet together, keep your legs straight and bend forward, reaching for your toes. Feel the stretch on the backs of your thighs. Attend yoga classes to improve your all-around flexibility.
Step 5
Wear added resistance with your plyometrics exercises and while walking around during the day — weighted vests, gravity belts and ankle weights are some examples. By wearing this added resistance, your body will adapt to extra weight, and when you take it off, you will feel lighter and be able to leap higher.
Tips and Warnings
- Perform your weight-training exercises in one workout and perform your plyometrics and ab exercises in another workout. Do weight training on Monday and Friday, for example, and your plyo exercises on Wednesday. Switch up the following week so you do your weight training on Wednesday. Alternate back and forth each week. Perform yoga on two off-days during the week.
Things You'll Need
- Free weights
- Weighted vest
- Gravity belt
- Ankle weights
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