Many athletes, such as basketball and volleyball players, are interested in increasing their vertical jump to enhance their athletic performance. Those who can jump higher are better able to acquire rebounds in basketball and block hits in volleyball. Jump training should be completed during the off-season, as the workouts are of high intensity, and they can cause fatigue, which may adversely affect performance.
Vertical Leap
How high you can jump depends on the strength and power of your legs and glutes. Your strength and power levels, while partly influenced by your genetic predisposition and muscle fiber makeup, can be increased with consistent training. Strength training is used to improve the strength of your lower body, and plyometrics, or explosive exercises, are effective at improving your power.
Training Frequency
Strength training and plyometrics should be performed on the same day so that you can provide your muscle groups with an adequate amount of rest in between training sessions. Because of the intensity of the workout, you should rest at least 72 hours after each session before working out again. A Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Friday schedule is ideal to develop strength and power while also providing adequate rest.
Exercises
The muscle groups that are focused on in a training plan designed to make you jump higher are your glutes, quadriceps and calves. All three muscle groups work together to provide force and move your hip, knee and ankle joints throughout the jumping movement. Strength exercises include squats, lunges, step-ups and calf raises. Plyometric exercises include jump squats, rim jumps, plyo box jumps and bounds. You can either complete all of the strength exercises, then all of the plyometric exercises, or you can superset back and forth between the two types of exercises. For example, complete a set of squats, then a set of jump squats, moving back and forth until all of the assigned sets are completed. Then move onto the next pair of exercises. Complete three sets of 10 repetitions of each exercise.
Considerations
For vertical jump training plans to be effective, you must train at the appropriate intensity. Strength exercises should be completed slowly and under control. You should focus on completing each repetition with a rhythm and movements that include the entire range of motion. Plyometric exercises, however, must be completed explosively for them to be effective. When completing jump squats, lower into a squat in a slow, controlled manner, then explode up with as much power as you can, jumping as high as possible. The jumping element of all plyometric exercises should be done at your maximum explosiveness.
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