Posts Tagged ‘jump higher’

Beginning Exercises to Help Your Vertical Jump

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Are you looking for some fundamental exercises to develop your vertical leap? There are several to choose from. There are a few in particular that can enhance your ability and help you learn how to jump higher. Here are some basic ones that are an excellent point to start your training. You must make sure that you follow them closely. Many people perform the correct exercises, but they don’t do them correctly. Begin with the exercises we outline below and you will possess a good foundation for improving you vertical leap.

Numerous people incorrectly think that it is only the leg muscles that need to be developed to improve your vertical jump. The muscles in the back and waist are also especially significant. The erector muscles are the strongest muscles in the back and take on the most work. Your program should include exercises for the back and waist areas as well. So let’s get started with our first exercise.

Dead Lifts

Dead lifts are great. Remembering to strive to keep you back as upright as possible, bend your knees and grasp down and grab the barbell. Come to an standing position while holding the bar. Gradually lower the weight back down. The first 3 sets of 6-8 reps should be done swiftly but steadily to avoid injury. {Take a rest.|Take a brief rest after these first 3 sets.} Do one last set in a much slower way this time.

Leg Presses

Another high-quality exercise is leg presses. Load a leg press machine with weights. Place your feet high and away from you. Bring the plate down slowly until your knees bend to your chest, and then rapidly push it away. It’s not about the slow and steady here. 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 perform five sets. Take a brief break between each set.

Medicine Ball

For our final exercise we will utilize a medicine ball instead of a basketball. Pretending that you are doing a dunk, hold the medicine ball and leap up as high as you can. Make sure to stretch your reach and try to get the ball as high as you are able to. Practicing this exercise helps all the muscles necessary for this movement to become strong. As with the leg presses, make sure to be explosive when you perform this exercise.

While these are only three exercises, they can be a good start to improving your vertical jump. Mix these with more jumping exercises. Don’t fail to remember to use the proper form while performing these exercises. It can help you sidestep injury.

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