If you are a basketball player, you will no doubt need to know how to increase your vertical leap. It is not the hardest thing to do, yet it is not the simplest thing to achieve either, as it involves a lot of hard work.
A person can be an athlete and play any game of his choice. To excel there are some things, which need to be learned at the earliest. Every game has its rule. Likewise, having a good vertical leap is an important factor in a number of games. There are various reasons why people fail, when they have to do a vertical leap. Often it is seen, that people ask how to increase your vertical bounce, but think that increasing vertical leap training the legs and hips only.
However, this is a misconception. Although one does jump with his legs, there are other muscles, which are a part of the jump as well, namely abdominal muscles, lower back and not to forget the hip flexors. Therefore, to increase vertical bounce fast, it is important that the core muscles are developed as well.
Tips to Increase your Vertical Leap
Before we start with the measures that have to be taken, it is important that you assess your current strength. Once you have assessed your current strength, do not get motivated. Even if your strength is not really great, with hard work and perseverance you will be able to reach your goal.
Warming up and stretching are two things, which should be a part of your exercise routine. Both of them have an important role to play in increasing vertical leap. The cardiovascular exercise, that is recommended to increase vertical leap is jumping ropes. Often people do not practice this and do not see results. Including sprints in the workout will help build muscles, which in turn will be able to increasing jumping ability. Similarly, running up on a staircase is also recommended. Make sure you start off slow by just going up one flight, but only one step at a time. Then you can increase it to two steps at a time.
- One of the exercises for increasing your vertical jump are the deep knee bends. They are simple, but care should be taken while doing them. Stand with your feet hip width apart. Now slowly bend the knees as you lower your torso. However, make sure your back is straight. Crouch as low as you can ensuring you are not hurting yourself. Come back to the starting position and repeat the exercise. Once you have got used to this exercise, you can add jumps to the exercise as well. Follow the steps as described to go down, but be quick with your movements and to come up explode up as fast and as high as you can.
- The next of the exercise are the elevated jumps. To do this exercise, place an aerobics platform on the ground, but away from the wall. Stand on it and jump backwards on the ground, without wasting any time jump on the platform immediately. The same can also be performed by jumping in front of the platform.
- The next exercise are the explosive leaps. It is best to do this exercise on a soft surface, so that the knees and the other joints are well protected. Balance your weight on the right leg and jump as high as you can and land on your left leg. Without wasting any time jump and land on the right leg.
- Then come the explosive squats. They are similar to the previous exercise, but done using both the legs. Maintain shoulder width distance between your legs and squat as low as you can. Now with an explosive action go up in the air and land on the floor with shoulder width distance between the feet. It is best to have minimum gap between two repetition for better results.
The best way to increase your vertical leap is to be consistent with ones practice. Along with all the methods mentioned above, there is a small trick which you may want to use. When you want to jump up swing your arms up forcefully keeping your arms extended and as high as you can. The momentum of the hands will help you to leap higher. Last but not the least, when you are doing the exercises initially, it is best to do them in front of a trainer or a spotter. In case of any mistakes, they can be rectified by the trainer or spotter and do not cause any injuries.
