5 Exercises To Increase Your Vertical Jump
Ever see those crazy videos of regular guys doing crazy vertical jumps on the basketball court? They jump so high they can touch the rim with the top of their head! Seem like overkill? Think again… Vertical jumping is critical in a number of sports…
Think…
- Basketball
- Volleyball
- Soccer (goalie)
- High Jump
- Long Jump
- Football
In fact, the ability to jump is often considered a measure of overall ability to display explosive strength and power, and the ability to deploy those abilities.
We have a video for you that breaks down the essential movements required to train vertical jumping. We thought we would save you time and outline them for you. The 5 exercises shown in the video are:
1) Back Squats
2) Deadlifts
3) Bulgarian Split Squats
4) Piston Squats
5) Bench Press
The Back Squat
Squat by bending knees forward and let hips fall backward. Keep back straight. Point knees in the same direction as your feet. Extend hips until legs are straight. Return and repeat.
If you could only do one exercise, the squat is your go-to lift for vertical jump. Do Five Sets of Five Squats.
A squat can be done using a weight plate or a barbell. Keep your feet apart by the distance you would when taking off to jump.
Dead Lift
With a slight knee bend, break at your hips. Then you ‘pull the slack out the bar’ by pulling weight up slightly. Then stand up straight. Keep your feet the same width or stance you would use when jumping. Do Five Sets of Five Lifts.
The above lifts would be the primary lifts on a leg day. The exercises below would be accessory lifts on leg day.
Split Squat
12lbs dumbbells. 3 sets of twelve. This is essentially a weighted lunge with an lift of the heal at the end of the exercise.
Pistol Squat
This allows you to train the explosive power through your toes.
Bench Press
This helps you build an explosive upper body. Using the barbell allows you to work to stabilize the bar across your body. Arch your back, lift the bar up, and drop the bar until it touches your chest.
Thanks to the guys at ILoveBasketBallTv for the great video. If you would like to view it in it’s entirety, it is linked below. Now get out there and JUMP!
