Exercises To Increase Vertical Jump – 3 Critical Exercises You Must Do
My guess is that if you have looked online for exercises to increase vertical jump, you’ve most likely realized that there are multiple resources available. In my experience working with athletes, I’ve come to realize that there are 3 critical exercises to do if you want to increase your vertical jump:
1. Free weight squats – You want to make sure you do free weight squats as opposed to leg machine squats because with free weights, when done properly, you will also strengthen your core ab and lower back muscles. Your “core” muscles are essential to build if you want to increase your vertical jump. Free weight squats give you the ancillary benefit of also building your core muscles.
The primary reason free weight squats are one of the key exercises to increase vertical jump is because they will build your quads, hamstrings and glutes. Building these muscles is essential to vertically exploding off of the ground.
2. Calf raises – These are another one of the critical exercises to increase vertical jump because the calves play a key role in giving you both power and explosiveness. There are so many different ways to do calf raises, but the important thing to keep in mind is that you want to choose a calf raise exercise that is both comfortable and challenging.
3. Leg raises – these are the kind of leg raises where you hang from a chin-up bar and lift your knees to your chest. This makes the list as one of the critical exercises to increase vertical jump because it strengthens your abs, and it also strengthens your hip flexors, which give you additional explosiveness.
Of course there are additional exercises to increase vertical jump, but you need to master these 3 to build your foundation. They both make your legs and calves stronger for explosiveness, and strengthen your abs to give you overall core strength. Give them a shot and you’ll be on your way to dunking.
Want to find out more about how to do these exercises to increase vertical jump, including the right amount of sets and reps? Then check out Mat Hultquist’s blog to discover the tips and techniques to increase your vertical leap to 44 inches in 4 weeks.
