Plyometrics, the Next Step - Beyond Beginner Exercises to Jump Higher

There are no greater exercises to jump higher than plyometrics. They are used by social players and professional athletes alike. When done properly and in conjunction with a good strength conditioning program, you will see gains in the vertical leap unrivaled by any other technique. However caution must be used as while the reward can be great, so to are the risks high.

These are a series of exercise techniques used to train muscles to perform as powerfully and as quickly as possible while training the nervous system to respond as rapidly as possible as well. The idea is to load the muscle and then contract it, taking as little time as possible to do so.

A great example is the box depth jump.
First set up a box. Beginners should not use a platform more than 12 inches high. As you get more experienced you can increase the box height until depths of up to 30 inches are reached. Prepare yourself by standing with feet shoulder width apart.

Jump off the box and hit the ground on your two feet. Immediately upon hitting the ground spring up and proceed to leap as high as you can into the air. Try 3x5 repetitions initially and make sure you have at least 30 seconds in between each set.

Focus on reducing the time spent on the ground. You want to limit this to as small a period as possible. Don't try to absorb the impact of the jump from height, react as quickly as you can. You should be prepared to sacrifice height on the rebound to ensure speed.

You can adapt the exercise by increasing the height of the box or focusing on jumping forwards or side to side.

Don't underestimate how hard a polymetric exercise session should be. You should be attacking each movement at 100 percent intensity for the entire duration. Just going through the motions is a waste of time as you will not sufficiently influence the neuromuscular inputs to perform optimally.

Do no more than 2 sessions per week and ensure your body gets plenty of rest during and between workouts. Never do the box jump or similar in the week before an important competition as it will take your body some time to recover.

There are other great body movements that will help your vertical leap. For more ideas tojump higher basketball especially, see the links below.

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