The Truth About How to Jump Higher and Increase Vertical Leap by Jason Ryan

The ability to jump higher is a critical skill to improve for many athletes, regardless of sport. Following are miscellaneous ideas along with exercises that will help you improve your vertical jump quickly. Regardless of what kind of an athletic activity you are involved in--basketball, football, volleyball, or baseball--having a higher vertical jump will let you make those big plays. Ethnicity, height, weight, sex, and age have no part to play in the development of a good vertical leap. Anybody, regardless or background or condition, can learn to jump higher.

One of the key facets of learning to jump higher is that you really do need to develop your explosive strength and power if you want to succeed. It's simple logic, but in order to gain extra explosive power in your quads, calves, in addition to abs -- to put another way, the basis of your body's core force -- you need to lift weights! There is no more effective exercise than the squat when it comes to building explosive power in your leg muscles, back muscles, abdominals, and even upper body. And bulking up your thigh muscles are a great way to increase your vertical leap quickly. But your hamstrings should not be neglected in this case, because having unbalanced power and the front and back of your legs is a recipe for injury.

If you do not work out your abdominals, you will never reach your full potential when it comes to your vertical leap. Your ab muscles are the key to an effective vertical jump. Believe it or not, stronger arm muscles such as deltoids play a part in helping you jump higher as well. Upon each jump, swing your arms up forcefully. The momentum generated by the force of your arms help you go higher. A important supplementary addition to your jump training exercises is to focus on the flexibility of your body. Not many people get ahold of this concept, but possessing more flexibility in your joints produces extra power upon each jump.

The bottom line is, you really need to be able to give your muscles enough rest so that they can recover from your workouts. If you do not do this, be warned that you can even lose inches off your vertical leap. Jump training is also very stressful on your nervous system, which is why you want to maximize the amount of sleep that you get every night. Don't train your vertical leap too frequently. Two to three times a week is plenty.

Keep reading to get some insightful advice on exercises that work in helping you to jump higher.

Box Bounding is one quick and effective plyometric tactic to make you jump higher. By now, plyometrics have been proven to be quite effective. Use a set of solid boxes for this exercise. While standing on top of a box, jump down to the floor and bound back up instantly back on top of the box. Use higher boxes over time.

Your calves need to be strengthened in order to be able to jump higher. One to three sets of fifty reps should be sufficient in order to build power in your calves. When you do calf raises, be sure to do the movement quickly and powerfully.

Virtually all boxers utilize the jump rope in their training programs, and it's no accident. It builds speed and quickness in the feet, and adds power to your calf muscles. Incorporate the jump rope into your jump training to add some valuable inches to your jump, as well as a quicker take-off.