How to Jump Higher if You Already Have a 30 Inch Verical?

The ability to jump higher is a goal that benefits people who play a range of sports. Basketball players, volleyball players and football payers are among the athletes whose vertical leap plays an important role in their ability to compete. An athlete who already has a 30-inch vertical leap has likely built the muscle groups responsible for jumping. To increase your vertical leap further, you will need to use specific exercises that target the muscles in the legs to produce greater leaping results.

Instructions

    • 1

      Lose weight. The power necessary to lift your body a certain distance off the ground is determined partially by the weight of your body. Losing weight will decrease the load on your jumping muscles. Concentrate on exercises that trim fat while building the muscles used to leap. Jumping high is about power-to-weight ratios. In automobiles, the engine that produces 100 horsepower can move a vehicle that weighs 2,000 pounds faster than a vehicle that weighs 3,000 pounds. The same is true for your body.

    • 2

      Stretch your muscle groups used in jumping for more flexibility. Jumping higher requires power and range of motion. The power exercises strengthen your muscles and the stretching allows your body to coil and extend with greater range to apply all of your strength throughout the leaping motion. Stretch your calves, gluteal muscles (buttocks), hamstrings and quadriceps. Your abdominal muscles (all the way around your torso) should also be flexible and strong to maintain stability throughout your trunk so that all of your effort is transferred to the leap.

    • 3

      Strengthen your main jumping muscles with resistance jumping exercises. The dumbbell hang pull targets your explosive muscle groups. Set you feet shoulder width apart. Place two dumbbells on your thighs. Lean forward while keeping your back straight and move the weights down your thigh until you have almost reached your knee. Straighten your body by pushing your legs into the ground. Extend your toes to lift your body off the ground and squeeze your buttocks and calves. Lift the dumbbells to your chest at the end of the explosive movement.

    • 4

      Perform squat exercises to strengthen your quadriceps and gluteal muscles. Overall strength of the muscles in your legs that provide lift is key to taking a 30-inch vertical leap and extending your average leap height. Choose from an array of squat exercises including the single leg lunge. Hold a dumbbell in each hand. Step forward with alternating legs no farther than half of your height in front of you. Lower the knee of the rear leg toward the ground before returning to the standing position. Any squat exercise that strengthens the quadriceps and gluteus muscles will build strength for leaping.

    • 5

      Train using plyometrics. Plyometrics are exercises that combine stretching with motions that increase flexibility and explosive motions that increase jumping power. Plyometric training should only be performed 1 to 3 times per weeks to allow your body to recover and reduce the stress on the joints in your knees and feet. Plyometrics are any exercises that involve a quick and explosive leap. The science behind the exercise suggests that coiling the muscles and springing them into action rapidly, versus a slow extension, works to most effectively increase speed and leaping ability. Jumping jacks or side straddle hops are types of primary plyometric exercises.