Vertical Jumps – How to Improve Your Speed

February 9th, 2010 by DietGal | Filed under Exercise & Fitness.

Wanting to improve your speed and your vertical leap is the best decision that you can ever make in your entire life as an aspiring basketball player and well-rounded athlete. There are so many truly great exercises that can help you achieve just that. Then again, in order for you accomplish such goal, you need to be consistent and you need discipline to achieve your dream.

Your workout to jump higher must focus on the main muscle groups that you use for jumping and running. Some of the muscles that you need to concentrate on are your glutes, lower calves, hamstrings and quadriceps. These should be your main target because they play a vital role when it comes to sprinting and jumping.


Now that you have an idea on what group of muscles you need to focus on, it would be easier for you to look for what specific exercises to follow or what type of training should you take. There are two wonderful mode of training that you can try; they are strength limit workout and plyometric exercises for basketball.

Plyometrics involves exercises that are specially designed in order to make you do activities such as running, jumping etc. with more height as well as speed. The Box squat is one good example of a plyometric exercise. This routine will help you acquire a forceful jump. To give your jump height that additional boost, you also need to develop the strength of your hips. Another plyo routine that will target that muscle is hurdle jumps.

A Strength limit workout, on the other hand, is also great because the exercises incorporated in this mode of training will enhance the force and strength of your targeted muscles. There are many kinds of these types of exercises, but some of the best are dead lifts, full back squats and glutes and hamstring raise. These particular exercises will empower your lower body; thereby giving you that much needed speed and a more explosive jump.

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