Posts Tagged ‘jump higher’

Beginning Exercises to Help Your Vertical Jump

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

Are you looking for some basic exercises to improve your vertical jump? There are more than a few out there. There are a few in particular that can boost your capacity and help you learn how to jump higher. These will give you a good foundation to start from. Ensure that you follow the movements correctly. Numerous people perform the correct exercises, but they don’t do them correctly. Add these three exercises to your vertical training and you will be well on your way to adding major inches to your vertical.

You may assume the only muscles you need to work on throughout your vertical jumping workouts are your leg muscles, but that’s not the case. The muscles in the back and waist are also very vital. The erector muscles are the strongest muscles in the back and take on the most work. Vertical jumping exercises should include working on this area. So let’s get started with our first exercise.

Dead Lifts

A first-rate exercise to begin with is the dead lift. Arch your back, bend your knees while holding the weighted bar. Bring the barbell up until you are standing upright with the barbell hanging across your thighs. Slowly lower the weight back down. Execute three sets of 6-8 repetitions. To avoid injury, do not jerk the bar, but execute the exercise quickly and steadily. {Take a rest.|Take a brief rest after these first 3 sets.} Perform one extra set taking your time and being more purposeful.

Leg Presses

Another good exercise is leg presses. Pick a weight on the leg press machine that is near the higher end of your range, but not the highest you can lift. Place your feet about shoulder width apart. Lower the weight until your thighs almost touch your chest. Then shove the weight back up in an explosive method. You don’t leap in slow motion, so you don’t want to exercise in slow motion. You need to practice the explosive move to get the most out of the muscles you will use when jumping. Repeat this exercise six times – and perform five sets. Permit muscles to have a rest between sets.

Medicine Ball

Lastly, use a heavy medicine ball in place of a basketball. Pretending that you are doing a dunk, hold the medicine ball and jump up as high as you can. Make sure to stretch your reach and try to get the ball as high as you can. Practicing this exercise helps all the muscles necessary for this movement to become strong. Remember to push yourself to the max.

While these are simply three exercises, they can be a good beginning to increasing your vertical jump. Mix these with more jumping exercises. Make certain you do them properly, though.

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