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Kettlebell exercises

Vertical Jump: How to Jump Higher With Better Technique

Dip fast with your arms swinging back, then drive through the floor and reach as high as you can. Land soft and quiet, and build to your best jump.

2 min read · In Power · Upward

Why it works: Chapter 13, Why stretching your hamstrings will not loosen them

How to do it

  1. 1

    Start small

    The first jumps of the set are not maximal. Hop, land soft, hop a little higher. You build to the top of the set; you don't open on it.

  2. 2

    Load and go

    Dip fast, hips and knees bending together to whatever depth feels natural, and turn it around at once with no pause at the bottom. The dip is a spring, not a squat.

  3. 3

    Arms are part of it

    Swing them down with the dip and up hard as you leave the floor. They are worth real height and most people waste them.

  4. 4

    Reach at the top

    Pick something above you and go for it. A jump you are not trying to win is just a hop.

  5. 5

    Land quiet

    Land on the balls of your feet and let your heels come down, knees and hips bending to soak it up, knees over your toes. A loud landing is a landing you didn't control.

  6. 6

    The test

    Every rep should be the same height or higher than the last. The moment one drops, the set is done: you're training power, not endurance.

Watch for

  • Pausing at the bottom of the dip. The spring goes out of it and the jump comes out lower.
  • Leaving the arms out. You lose height a hard arm swing would have given you.
  • Landing stiff-legged or loud. The impact goes into your knees and back instead of your muscles soaking it up.
  • Knees caving in on the landing. The load lands on the inside of the knee instead of being shared by the hips.

Questions

How do I jump higher?

Dip fast and turn it around without a pause, swing your arms hard, and aim for something above you. Over weeks, a few all-out jumps at a time, stopped before the height drops, raise it, and so do stronger legs and hips from your bell work.

How deep should you dip in a vertical jump?

Deep enough to load, fast enough to spring: for most people somewhere between a quarter and a half squat. A deeper dip can add height as long as it stays fast; a slow dip with a pause at the bottom loses it.

Vertical jump or broad jump?

Both are all-out jumps with nothing in your hands; one sends you up, the other forward. The vertical jump is the gentler of the two, because you land straight down instead of having to stop moving forward.

How many vertical jumps, and how often?

Vertical jumps open the Power · Upward routine: 3 jumps a set, two to four sets, resting until you feel fresh, with small hops first. End a set the moment a jump comes out lower than the last. There is no daily target: jump when your training day has that routine.