Improve Your Vertical With These 3 Tips
The vertical jump is one of the most important physical skills in an athlete’s arsenal. If you are struggling to develop this, here are some ways you can make progress.
Olympic lifts from the hang: These are a great way to learn jumping and landing mechanics, develop explosive hips, and get stronger! Do them from the hip crease (or from the knee to utilize the stretch reflex).
Speed Squats: While I know a lot of sport coaches don’t like doing barbell lifts because they don’t want their athletes to get slow or bulky, speed versions are a way to solve that. The goal with a speed squat is to move slow and controlled on the way down, then explode as fast as possible from the bottom of the squat. Feel the hamstrings stretch on the way down, and squeeze the glutes hard to stand up. Keep the weights light to moderate, the sweet spot is 2-3 reps per set.
Depth Jumps: This other, often neglected, style of jumping is about minimizing time spent on the ground, which develops quick reactive muscles. Set up on a 1-2ft box, step off the box and land with both feet at the same time and explode up immediately into a vertical jump.
Test your vertical jump, then try these out for 4-6 weeks, 1-2x a week and retest your jump after, and you’ll be amazed at the difference.
Hopefully, you found this useful! If you’re interested in any of my coaching or programs, you can find them here! Otherwise, make sure to join my free discord to get access to form checks, weightlifting advice, and stay up to date on program launches, events, and other cool stuff!
-Coach Brian