Do You Want to Increase Your Vertical Jumping?

You know you need to exercise and practice to increase your vertical jumping. But do you know which exercises make a difference? Do you know how to exercise smarter so that you actually see results? Do you know how not to get burned out, or at least not too soon? Read on for some helpful tips on how to do vertical jumping exercises correctly.

Do Your Warm Ups. Rather than jumping right into your exercise routine, you should always do some stretches to warm up your legs first. Many of the warm up stretches swimmers do are also perfect for jumpers. You can also run up and down stairs or jump rope for several minutes to get your muscles warmed up. These are also effective for inclusion in your regular training regime.

Strengthen Your Legs. To build strength, you want to focus on performing appropriate exercises slowly and methodically. You should plan for each rep of a particular leg exercise to take about nine seconds from start to completion. For instance, slow toe raises and deep knee bends help strengthen your leg muscles and can be performed either with or without added weights.

Optimize muscle. While you don’t need to be a body builder or Mr. Olympics to be a great vertical jumper, you do need a fit, toned, well-shaped body to power your jumps. You will want to have a speedy metabolism, low body fat, and strong bones and muscles. When you have more muscle, you also burn more calories when you exercise. When you burn more calories, you have the energy to fire your vertical jumps and reach new heights.

Having said that, what common exercises can help you improve your vertical jumps? Quite a few really easy ones that you can do everyday include:

Jump rope. Jumping rope with a simple inexpensive jump rope is a very effective exercise to improve vertical jump heights. Get a rope that is easy to swing comfortably and start out jumping on both feet, then alternating jumping on each foot individually. This is a great exercise to do while watching television. Start out by jumping rope for 10-minute bursts of time and gradually increase the level of intensity of your jump roping workout. Remember, though, speed is not the goal here-higher jumps is-so make sure you are focusing on that.

Bend Those Knees-Go Deep. Deep knee bends are a very effective exercise for vertical jumpers-when they are performed correctly. It is important to keep a straight back at all times and bend only at the knees. Lower yourself down almost-but not quite-as far as you can go toward the floor (maintaining that straight back) for a count of four and then slowly rise for another count of four. Do 15 repetitions of this exercise. After a couple of weeks, start to increase the number of reps. This exercise is great for overall legs and thighs, too.