There's no need to guess how to increase your vertical leap. Maximal jumping requires a combination of strength and explosive and reactive power. Do specific exercises to improve all three facets of your slam dunk, spike, serve or vault with the right exercises trained in the correct order. Map out your jump training to get the ultimate high.
Progressive Jump Training
To get the maximum benefit from exercises that can improve your vertical leap, train limit strength first, explosive power second and reactive power last. Limit strength involves muscle building, using heavy weights. Explosive power exercises emphasize movement in one direction. Reactive power exercises look more like jumps, requiring the up-and-down movement of a dunk, spike, broad jump or serve. The closer you get to your desired time of performance, the closer your exercises should resemble a jump.
Limit Strength
Build your muscles with exercises such as standing squats and lunges, leg presses, calf raises and deadlifts. Calculate the maximum weight you can lift one time before failure for each exercise. Perform these exercises using your max, or near your max, doing three to five reps per set. If you're using your max, you won't be able to do five reps without stopping, but should be able to do them with short breaks. Take a longer break between each set to recover, then repeat the same set two or three more times before moving on to a new exercise. Do limit strength exercises in the off-season.
Explosive Power
Improve your explosive power with sitting squats, box jumps and deadlifts. Use about 50 percent of your maximum weight or less to do the exercises. Practice box squats, performed by lifting weights on your shoulders from a sitting position, then standing up, without weights to gauge which sitting position will prevent back strain. Stand in front of a box about knee height and jump onto it with both feet. Do three to five reps per set. Raise the height of the box as you improve your leap. Do one-leg box jumps by starting with one foot on a low box, pushing yourself up as high as you can. Do these exercises at the end of your off-season and throughout your pre-season.
Reactive Power
Improve your vertical leap by working your muscles in a more technique-oriented way, using the high-twitch muscle fibers needed for jumping at the speed you'll use them for jumping. Stand on a box that's as high as your best vertical jump. Jump off the box, and as soon as you touch the floor, bend and jump back up as high as you can. Do multi-muscle exercises such as high-knee skipping, bounding with giant steps, reactive squats and practicing the same movements of your sport, including standing vertical jumps. For reactive squats, stand with 15 to 30 percent of your max on the bar, lower yourself about half as much as a limit strength squat, then jump up. Do reactive exercises during the preseason and throughout your season.
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