Tips on How to Jump Higher - Vertical Leap Exercises in Basketball

Are you willing to do the work needed to jump higher and perform amazing dunks that leave your friends cheering for you, striking fear in your competition? Jumping is a critical skill for many athletes, especially basketball players. This article will cover ways in which you can improve your vertical jumping ability. Here is what you can do in the convenience of your home to maximize your explosive leaping ability. You will not find a quicker, simpler and more effective way to improve your game. For now we present a list of jumping exercises that over time should help increase your vertical leap and jump higher.

1. Warming up: Before starting the exercises, warm up your muscles. Stretch properly, and jog around for a few minutes. If you have a jumprope, use it. Running up and down stairs for a while is very useful. Don't do too much.

2. Calf Exercises: The force of your jump will be determined by the strength in your calves. Focus on calf raises and toe rises. Start with about 50-100 per day depending on your fitness level, then slowly increase the number. Aim to reach a target of about 400 calf raises and about 300 toe rises. If you can walk backwards on your toes, it is even better. Jump up and down on one spot for as long as you can.

3. Plyometric Exercises: Stand with your feet spread apart. Straighten out your arms ahead with your palms facing down and jump up as high as you can. This will increase your ability to perform a standing jump. If you wish to master a running jump then try that in open space. Make sure both your feet are on the ground before you take off. This is one of many basketball drills to jump higher.

4. Deep Knee Bends: Be standing, slowly bend at the knees while keeping your back straight. Do this 15 times. Over time, increase to 20, 30 minutes.

5. Deep Knee Bend Jumps: Be standing. Crouch down as described above but fairly quickly, almost touching your bottom to the ground, then explode upwards as high as you can. The moment you land, immediately crouch and launch back up again. Do this 15 times, and when you can, increase to 20, 30 times.

6. Toe Raises: Stand regularly, then raise up onto the tips of your toes. Lower the back down. Do it steadily. Repeat 30-50 times.

7. Jumping Rope: Jumping rope definitely helps your vertical leap. Jump rope while you are watching TV or something. Make it a habit.

8. Thrust ups - Begin with your legs straight, thrust yourself up as high as you possibly can and when come back down you thrust at once back up trying not to bend your legs.

9. Squat hops - Squat down into a sitting position while hugging a ball for balance. Make sure that you are looking straight ahead with your back straight and that you are elevated on the balls of your feet. Most importantly, your thighs are parallel to the ground. Hop in the seated position between 3-5 inches per hop.

Lastly, you must start weight training in order to build general muscle mass in your body. This is in addition to your basketball workouts to jump higher. Remember, it's not the amount of repetitions that you do but the weight you lift that makes the difference. Remember to also take a break once or twice in a week so as to let your muscles recover. This period of rest is when the muscles actually start developing.

I want to provide more information which also help you jump higher. It can be summed all up in one word and that’s nutrition. What you eat is so important if you want to be able to jump higher. Even if you do really intense basketball workouts, you won’t jump higher without proper nutrition.

Protein: You need to get enough protein in your diet to build muscle in your legs and recover from your basketball training. A few good sources of protein are chicken, turkey, and fish.

Fats: It’s also important to get enough of the “good fats” which are unsaturated such as almonds, fish, apples, etc. It’s a good idea to eat every 2-3 hours in smaller portions to keep you energized.

One last thing is water! Try to drink 2 liters of water a day if you can. Water is so important because you need more when you exercise so you don’t become dehydrated and tired.

Now keep in your mind the below notes when you are exercising to jump higher.

1. Don't do jumping exercises 7 days a week. It is enough about four or five days per week. If you do it every day, you may give up after a week or two. The idea is to keep exercising for months, or years, consistently.
2. Keep repetitions low when doing strength training. It's not about how many you can do--it's more about building up the muscles.
3. Don't push yourself beyond the limit of safety. Pain is your body telling you to stop and you need to listen.
4. If you have any sort of injury, have any health problems while exercising to jump higher, then stop, and consider consulting a doctor.