The vertical jump is generally a good test of an athlete's total body power and explosiveness, and can be used to extrapolate sprinting performance. Athletes train extensively in the off-season to improve their performance in the vertical jump, and though you can't replace this training, there are ways to increase your vertical leap quickly.
Stretch Your Hip Flexors
Step 1
Specific stretching exercises can help maximize power of the jumping muscles, by inhibiting a muscle on the opposite side of the joint. The hip extensor muscles produce most of the power for jumping, so by using reciprocal inhibition stretching on the hip flexors, the jumping muscles can work more powerfully.
Step 2
Assume a half-kneeling position, with your right knee on the floor and your left foot on the floor and leg at a 90-degree angle.
Step 3
Stand the foam roller on its end directly to the inside of the left knee, with your hands resting on top.
Step 4
Push your hands down onto the top of the foam roller, as if you were trying to crush it.
Step 5
Fill your rib cage with a deep breath of air to keep the spine stable.
Step 6
Push your right foot backward as you squeeze your gluteal muscles and push your hip forward. You should feel a stretch on the front of your hip. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds, and repeat on the opposite leg.
Improve Your Reach Height
Step 1
Vertical jumping is measured as the distance between your highest standing reach and your highest jumping reach. Improving your dynamic reach height can help you get an extra inch or two on your leap by allowing your arm more freedom to swing up and reach.
Step 2
Lie on your back with a foam roller directly underneath your belly button. Your body should be completely relaxed, with your shoulders hinging over the roller and leaning toward the floor. You may feel a stretch in your abdominals in this position.
Step 3
Support your head in your hands as if you were doing a crunch so as not to strain your neck.
Step 4
Keep your hips on the floor and let your shoulders fall closer to the ground.
Step 5
Hold for five seconds, then move the roller higher up your back.
Step 6
Repeat until you move past your shoulders.
Perform a Plyometric Warm-Up
Step 1
An intense plyometric warm-up can help you jump higher by taking advantage of the phenomenon known as post-activation potentiation. Requiring the nervous system to execute an activity at a higher intensity than the activity for which you are training --- in this case, drop jumps, which are more intense than the vertical leap test --- fools the brain into believing that it must produce as much power on the test as it does on the more challenging activity, resulting in higher jumps.
Step 2
Do your traditional warm-up with running, dynamic stretching and movement activities.
Step 3
Perform two sets of short-response plyometrics. Use the fast-foot drill. Start in an athletic stance, and attempt to pick your foot up and put it down as fast as possible. Think of this as running with two-inch steps.
Step 4
Perform a set of five drop jumps. Stand on a bench, step off, and as soon as you land jump as high as possible.
Step 5
Rest for three to five minutes.
Step 6
Test your vertical leap.
Tips and Warnings
- Nothing done on the day you test your vertical leap can make up for incomplete preparation, so train with weights, jumping and sprinting in the weeks leading up to your performance.
Things You'll Need
- Foam roller
References
- "Athletic Development"; Vern Gambetta; 2007
- "The Vertical Jump Development Bible"; Kelly Baggett; 2005
- University of New Mexico: Postactivation Potentiation: A Brief Review; Roxanne Horwath and Len Kravitz, Ph. D.
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