Improve Vertical Jump Height
Math/Physics of Explosive Jumping:
F=MxA (Force = Mass x Acceleration)
The higher your squat one rep Max is the more potential you have for a higher vertical jump height.
The faster you move the higher your jump will be. Both of these are neuro-muscular stimulations and adaptations. If you stress or stimulate your body the right way, you will see progress. If you do it incorrectly, you will not see any improvement.
RFD (Rate of Force Development)
How fast you can move heavy loads. 0-60mph. Doing low box squats or using the static/dynamic method will significantly influence rate of force development and increase your squat strength, leg power, thus improving vertical jump. Check out our podcast on VBT velocity based training 101 and Box Squat 101.
Jumping is about power so you need a way to measure or test and also track progress data. You don't know what you don't know. This would be like getting blood work and then not looking at the results. Power = work/time or force x velocity. Improve these principles and you will generate more power AKA higher jumps.
Tips:
feet/ankle position - 1. facing (neutral, outward)2. width narrow, shoulder width, wider than shoulder width)
Armswing 40% Arm flying in flight - flap arms like you are flying or flapping your wings - going low your arms should be back or as much shoulder extension ROM as possible. Arms should explode or violently shoot forward/up
Get low with hips (Distance = more power) Knee/hip - low as you can go - creates more distance with gets more acceleration and high force output
Triple extension and Hip Extension - Triple extension (ankles, knees, hips and arms as long (straight) as possible
Recommendations:
Jumping alone with just your body weight does not influence the needle unless you are a beginner. As you get more advanced and start to plateau with your jump heights, you will have to implement exercise science principles to progress higher. The higher your squat one rep Max is the more potential you have for a higher vertical jump height.
I use contrast training with dumbbell jumps and body weight jumps. The dumbbell jumps will improve the mass part of the force equation and the body weight non-loaded jumps will improve the acceleration part of the force equation. Also, the loaded dumbbell jumps will act as a post activation potentiation to get you higher vertical jumps. If you do just vertical jumps you will hit a ceiling but doing the dumbbell jumps before your vertical will create more neural drive. Thus the post activation potentiation and creating a higher vertical jump number. As far as load goes, you need to do 10 to 30% of your body weight for the dumbbell jumps. Anything below 10% will not be effective and not have an influence on increasing jump heights unless you are a beginner. If you go more than 30% of your body weight, you will move slow because of the heavy load and you will not improve acceleration thus, not moving the needle for higher jumps. I typically will start inexperienced new jumpers with 10% of their body weight and do that for 4 weeks until moving up 5%. If you can track these jump heights that would be helpful. I would recommend once you start seeing a plateau in your jump heights then go up 5% with heavier weight again. Do that for 4 weeks at a minimum before increasing five more percent with a heavier dumbbell load. Again, do not exceed 30% of an athlete's body weight.
Another good advanced vertical jump tip is taking proper rest in between each set or even reps. Your body needs at least 2 minutes of recovery to restore. ATP/ CP energy system metabolism. You could even go 3 to 10 minutes for optimization on your rest in between sets. If you do not take at least 2 minutes of rest to recover, your vertical jump heights will go down because of cellular and metabolic fatigue. If you don't believe me, try doing a couple reps in a row and you will see the numbers go down. Then go back and do one rep take 3 minutes off to recover and then do another rep and you will probably see the number increase.
Frequency for optimization is three times per week or every other day. I have experimented with doing jumps and sprinting one time a week and it maintains a certain level but does not enhance or improve the jump heights drastically. I would recommend if you were off-season to try three times a week or every other day. If you are in season, I would do one time per week to maintain your vertical jump heights.
Jumping Skill Hacks:
Try slow squat into a quick up
Try a fast squat into a quick up
Foot position - width, neutral or external rotated feet/hips
Try arms down and up
Try shooting arms back then explode up with legs and arms
You have to figure out your own secret sauce and what cues work best to get your maximum jump height. Everyone's a little different so you need to play around with a bunch of options and figure out what works best for you. Track your changes and stick with only one change for a month or 2 before changing to a new technique.
Additional Plyometric Techniques to try:
Drop Jumps is a powerful plyometric exercise where you step off an elevated platform, land on both feet, and immediately explode upward into a vertical jump with minimal ground contact time.
Depth Jumps are advanced plyometric exercises where you step off an elevated box, land on the ground, and immediately explode upward into a maximum vertical jump.
Band assisted Jumps (overspeed jump) is a ballistic or plyometric training exercise where an external support system—such as an overhead bungee cord, pulley system, or resistance bands attached to a high anchor point—is used to artificially reduce an athlete's body weight during the movement.
By strategically unloading 10% to 30% of the athlete's body weight, the exercise alters standard biomechanics to allow for maximum velocity and heightened takeoff speeds that could not normally be achieved with body weight alone.
Band assisted jumps target the far-velocity end of the force-velocity curve. By "tricking" the central nervous system into moving faster, it shortens muscular firing rates and teaches the body to program movements at higher speeds.
Differences between a drop jump and a depth jump
Drop Jump: Uses a lower box (usually 12 to 24 inches), emphasizes stiff legs, minimal knee bend upon landing, and the fastest possible ground contact time. Minimized (very fast rebound, "hot coals" feel). High; legs stay relatively stiff with minimal knee and hip flexion to preserve elastic recoil. The main focus of a drop jump is reactive strength, tendon elasticity, and optimizing the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC)
Depth Jump: Uses a higher box (often 30 inches or more), allows for a deeper knee bend (greater flexion) to absorb heavier forces, and prioritizes maximum vertical height over a quick touch-and-go. Ground contact time is longer than a drop jump (250–500+ ms) as the body absorbs the high-impact landing. The goal with a depth jump is Explosive power, neural drive, and maximal force production/eccentric braking capacity. It trains the stretch-shortening cycle, helping your muscles absorb force and instantly convert it into explosive power.
Safety Precautions: This is a high-intensity movement that places heavy stress on your joints. Beginners should master basic depth drops first and start with a low box of 12 to 16 inches.
Prerequisites: Athletes should generally be able to squat at least 1.5 times their body weight before attempting heavy depth jumps to prevent injury.
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You need some way of measuring your jumps and recording your data to track progress. I have seen a lot of amateurs just jumping or if they are educated jumping with dumbbells. But if you can't track progress. You can't make adjustments when you plateau. An example is running a 40 yd dash without timing it. You can't make an informed decision on what to do if you don't know any information. It is also really convenient to see progress and it also gives you internal motivation to work hard and keep trying to beat your numbers. It is a great competitive way to get better and challenge yourself.
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