In order to enhance your vertical jump training and learn how to jump higher, you must know what you are doing and do the right exercises. Until you have achieved a certain fitness level, you should not engage into an intense jump training program.

Your fitness level can only improve if you overload your body, which is pushing your body beyond what you are already doing. You should have some cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, good nutritious diet, muscle endurance, along with flexibility. After that, you can challenge your body with more advance fitness exercises to increase your vertical. When you reached an adequate fitness level, your will be ready for an intense vertical jump training program.

Improve Your Fitness Level With These Exercises

1) Aerobic (or Cardiovascular) Exercises

Cardiovascular endurance is an achieved thorough regular aerobic exercise, which is a repetitive movement of large muscle groups over an extended period of time. Examples of aerobic exercises include jogging, swimming, rope jumping, and… of course playing basketball.

2) Enhance Muscle Strength

By applying resistance to a muscle group, you can increase muscle strength. Lifting weights is a good way of increasing muscle strength. Squats, lunges, calf exercises, are some examples in increasing strength for jumping higher.

3) Boost Muscle Endurance

When the muscle repeats movement over a period of time, muscle endurance is created. Muscle endurance increases in conjunction with muscle strength. With regular exercise, your muscles burn energy more efficiently and endure overloading for longer time. Running long distance for a long period of time is an example for building endurance.

4) Improve Joint and Muscle Flexibility

Joint flexibility refers to how much the joint can undergo as limited by the joint’s structure and surrounding connective tissues. Warming up and then stretching your calves, hamstring and quad muscles are important activity in preventing injuries and increasing your fitness level. Joint flexibility can also give dramatic increases in vertical jump.

5) Daily Nutritious Diet

First, you need to have a good diet and avoid junk food. Get plenty of protein; whey protein drinks are my favorite. Chicken or turkey is a good substitute. Also, get plenty of water and don’t cut out carbohydrates. They’re good for energy. Take a multivitamins and a supplement to protect your joints. A healthy diet means faster recovery time. Your body needs a chance to repair itself after going through the workouts

6) Remove Body Fat

If you are overweight, you should concentrate on building muscle and reducing that extra fat. Limiting your caloric intake, eating healthier foods and doing vigorous exercises will assist you in losing that excess weight.

Remember, these steps is only the beginning for your vertical jump program. After you have reached a good fitness level, you can increase your vertical explosion by doing plyometric exercises. Plyometric training will develop quick twitch muscle fibers needed to increase your vertical. Many athletes omit these exercises, resulting in them not drastically increasing their vertical jump.