How to Jump Higher in Basketball

The best way to learn to jump higher is with the dedicated help of someone who's been there. A top level coach is the fastest way to progress, but if you can't find a good one (or can't afford them), then you may want to look at getting a manual or programme to help you learn to jump higher. I bought my first programme at 12 years old from an advert in a basketball magazine. It did help me improve a little bit but it was far from ideal- really it was just a folded exercise chart posted out in an envelope. The encouraging part is that often even the worst programmes will help you progress a little bit.

In any manual, or coach you hire, you want you're programme to look at many different aspects. Too many programmes or coaches only know one thing to help you jump higher. And you know what? You will gain a few inches, but to really see improvement you need to attack the issue from multiple aspects.

The ideal programme would coach you on nutrition, including menu plans, correct form for jumping and exercise, the right jumping and exercise techniques, show you how to improve your balance, prevent injury, give you information on plyometric exercises and resistance training.

It would also address your motivation and tell you up front that the biggest factor that will determine whether you succeed in jumping higher is whether you put the effort in and stick with it. It would show you in person how to perform exercise and allow you to see the progress you make.

Ideally you don't want the person who is coaching you to be a natural jumper. Instead they should have been average at best and had to learn how to increase their jump. Even more important, they should have a consistent track record of being able to help other people increase their vertical leap. It's no good getting coached by a guy who is a natural and doesn't have the teaching skills to get you to improve!

Now, if you're looking for a magical box that's suddenly going to show you how to add 10 inches to your vertical leap by 4pm tomorrow then I'm sorry to tell you that it doesn't exist. But you probably already knew that. So, after trying pretty much every Jump Training manual out there (I've been working on improving my vertical since I was 12 after all), I can only recommend the next best thing.

Click Here To Check It Out

It's not quite a magic box, but it's pretty damn close. Of all the Jump Programmes I've PERSONALLY tried and tested, this one stood out way ahead of the pack. It covers pretty much all the bases we've talked about in, and if you're looking for a "one stop solution" to jumping higher, then I highly recommend you check it out

Right from the start you need to know that you shouldn't do jump exercises 7 days a week. It'll actually decrease you motivation and increase your chance of injury. What you should be looking at is to do these exercises four or fives times a week to help you jump higher at basketball.

Another thing to remember is to play basketball during the week. When playing basketball jump higher; just try to leap at full stretch and you'll start to see progress when you incorporate some jump exercises into your week.

Before you start the exercises to learn to jump higher you need to warm up. I know it sucks but what sucks more is pulling a muscle or worse and not being able to play because you couldn't be bothered warming up! Trust me I've been there myself and now I make sure I always warm up. It's fine to just stretch a little and do a length of the court or up and down the stairs a few times if you're at home.



Jumping Rope- Jumping rope will help your all round conditioning in particular it will improve your quickness and flexibility which are two of the three main keys to getting you to jump higher for basketball. My top tip would be to jump rope while you are watching tv so you are improving your basketball game while doing something else.

Toe Raises- you can do these with or without weights. If you are going to use dumbbells then you can start with 5 or 10 pounds and then start adding weight once you are comfortable with performing the exercise. To perform toe raises stand normally and then you want to raise yourself up by standing on the tips of your toes and then lower yourself to your normal standing position. It's important to keep steady and slow and not bounce while doing them. You want to aim to do 40 or 50.

Deep Knee Bends- There are two types here; normal and jumps.

Normal Deep Knee Bends- Start off standing. Make sure you keep your back straight and slowly bend at the knees, going as low as you can while keeping your back straight. This shouldn't hurt, so if it does you've gone too low. At the beginning you should do deep knee bends 10-15 times and over time increase by a few until you are managing to do 30 at a time.

Deep Knee Bend Jumps- From a standing base, lower yourself as with normal deep knee bends but crouch down a lo quicker. As soon as you are at your lowest point explode back up with a jump. When your feet touch the floor, start crouching down again. You want to do 10 jumps in a row at first and work your way up to 30.

This one will be kept short. Bottom line, if you want results fast get a good coach. I know that it's not possible for everyone and even if you live in a big city it can cost you a whopping $200+ an hour with a good coach (and if they charge less, then they're probably no good).

If you can afford one, even for one session, then go for it. The coach can show you how to perform certain exercises because too get the most out of any exercise you need more than just a written explanation and picture, even though these are better than nothing.

Additionally a coach can keep you motivated. You might be making great, steady progress on your jump and just not see it, but they will stay on your case to keep training. Again if you can't get a coach (and at $800 a month I don't think I could!) then try writing out a progress chart; how many reps of certain exercises you're managing, your protein intake and how high you manage to jump. This way you can see clearly that you are making progress and are less likely to quit.

A top coach can help you with getting not only your exercise form right, but also your jumping technique. They can let you know both what you need to do and how to go about that. Although there are general principles that a coach can use to get you to jump higher, a good coach will be able to answer any questions about why you need to do something and if necessary will tailor there methods to meet you're unique situation.

To be honest the main reason I originally decided to go get the jump manual was the fact that with it I got the video library that showed me how to perform exercises correctly and email support from a top basketball coach who was willing to get on the phone with me when I hit a roadblock and get me through it. I'd still say go for a coach who has worked with college or NBA players if you can, but I found the extra's in the jump manual a decent second best alternative.

Want to increase your vertical jump today without excising? It's easy, just jump higher! I know what you're thinking; I thought the same when my coach told me to "just do it". He had a two pronged approach.

The first prong is based on the fact that at least 55% of athletes don't jump to their full ability. They could get another couple of inches out of each jump. You all know the guy who takes a running start and then stops dead in his tracks before jumping. The one who gets about as much air as your grandmother could. We'll that guy is an extreme example of what most basketball players do to a certain extent.

If you improve and refine your jumping technique then you can almost certainly jump higher unless you're already getting a 40 inch jump. It all about your form. Check out how the guys do it in the NBA rather than your court as the pro players have the best coaches in the world that get them to perfect their jumping technique. You'll notice that they don't just use their legs when they jump but their whole bodies. Especially their arms. You'll see the swinging motion of their arms that help them lift off the ground and build momentum as they rise. Don't get me wrong, it's not that you start flying by flapping your arms but just watch the slowmo version of the dunk below to see that it's not enough to simply jump with your legs.

The second prong is mental. Visualize yourself jumping higher. Close your eyes and imagine yourself jumping up toward he backboard. Now feel yourself getting lighter and your muscles getting bigger and stronger with every jump. Do this for a couple of minutes every day. I know it sounds weird but all top athletes, not just basketball players, visualize. No one needs to know, but it will help you jump higher in a very short period of time.

Nutrition is overlooked all them time when people are looking to add inches to their vertical leap. I know that I just ignored it for the longest time. It's not just that it's boring! It's also hard to find relevant nutritional information that's specifically about jumping higher for basketball. And when you do find some? Far too often it's completely impractical for everyday life! I don't know about you, but having to cook 8 small meals a day is a little hard to fit around my schedule, and spending $500 a week on food just isn't going to be happening anytime soon.

To jump higher you are wanting to build muscle strength so that you can explode toward the rim. That means that you need to build muscle and maybe loose some fat too. Way too often we eat too many calories but they don't even help to build muscle. What most people don't know is that even skinny teenagers (and I used to be one) can often get away with reducing the amount of calories they eat as long as they improve the quality of their food. Ideally you want to be looking at getting about a gram of protein into your diet for every pound you weigh. That means if you are 140 pounds you really want to have 140 grams of protein in your diet. Taking whey protein after a workout was what gave me the best results.

Aside from upping the protein levels if you need to, try and cut out junk food as much as possible. Follow the kind of boring advice parents like to give out but often ignore themselves; eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, drink a little more water, eat good quality, unprocessed food if you can.

Having said all that, the biggest reason that nutrition is overlooked when we are looking to jump higher is because we think that we'll have to change our diet completely. That means that we either just won't try, or will go with a completely new eating plan and probably feel underfed, weak and just cause you to binge and drop the new diet.

It's really important that you change what you eat slowly and don't do it all at once. Add a high protein element to you meals and cut out one unhelpful item that will hinder you from reaching your jump goals. Gradually change your eating habits, but ideally work out where you want to end up once they have been changed. The best way to do this is to get a consultation with a nutritionist or basketball coach who has coached top level players. Ultimately though that is going to be pricey and it's going to be way better for your jump that you make some changes rather than none.