According to Taylor Allan, if you want to increase your vertical jump, you need to have the right arsenal of jump exercises. Listed below are some of the popular jump training exercises that have succeeded in improving vertical jump for professional athletes all around the globe.
For warm up drills, you will need to do ankles and knee circles, trunk rotations and hip swivels, and neck stretches. Throw in some wrist and elbow circles and allot about 15 to 20 minutes for joint warm up exercises.
For beginners in vertical jump programs, it is better to start slow. Take baby steps like doing push ups for upper body strength. You don’t have to carry the whole weight of your body like military-style push ups. You can just lift your upper body off the ground. You can add some zing to this kind of push-ups by clapping your hands as you attain sufficient height.
Another low intensity drill to increase your vertical jump would be to do chest passes. You will need a medicine ball and a partner. A medicine ball is a heavy ball filled with sand. Start by facing your partner and holding the medicine ball at chest level. Then, throw the ball to your partner. It’s a simple throw and catch game, but it is tiring because of the weight of the ball. You can start by putting a small distance between you and your partner, then stepping away from each other gradually.
With the same medicine ball, throw overhead passes. This exercise will increase your vertical jump because it trains your body to balance weight and jutt forward in a motion similar to dunking a basketball. It will also improve upper body strength and coordination.
After doing low intensity exercises for a couple of weeks, you can advance to a more high impact training by trying the ball drop using the medicine ball. You will need to lie on floor, face up and throw the medicine ball to your partner who should stand above you. You can also try a depth push-up which is starting from an elevated position and pushing down before springing back to the original elevated position.
Other effective vertical exercises would have to do with arm swings for better balance; box jumps, squats, sprinting, bicycle movements on the floor, and hurdles.
One last popular vertical jump drill is the high jump where you run and jump to grab the bar that is placed high above the head. The vertical and upward slant motion will help your body get used to the motion, while at the same increasing your strength and power to carry your body properly. You attain better horizontal speed and learn how to use your body parts like your arms and legs to increase vertical height.