Posts Tagged ‘increase vertical’

3 Basic Exercises to Develop Your Vertical Leap

Friday, November 13th, 2009

Are you looking for some basic exercises to increase your vertical jump? Since there are many, we’ll help you narrow the list a little. There are a few in particular that can improve your ability and help you learn how to jump higher. These will provide you a good basis to start from. Make certain that you follow the movements properly. Many people perform the right exercises, but they don’t do them correctly. Begin with the exercises we outline below and you will possess a good groundwork for improving you vertical leap.

You may think the only muscles you need to work on throughout your vertical jumping workouts are your leg muscles, but that’s not the case. Your lower back and erector muscles need to be strong too. Many of the back muscles are heavily involved and require strengthening as well. Vertical jumping exercises should include working on this area. So let’s get started with our first exercise.

Dead Lifts

Dead lifts are great. Arch your back, bend your knees while holding the weighted bar. Bring the barbell up until you are standing upright with the barbell hanging across your thighs. Slowly lower the weight back down. The first 3 sets of 6-8 reps should be done quickly but steadily to avoid injury. {Take a rest.|Take a brief rest after these first 3 sets.} Execute one more set taking your time and being more intentional.

Leg Presses

Another good exercise is leg presses. Load a leg press machine with weights. Set your feet high and away from you. Allow the weight to come down as far as you can and then, pretending like you are jumping, push the weight back up rapidly. You don’t jump in slow motion, so you don’t want to train in slow motion. You need to practice the explosive move to get the most out of the muscles you will use when jumping. Repeat this exercise six times – and execute five sets. Take a short break between each set.

Medicine Ball

For our last exercise we will utilize a medicine ball instead of a basketball. Pretending that you are doing a dunk, grip the medicine ball and jump up as high as you can. Embellish the movements and reach for the rim. Doing this exercise will enhance all the muscles that you will use when you in fact are able to dunk. Remember to push yourself to the max.

These three exercises are simply three of several that can help enhance your vertical jump. Mix these with additional jumping exercises. Don’t fail to remember to use the correct form while performing these exercises. It can help you steer clear of injury.

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