So you want to know a few good vertical jumping exercises? There are quite a few out there. These will give you a good basis to start from. Ensure that you follow the movements correctly. Many people perform the right exercises, but they don’t do them correctly. Start with the exercises we outline below and you will have a good foundation for improving you vertical leap.
Numerous people wrongly think that it is only the leg muscles that need to be developed to increase your vertical leap. Your lower back and erector muscles need to be strong as well. Many of the back muscles are heavily involved and require strengthening as well. Vertical jumping exercises should include working on this area. Which brings us to our first exercise.
Dead Lifts
A good exercise to start with is the dead lift. Arch your back, bend your knees while holding the weighted bar. Bring the barbell up until you are standing erect with the barbell hanging across your thighs. Slowly lower the weight back down. Perform three sets of 6-8 repetitions. To steer clear of injury, do not jerk the bar, but perform the exercise quickly and steadily. Take a rest. Do one last set in a much slower way this time.
Leg Presses
A second exercise that can help develop your vertical jump is leg presses. Load a leg press machine with weights. Situate your feet high and away from you. Let the weight to come down as far as you can and then, pretending like you are jumping, push the weight back up quickly. It’s not about the slow and steady here. Jumping is an explosive move, so you need to do this exercise in an explosive manner. Repeat this exercise six times – and perform five sets. Take a short pause between each set.
Medicine Ball
Finally, use a heavy medicine ball in place of a basketball. Acting like you are trying to dunk the ball, jump with the medicine ball in the direction of the rim. Embellish the movements and reach for the rim. This will help strengthen all the muscles you will be using when you slam dunk for real. As with the leg presses, make sure to be explosive when you perform this exercise.
These three exercises are merely three of scores that can help enhance your vertical leap and learn how to jump higher. As you progress, include additional exercises to your routine. Keep in mind that correct form is just as critical as the weight and the number of reps.
Tags: how to jump higher, improve vertical jump, increase vertical jump, jumping exercises