Although how high you can jump is partly dictated by your genetic makeup, both men and women can increase their athleticism with training. Increasing your vertical jumping ability requires an increase in lower body strength and power, which can be improved with consistent strength training and plyometrics. Plyometric exercises require you to complete a movement explosively. Wearing a weight vest while completing both the strength training and plyometric exercises increases the amount of resistance that your muscle groups must overcome and thus be more effective at developing your vertical jump.
Step 1
Train two days per week with at least 72 hours of rest in between sessions. Your workouts must be consistent but not too frequent. The jump training workouts are very intense and stressful on your muscles and skeletal structures. Allowing adequate rest for recovery is essential. Work out on Mondays and Thursdays or Tuesdays and Fridays.
Step 2
Warm up thoroughly at the beginning of each training session. Jog for a quarter mile, then jump rope for five minutes and then finally perform dynamic stretches, including straight leg kicks, leg swings, high knees, butt kickers, lunges and squat jumps. You should break a sweat during this 10-minute warm-up. Warming up will prepare your muscles for the demands of the upcoming workout, which will decrease risk of injury and improve workout performance.
Step 3
Put on your weight vest and complete a battery of lower body strength training exercises during each session. Complete three sets of 10 repetitions each of squats, lunges, step-ups and calf raises. These exercises develop the quadriceps, glutes and calves, which are all highly involved in the jumping movement. Rest one to three minutes in between each exercise.
Step 4
Keep your weight vest on and complete a battery of plyometric exercises during each session. Complete three sets of 10 repetitions each of box jumps, lateral bounds and squat jumps. Rest two to five minutes in between each set.
Tips and Warnings
- Complete each repetition of plyometric exercises as explosively as possible, jumping up as high and as quickly as you can. Sets are meant to be very high intensity but end rather quickly.
- It's not recommended to wear the weighted vest on certain plyometric exercises, including depth jumps, single leg box jumps, pike jumps and tuck jumps. These exercises are of high intensity already and place some stress on the knee joint. Adding more resistance by wearing a weighted vest will add potentially dangerous forces on your joints.
Things You'll Need
- Plyo box
- Jump rope
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