How can I increase my vertical jump?

Question

I am a boy in the 8th grade and am 5'10". I want to be abel to grab the rim on the school basketball hoops. I only am an inch from the rim, and my friends would be amazed if I grabbed it. So how can I increase my vertical jump?

Thanks!

Answer 1

One way to improve your vertical jump is to practice jumping from a chair or other elevated positions, rather than jumping from a static position. Jumping can be more powerful if you have a "pre-jump", but you have to practice at it, and you have to train your muscles for it.

There have been studies done on the elastic properties of tense human muscles, so imagining them to be like rubber bands is not necessarily a stupid idea. A lot of insects take advantage of this property of muscles.

Certain strength building exercises do NOT develop the optimum type of muscle for jumping. You need to maximize your fast-twitch fibers. In any sport, the rule of thumb is that the best training for it is the one that most closely resembles it. So, if you want to jump well, JUMP!

Answer 2

I'd be interested to see if you get this response, seeing as you're probably in your 3rd year of university or just doing work, but if you still want advice, I think you should use this, because I used this advice 2 years ago and since then my vertical jump has been increasing dramatically.

Do fast-twitch fiber training, it gets your legs better at releasing maximum power in as efficient and fast a way possible.

For example, you could simply stand under the backboard, pick a point on it that you want to touch and jump 20 times on both feet, touching that same spot.

Another example is high-knee running, where you adapt your running style during training sessions to focus on the muscle-group in your legs that is used for jumping.

Calf raises on stairs are another good idea, you can do this at home or when you're watching TV. It's most effective on stairs, because you build up more muscle groups in your lower-leg region. Stand up on the balls of both feet, then lower your heels down low (without losing balance) and slowly come to the balls of your feet again. Do about 20 reps for a set, aiming for 60 reps a day. Another way to make this more effective is by doing raises on one foot, however this makes maintaining your balance quite hard.

You could also try doing weighted squats, or jump squats. Before you do either of these, however, make sure you find a professional to observe your technique, because if you aren't squatting properly, you risk injuring the disks in your spine and that will be entirely counter-productive. Anyway, jump squats are performed by simply squatting down until your thighs are horizontal, and then jumping up into the air as high as you can. Doing this ten times per set is a very good idea. If you want, you can add a small amount of weight to the squat jumps by resting a bar across your back with 2.5kg weights added at a time.

Weighted squats are essentially the same thing, however you obviously don't jump, and you add much greater weights to the exercise. Again, 10 reps for a set is a good objective. I would personally aim for a weight of above your body weight, however this depends on the strength of your legs.

Quick tip: Make sure you stretch out all of your muscles before training, or before playing basketball (if you still do). This increases the range of motion in your hips, knees and shoulders, allowing for a possible extra 2 inches.

Avoid doing core-strength exercises and/or muscular endurance exercises, as these focus on different muscle-groups and thus are ineffective in helping you achieve your goal.

Answer 3

Poly-metrics

Answer 4

You either hit the gym work on your legs. It'll increase your legs strength or you can keep practicing jumping by running to the rim instead of jumping straight forward or just wait till you grow

Answer 5

Poly-metrics

Answer 6

Stand on the edge of a step, raise and lower yourself on your toes. Start with 3 sets of 50 (or however many you can do), and gradually increase the number as you can do more. I did this when I was a senior in high school (I'm 5'9"), and I could eventually dunk.

Answer 7

Poly-metrics....and jump roping.