Increasing your vertical leap can make you a more productive athlete in any sport that you play. In sports like basketball and volleyball, your ability to jump higher will almost always make you a better and more dangerous player. In football and baseball, your leaping ability can help you make plays against the out-of-bounds line or fence. Jumping ability can also help in sports like track and field, soccer and tennis. You can increase your leaping ability with exercises and workouts that don't require weights.
Step 1
Do box jumps to help build your calf muscles, which provide the most power and explosiveness in a vertical leap. Set up a 15-inch-tall box on a hard, flat surface. Stand to the left of the box and jump over it to the right. Jump back to the other side. Do 15 side-to-side jumps. Then move behind the box and jump over it. Jump backwards so that you are behind it again. Do this 15 times. Take a one-minute break and repeat the set.
Step 2
Run hills to build strength and explosiveness in your calf muscles. Hall of Fame football players Jerry Rice and the late Walter Payton did this to build leaping ability, speed and endurance. "I started doing it early in my career," Rice said. "I always felt like I could get that high sideline pass because I could leap over the defender. I think this exercise really helped me." Run 200 feet up the hill, take a 30-second break and then repeat the run.
Step 3
Stand under a basketball backboard, and perform a series of one-footed and two-footed leaps. Jump up as high as you can and touch the backboard as high as you can with your hand. You are using both legs to propel yourself. As you come down, gather yourself and leap immediately again. Do this 10 times. Then do the same drill, jumping off your left foot 10 times and then your right foot 10 times. Take a 30-second break, and repeat the drill.
Step 4
Do calf raises every day to increase strength and leaping ability. Stand in the middle of the floor--away from any wall that you might be able to grasp for balance--and rise up on your toes. Hold this position for a count of two. Do this exercise 25 times, take a 30-second break and repeat the drill.
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