Increase your vertical leap with knowledgeable jump training

 I highly recommend that you build up leg strength if you cannot already squat your weight 8 times in 8 seconds. Plyometrics require a little leg strength before you begin.

SetsRepsSpeedWeight 19Normal65% of 1 Rep Max 28FastMost you can handle for 8 (8 Rep Max) 38FastMost you can handle for 8 (8 RM) 48First 4 Fast/Last 4 SlowMost you can handle for 7 (*7 RM) *This means that you will need a spotter to help you on the last rep because it calls for 8 reps.

SetsRepsSpeedWeight 19Normal65% of 1RM 28FastMax 38FastMax 48First 4 Fast/Last 4 Slow7 RM

Set# RepsSpeed of Movement 19Normal Speed Fast 48First 4 fast, Last 4 slow

SetsRepsSpeedWeight 112Normal 29Fast First 5 Fast/Last 5 Slow

 Many people think that if you become more flexible you will jump higher. Is that true? Yes and No.  Flexibility alone will not make you jump any higher. But flexibility in the right areas will allow your body to have better form which in turn will increase your jump height.  The first place I like to focus on flexibility is in the shoulders. When you jump, and throw your arms back you want them to be straight and relaxed. If your chest is too tight you won’t be able to throw your arms back behind as much as you should and this will result in a decreased jump height. Who knew that a flexible pectoralis major would improve your jump height.  The same goes for the flexibility of your hamstrings, quads and ankles. So make sure that after you warm up, you stretch properly.  Hold each stretch for 15 seconds at a point were it is tight but not painful. Don’t worry you WILL get more flexible with time, it doesn’t happen overnight.  Really focus on stretching your calves so that you can bend down while keeping the heel flat on the floor, this is very important for jumping.

 The lower back is very important in jump training and most people neglect it. I have noticed that many athletes that are trying to improve their vertical leap have very weak lower backs.  Lay flat on the ground face down with arms on the ground extended above your head. From this position raise you arms and your legs off the ground as much as possible and hold for 2 to 3 seconds. That is 1 rep. Do 4 sets of 12 reps.

 These are done with a weighted medicine ball. Hold the ball with both hands and bend at the knees all the way until the ball touches the ground in between your feet. Feet should be slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Explode up throwing the ball in the air as possible while jumping off of the ground. Don’t catch it, let it bounce and the grab it and continue. You will be throwing the ball up and behind you slightly. 1 set is 11 reps. Rest 2 minutes in between each set. Do 4 sets.  *Arm swing can increase your vertical leap by 12% alone. This will also develop a more powerful arm swing.

 These are ideally done by touching the rim, but most of my students can’t touch the rim yet and that is why you bought the Jump Mentor. The idea is to find something that is high enough to be difficult to touch but that is touchable when you are fresh. Many people use the bottom of the backboard.  The idea behind this practice is to jump your highest, so you want the reps low. You are going to do 4 sets of 8 reps. Allow yourself enough rest in between sets to be able to touch your target. There is no re-setting your feet. By this I mean that once your feet touch you bounce back up to touch your target again.  *Many people land and then do a little step before jumping. Do NOT do this, you want to have minimal contact with the ground.

 These are one of the most important jumping exercises, not because they are the best plyometric exercise but because they teach you to use your full range of motion. They actually aren’t an official plyometric workout because there is no bounding like in the other workouts.  Sit on a small plyo box or chair where your knees will make a 90 degree angle. If you are around 5’7” to 5’11” a normal seat would be the perfect height. Now place another plyo box or something stable in front of you at a height that you are capable of jumping on from a standing position. From the seated position you will explode up, jumping onto the platform in front of you. Step of the platform as quickly as possible, sit back down and repeat. Do 4 sets of 8 reps.  *Many people stand up a little bit right before they jump. Make sure that it is one solid movement.

 These are one of the most popular plyometric exercises but most people do them completely wrong and never see results from all of their efforts. Yes you might be able to jump up onto a box that is 4 feet high but can you bounce back up to that height once you step off of it? If not, you shouldn’t be doing that height.  With box jumps you want a box height that is challenging, but remember the rule of plyometrics is to stay in contact with the ground for as little time as possible. If you have to reset, or take a small unconscious step, you need to lower the box height.  From a standing position jump onto the box and then jump off (by jump off I mean step off in a way that both your feet hit the ground at the same time on landing but don’t jump UP and off the box) and as soon as your feet touch the ground you hop back on the box. Treat the floor like hot coals.  Do 4 sets of 8 reps. Most people do too many, if you can 15 to 20 reps the proper way, you are using a box that is too low. The 8 th rep should be hard.

 This is a great exercise that is a form of box jumps. You start on a box and step off of it in a way that both feet hit the ground at the same time. You will have another box in front of you that you will jump on. Turn around on the top of that second box and repeat.  Do 4 sets of 6 reps. 1 rep is there and back, so 2 floor touches.

 Take a box that is of the height that when 1 foot is on the box (with the other on the ground) your knee is not quite at a 90 degree angle. The box might end up being fairly low is you have short legs. You will push off from your foot on the box and jump as high as you can in the air. In the air you will switch your legs so that the opposite foot lands on the box with the other foot on the ground.  Do 4 sets of 6 reps. Count a rep each time the left foot touches the ground.

 There are plyometric workouts as shown on slides with the yellow titles and the other workouts are strength training workouts. The rule is that you don’t do plyometric workouts on the same day as the strength training workouts.  You will divide your week into 4 workout days. The 1 st and 3 rd workout days are strength training and the 2 nd and 4 th are plyometric days.  If you are sore from a previous workout, skip that day and do upper body or just rest. Plyometric workouts

 Take 4 workouts of your choosing for any workout. You may only repeat 1 plyometric workout twice in a week.  So if on your plyometric day, you pick single-leg box jumps, step-off, rim touches and seated seated jumps. The next plyometric day you can pick 1 of those exercises to do with 3 different plyometric workouts.

 After any workout you need to consume protein within 15 minutes of completing your workout. Don’t just get any protein because there are different types of protein that the body processes differently. You need whey protein immediately after workouts. There are tons of brands and flavors but I recommend the extreme milk chocolate from optimum nutrition because it does the job and tastes great. extreme milk chocolate from optimum nutrition

 When doing the strength training workouts you want to keep your rest time fairly low. Between each set of an exercise you want to rest around 90 seconds.  When doing plyometrics you want to give yourself more rest between set but absolutely no rest between reps. You want to rest at least 2 minutes between each set of plyos.