A 3-Phase Training Program to Boost Your Vertical Jump

“If you can jump high, it’s a pretty sure sign not only of strong legs, but that your overall coordination, reaction time and agility are pretty finely tuned as well,” says Philadelphia-based volleyball coach and AA-league player Tim Moyer, MS, CSCS. In other words, add even an inch or two to your “vert” and you can be fairly certain that your overall fitness has improved, too.

So whether you’re looking for an edge in your basketball or volleyball league or just want a little more spring in your step by New Year’s, Moyer’s twice-weekly jumping program will help get you there. If you’re a novice jumper, Moyer says that you can expect to gain an impressive 2 to 4 inches of jumping height in four weeks. So get hopping — and prepare for some serious air.

Program for Increasing Your Vertical Jump

Before you start, test your vertical jump. You can do this with a special device available at some gyms, or by creating a self-test version (see “DIY Vert Test,” below). Either way you choose, note your results and retest yourself every two weeks.

Perform the exercises in Phase 1 twice a week. Transition from Phase 1 to Phase 2 only when you can comfortably complete the highest number of sets and reps of each exercise without soreness or serious fatigue.

Observe the following guidelines during each vertical-jump phase:

1. Warm up thoroughly.

2. Never work to exhaustion. Explosive-style workouts sneak up on you: You often can’t tell how hard you were working till the next day. To keep progressing, always finish a workout feeling like you could have done just a little bit more.

3. Make sure each rep feels powerful and explosive. The goal is to increase your speed under resistance (also known as power). It’s not a cardio workout — rest between reps so that you can give each jump your maximal effort.

4. Land softly on the balls of your feet.

5. Stay aligned. Keep your back straight and your knees lined up over your toes.

6. Bounce when you hop, but stick your landings when you jump. On both single-leg and double-leg hops, control your landings, but launch into your next rep as quickly as possible after making contact with the ground. For jumps, avoid bouncing entirely, holding your landing position for a moment before moving to the next rep.

Phase 1: Laying the Ground Work

Phase 2: Twist and Jump

Phase 3: 8 Moves to Add to Your Routine to Get Some Serious Air

Warm up on a mini-trampoline or with a jump rope, doing both double- and single-leg hops for two sets of about 40 reps per leg.

1) Double-Leg Forward Hops (described above), three sets of 20 reps.

2) Double-Leg Side-to-Side Hops (described above), three sets of 20 reps each direction.

3) 90-Degree and 180-degree Double Leg Jumps, three sets of five reps of each type of turn (quarter and half) in each direction.

4) Seated Box Jumps

Sets and Reps: three sets of four.

• Sit on a plyo box or aerobic step 12 to 18 inches high (the lower the box, the more difficult the exercise).
• From the seated position, explode up into a max-effort vertical jump.

5) Box Drops

Sets and Reps: Four sets of three.

• Paying close attention to your jumping and landing mechanics, jump off of a box that’s approximately the same height as your vertical jump (measured before Phase One).

6) Depth Jumps

Sets and Reps: Four sets of three.

• Stand on a box that is approximately a third of the height of your vertical jump.
• Step off the box, landing softly with both feet simultaneously, and then immediately jump vertically off from the floor as quickly as possible

7) Single-Leg Forward Hop to Side Hop

• Standing on your right foot, hop forward and then immediately to the left, staying on your right foot the entire time.
• Pause and repeat, completing all your repetitions to the left side.
• Switch feet and jump to the right for five repetitions.
• Perform the entire drill again on your right foot, this time jumping to your right; then on your left foot, this time jumping to your left.

Sets and Reps: three sets of five reps in each direction on each foot.

8) Single Leg 90-Degree Hops

Sets and Reps: Four sets of five reps in each direction on each foot (20 reps in all).

• Standing on one foot, hop high, turning yourself 90 degrees to the left.
• Pause and repeat, turning 90 degrees to the right.