Jumping higher can benefit almost any athlete but the main sport that comes to mind where having a high vertical jump is basketball. Being able to slam dunk is an incredible feeling and to accomplish this you either need to be tall or have a high vertical jump. Basketball is a great sport to be inspired to jump because you have a target height which is obviously the rim. However, being able to jump high can also benefit you if you play other sports like volleyball and even tennis.

To increase your jumping ability, you want to combine both strength and power training. Having a good program or manual will help guide you toward the right exercises. Strength training is all about building up force. By increasing power, you’re increasing your muscles’ ability to exert that force quickly. You need strength first however as that’s your foundation of which to build your power!

To increase the strength in your legs try something called progressive resistance. This is accomplished by adding more weight to each set of reps for a particular exercises. Adding more weight means you’re progressively adding resistance to your leg muscles thus improving overall strength of the quads, glutes, hamstrings and calves.

Squats is a great exercise for your quads but also for your overall core muscles. It takes strength in your back, shoulders, even your hamstrings to balance the weight while building your quads first and foremost. Also, you can try squats without weights by bending down so your legs are at a minimum of 90 degress then jumping as high as you can.

Often times in basketball we don’t jump off both legs. So, it’s a good idea to isolate training on each leg individually. Combining strength and power training to both legs and each one indvidually is a great way to start to increase your vertical jump. Stay focused, follow a good programe, eat right, lose weight if necessary and soon you’ll be jumping higher than ever before.