Another pro tip: \u201cWhen it comes to jump training, I like to focus on unilateral movements, which means working one side of the body at a time,\u201d says Washington. \u201cSo that could be single-leg step-ups, single-leg lunges\u2014anything single-leg is really going to [help] increase our vertical jump simple because, when we\u2019re working one leg at a time, we\u2019re able to really build up that strength for our take-off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Exercises for Jumping Higher<\/p>\n
Now for the meat and potatoes. What specific moves can help you jump higher?<\/p>\n
Power exercises<\/p>\n
For power training, Antoni recommends plyometrics<\/a> (exercises that involve explosive movement<\/a>, usually different types of jumps, skips, and hops) and ballistic exercises (training in which an \u201cexternal load is projected into a flight phase<\/a>\u201d\u2014most often throwing or swinging a weighted object).<\/p>\n There are a lot of options for power exercises, says Gambino, but \u201cthe key is that these are things that allow you to move fast.\u201d<\/p>\n Some examples of power exercises that can help with jumping higher include:<\/p>\n Speed exercises<\/p>\n Zooming in a little, there are two buckets of speed exercises that can help increase your power.<\/p>\n \u201cSpeed-strength is an exercise with no weight, done quickly\u2014like fast squats, fast pushups, fast jumping up and down,\u201d says Antoni. \u201cAnd then you\u2019ve got strength-speed, which is those exercises, but under stress.\u201d Examples of strength-speed exercises include using a light load (or small weight) during squats or jumps.<\/p>\n Strength exercises<\/p>\n We\u2019ll get to the lower-body exercises, I promise\u2014but not until we talk about your core. \u201cWhere most of our power stability [for jumping] comes is through the trunk,\u201d says Antoni.<\/p>\n\n