Being able to increase your vertical jump is something that many people are interested in.
Whether you want to jump higher for a sport, recreation, or for personal gain, it's a big achievement and it isn't something you should take lightly.
Obviously if it were too easy to increase your vertical jump, everybody would be doing it.
Throughout this short article I'll give you some tips and exercises you can use to improve your vertical jump.
If you're like most others, you're not training the right muscles to really see improvement in your vertical jump.
Most people realize that you need to train for explosive quickness - and then go train their muscles for endurance...
without even realizing it! You need to learn which muscles train endurance and which will help with your explosiveness.
Next - don't limit yourself to a single exercise.
To be honest, the most effective exercise to increase your vertical jump is just that - JUMP.
By jumping you are using all of the muscles that you need.
The more you jump, the stronger those muscles will get and the higher you'll be able to go.
There are other methods though that need to be done to supplement just jumping.
The absolute best exercise for almost all uses of your legs - including your vertical jump - is squats.
Drop from an athletic stance until your legs bend at approximately 90 degrees, then rise back up at a reasonable pace.
Continue doing this for as many reps as you can do before your legs get sore (or stop a little early and use another exercise to continue).
You'll find that many other people will recommend toe raises and lunges.
While these are great exercises, I find that it's more efficient to simply practice your jumps.
There is one more helpful exercise though, step ups.
A step up requires a bench, chair, box, or anything else that you can step up on.
Put one foot on it and do just that, push yourself up.
Release yourself back to the floor and do it with your other foot.
Combining this exercise with squats will have your quads and calves burning (especially if you do them with weights).
Please pay close attention now.