Having the ability to jump high is one of those skills that comes natural to some. If you want to produce better hops, you can do so by following a multi-faceted exercise routine. This can improve your performance in sports like basketball, baseball, football and volleyball. Although the legs are the primary muscles involved with jumping, there are other areas that need attention as well.
Step 1
Perform squats to build up your leg muscles. Place a barbell on the supports of a squat rack. Duck under the bar and let it rest on your upper shoulders behind your head. Grab the bar with a wide grip and stand upright to lift it. Step back three steps and place your feet shoulder-width apart. Look forward, keep your back straight and lower your butt toward the ground. Stop when your thighs are parallel to the floor, stand back up and repeat. This exercise works the glutes, quads and hamstrings which are all primary movers during jumping.
Step 2
Lunge across the gym while holding dumbbells. Stand with your feet together and hold the dumbbells down at your sides with your palms facing in. Step forward with your left foot and come into a lunge position where your left knee is bent 90 degrees and your right knee is an inch above the ground. Stand back up, step forward with your right foot and lunge again. Keep lunging across the floor by alternating your lead foot.
Step 3
Execute a set of calf raises. Stand with the balls of your feet on a step and your heels hanging over the edge. Hold dumbbells in your hands and lower your heels downward so your toes are pointing up. Lift up onto your tip toes by engaging your calf muscles, and squeeze for a second. Slowly lower your body back down, hold for another second and repeat. Keep your knees straight when you rise, and slightly bend them when you go into the stretched position.
Step 4
Grab a pull-up bar to do hanging knee raises. Grasp the bar with a shoulder-width overhand grip and let your legs hang straight down. Draw your knees up to your chest by engaging your abs and squeeze for a second. Slowly lower your legs back out and repeat.
Step 5
Lift your body up to do weighted crunches. Lie with your mid back on a stability ball and hold a weight plate directly above your chest with your arms fully extended. Curl your body and push the weight plate up toward the ceiling. Squeeze for a second, slowly lower yourself back down and repeat.
Step 6
Wear a weighted vest and do jump squats. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and lower yourself into a deep squat position. Jump in the air as high as you can and lift your arms above you as if you were signaling a touchdown. Land on your feet, lower yourself back down and repeat 10 to 12 times.
Step 7
Perform bounding while wearing the vest. Jog for a few paces to get a rhythm going, then leap forward with your right foot. As soon as it lands, leap forward with your left foot. Continue leaping in this pattern until you've bounded for 10 to 12 steps. Jump forward as far as you can with each step.
Step 8
Hop up a set of stairs while wearing the vest. Stand with your feet together at the bottom of the stairs. Squat down, swing your arms and hop up the steps until you've gotten to the top. Jog back down and repeat. Hop up every two steps.
Step 9
Wear the vest one more time to jump rope. Perform five sets of 100 jumps with a weighted jump rope.
Tips and Warnings
- Perform four to six reps and three to four sets of your squats, lunges and calf raises. Use the heaviest weights you can handle while still executing good form. Perform your ab exercises next. Do 15 to 20 reps and three to four sets. Do this workout on Tuesday and Friday. Perform four to five sets of jump squats, bounding and stair hops. Finish this with the jump rope routine. Do this workout on Wednesday and Saturday. Perform a five-minute light warm-up jog before you start this routine.
Things You'll Need
- Squat rack
- Barbell
- Weight plates
- Dumbbells
- Pull-up bar
- Stability ball
- Stairs
- Weighted jump rope
- Weighted vest
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