Improving your vertical leap can help your performance in nearly every sporting endeavor. Football players who can leap higher have a chance to make the reception on the sideline pass or intercept it if they are defending. Basketball players who can leap high have a chance to get off nearly every shot without getting it blocked. Soccer players who can leap over the top of the defense can head the ball on goal and gain an excellent scoring opportunity. You can improve your leaping ability without using weight-lifting machines.
Step 1
Stand on a hard floor. Bend down in a catcher's crouch, then explode upward as high as you can. When you land, drop back down into a crouch and jump up once again as high as you can. Do 25 jumps in this manner, take a 30-second break and repeat the set. This will help build explosive jumping power in your calf muscles, hamstrings and glutes.
Step 2
Stand with your hands at your sides. Raise on your tiptoes and hold the position for a count of three, then return to the starting position. Do 25 toe raises, take a 30-second break and repeat.
Step 3
Jump rope to build your vertical leap. Boxers have used the jump rope for years to gain quickness and coordination. According to the website InsideHoops.com, jumping rope is an outstanding exercise for building the ability to jump high. Jump rope for five minutes at a time and increase your pace as you improve.
Step 4
Run up hills to build leg strength and leaping ability. Hall of Fame football players Jerry Rice and Walter Payton used hill running as one of their primary training methods prior to every football season in their NFL careers. "I was always concerned that somebody was going to be better than I was so I wanted to do everything I could to be at my best when the game was on the line," Rice said. "Running hills helped me run faster and jump higher, and I always believed that I was the one who was going to come down with the ball."
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