How can I increase my vertical leap?

[Herminator]

Hello I'm new here.

My vertical leap is 24 inches. My routine so far is just calve raises, jumping rope, and squats. I was wondering if anyone out there know a good routine for gaining more vertical? Do those silly shoes with the extended toes really increase your vertical?

 

[Greek Freak]

Those shoes are alright, a lot of times its also "practice makes perfect". If your already doing a lot of calve and leg work(along with some moderate plyometrics...jumping rope) then maybe you should try playing some basketball or volleyball where you will be jumping more. Also I would add in some plyometric exercises like box jumps..or my favorite which is to find something pretty high up(basketball hoop, ceiling) and then stand in place and jump up and touch it with your right arm, as soong as you land jump up again and touch with your left, keep alternating and try not to rest in between reps until your very fatigued...once your resting more than a couple seconds between them stop for a couple minutes then repeat a few times.

 

[teen1216]

Check out these threads:

http://boards.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=137641&highlight=Vertical+leap

and
http://boards.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=167483&highlight=Vertical+leap

 

[gmanlax7]

are you doing this for a certain sport ? bball ? high jump ? I had decent hops, but they died during the season because of over training

 

[Herminator]

I'm mainly want to do this for basketball. I play regularly. Just wanted to see what other type of programs people use to increase there vertical. Thanx for all the help I will frequent these boards more.

 

[coolcolj]

Make sure you are squatting similar to how you jump, in terms of how far your knees go forward in either. Do no more than 6 reps for squats.

Add some jump squats they help a lot. And some light but extremely fast and explosive squats

 

[Herminator]

welp I decided to do some squat leaps and the people at the gym where looking at me like I was on crack or something. LOL but to be honest with you I feel a great difference already, I dunno if it awaked some unkown ass muscle from the leaps but I anihilated alot of people playing ball this weekend. probably just mental thing. We shall see in the comming months when I measure my vertical again. thanx for all the replys again.

 

[coolcolj]

Its not mental, its backed by solid research

use about 30% of 1RM

 

[the.stig]

Here's a general program that I've written to increase athletic ability (I hate the term vertical jump program...).

SportGorilla The Ultimate Vertical Leap Guide

I do think however that there is no such thing as a one size fits all program, since everyone has different hinks that need working out before benefits can be experience. So my advice would be to take a program like mine to a coach or fitness instructor who has some experience with training athletes. They will then be able to help you put together an individual program that is just right for you.

 

[Hellawulf]

Nah, Dynamic Warmups, those are the best, my vertical jump went from 24 to 31 while playing football, We did them everyday before speed drills and before workouts, they are the best way to stretch and they will build you hops... look them up but some examples include, reach jumps, fast high knees, high knee hops, out/in hip skips, backward sprints, streching backward runs, frog jumps, frankensteins, High kicks(Bruce Lees), ankle walks... there are a lot more, mix and match like 5-7.

 

[mwm5]

The below works. i won't say exactly what my (running) vertical is, but it is 40+. I have always been a one foot jumper, i believe b/c i was a high jumper, but this program helped my two foot jumping a ton. i did this back in the day when i cleared 6'10" in high jump.


Monday:
Jump squats- 3 sets of 4 reps *45lb bar*
Deep squats- 5 sets of 3 reps *maximum effort*
Romanian deadlifts- 3 sets of 8 reps
Step-ups- 3 sets of 5 reps *heavy*
Calf sled- 3 sets of 5 *heavy*
Standing calf raises- 3 sets of 8 *explosive*

Thursday:
Jump squats- 3 sets of 4 reps *45lb bar*
Deep squats- 5 sets of 5 reps *explosive*
Good mornings- 3 sets of 8 reps
Step-ups- 3 sets of 8 reps *explosive*
Standing calf raises- 2 sets of 15 *explosive*
Maximum effort jumps- 3 sets of 3 jumps

Saturday: *maximum effort on each drill*
Ankle hops- 3 sets of 25 hops
40 yard sprints- 3 sets
Step-up/jumps- 3 sets of 3 reps
Medicine ball squat/throws- 3 sets of 5 reps
Depth jumps- 3 sets of 3 reps
Maximum effort jumps- 3 sets of 3 jumps

Start program again on following Tuesday to allow 36 hours for full CNS recovery from plyo exercises. so workouts would be tues, fri, sun. then next week... wed, sat, mon, etc

Off-days:
Static/Dynamic stretches- glutes, hamstrings, quads, lower back, hip flexors, calves

**maximum effort and heavy exercises are used with the most weight you can successfully complete all sets with. Explosive exercises use slightly less weight, so you can do the movements in a more explosive manner.**

 

[NJL52]

Let me throw this in:

Unless you are squatting over 400 then you should just focus on increasing power. Properly utilising every pound of force of your 200 pound squat is as effective as wasting 1/3 of your 300 pound squat.

But a 300 pound squat squat also increasing your agility, sprinting speed, balance, weight etc.

 

[Jacob W Hiller]

There's plenty of free information out there online about increasing your vertical. You should be targeting weight training, plyometrics, and your diet among other things to get the most results. Try to cover all aspects related to vertical jump training. Even neglecting something like getting enough rest will damper the effects you will receive.

Alternatively, if you find it a worthwhile investment, there are programs available which if purchased guarantee a certain amount of inches' worth of gains or your money back.