The perfect vertical jump training program is going to utilize vertical jump exercises to help increase your vertical jump for basketball, volleyball, football, and soccer.
The very best vertical jump exercises are going to be those you do with equipment such as dumbbells or medicine balls, without weights or equipment, and those that can be done at both the gym and at home. Focusing on explosive jump training movements could take you from a 30-inch vertical to a 40-inch vertical in a matter of a few short months.
Your vertical jump training program should focus on workouts that train not only the body, but muscles ideal for jumping with great power and force.
Vertical jump exercises like squats and lunges are great for increasing your vertical, but it’s how you do them that will take you from a mediocre jumper to one that can easily dunk a basketball.
Let’s start at the top:
Here are my 20 Vertical Jump Exercises to get you jumping out of the gym.
The 20 Best Vertical Jump Exercises:
#20 Glute Bridge
One of the best ways to increase your vertical jump is by improving your glute power and explosiveness.
Many people think that your calves and quads are the most important jumper muscles.
Little do they know, the glutes also greatly contribute to a leapers ability to hit that 40-inch vertical jump mark.
One study showed that in order to maximize vertical jump height 12% of your leg muscle volume should come from the gluteus muscles.
If you’re not working your glutes optimally, you could be losing 3”-5” on your vertical jump.
The glute bridge is a great way to fix that.
Make sure you do the exercise with power and explosiveness.
You can do a glute bride with dumbbells, a barbell across the waist, lying flat on the ground or with your shoulder blades across a bench.
You can also do this jump training exercise without equipment. Just lie on your back, bend your knees, and lift your glutes towards the ceiling, squeezing at the top.
#19 Hamstring Curls
Hamstrings are also a more important muscle group than many people think in order to increase vertical jump quickly.
One study showed that in order to maximize vertical jump height 18% of your leg muscle volume should come from the hamstrings.
It’s challenging to find a good way to exercise your hamstrings in an effective manner.
One of the best ways to do this is on a hamstring curl machine at your gym.
Another way to work the hamstring is with a stability ball or suspension trainer.
Just lie on your back and put your heals on the ball or in the suspension trainer straps. Drive your heals down, lift your hips and pull your heals toward you explosively.
#18 Leg Press
A great exercise to work your quads is with the leg press.
It’s smart to work various angles of your leg muscles with the leg press by where you point your toes and your knees.
Target the bulk of your quad muscles with a standard press. Remember to drive through your heals and turn your toes and knees out slightly.
Target your inner thighs by placing your feet on the outside of the platform and turning your toes out.
You can also vary this exercise by doing single or two-legged presses.
One study showed that in order to maximize vertical jump height, 52% of your leg muscle volume should come from the vastus muscle group or quads.
#17 Deadlift with Resistance Bands
A great way to increase the standup power in your legs and back is with a deadlift.
The deadlift will allow you to explosively propel your body upwards.
You can do this jump training exercise with dumbbells or with a loaded barbell.
Add some resistance bands to the outside of the barbell, making it more difficult to drive the bar all the way to the top.
This will help challenge the entirety of the muscle and make for a much more complete lift.
#16 Medicine Ball Broad Jumps
A great vertical jump exercise to add to your workout routine is the medicine ball broad jump.
Broad jumps will help you develop power and explosiveness, allowing you to safely transfer from a horizontal jump to a vertical jump.
Grab a med ball, squat and jump forward as far as you can. You can add side jumps and backwards jumps to the mix as well.
Make it even more challenging by putting on a weight vest for the jumps.
Make sure to drive with the glutes and jump for maximum distance.
#15 Medicine Ball Box Jumps
Right after the med ball broad jump, go right into med ball box jumps.
Start at a moderate jumping level and work your way up over time as you get stronger and can safely move up.
Train your body to act like its jumping into the air for a rebound, dunk, block or spike.
This natural jumping motion will train you for real life situations.
You can also test yourself and improve your jump height over time.
#14 Sprints
One of the best ways to increase explosive power is by sprinting.
Sprinting trains your body to drive your legs down and back as quickly as possible.
Your calves, quads, hams and glutes all become power generating machines.
Throw some sprints into your workouts twice a week and watch your vertical jump height increase inch by inch.
Add extra resistance with a parachute, a weighted sled or just have your friend hold you back.
#13 Lateral Leg Raises/Band Walks
One vertical jump exercise you can do at home are side leg raises and lateral band walks.
Often neglected, the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus need work as well.
These two muscles are going to help protect your knees, so you don’t develop patellar tendonitis over time.
A weak gluteus medius is often the underlying reason for knee pain and injury, including ACL injuries.
A strong gluteus medius stabilizes the hip and helps to maintain proper tracking in the knee joint, reducing lateral stress on the knee.
Grab a monster band and start walking side to side.
If you don’t have a monster band, just lift your leg sideways as high as you can.
Lay on your side to do this and add ankle weights for move resistance.
You have to protect your knees. Grab these CANWAY monster bands and protect your knees and hips with band walks.
#12 Romanian Deadlifts
Romanian deadlifts are another great vertical jump exercise primarily used to train your glutes and hamstrings.
Many people like to do good mornings but the single leg Romanian deadlift forces you to stabilize your body and keep your balance as you do the exercise.
By doing this exercise, you can create single leg explosive power.
According to one study by the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, the Romanian Deadlift is the best exercise for the glutes.
If you want more detail on Romanian Deadlifts, check out my article: How to PROPERLY Do a Romanian Deadlift with Dumbbells (RDL’s)
#11 Sumo Squat
Some of the most underdeveloped muscles a jumper needs are going to be the inner thighs.
Men naturally are not as strong in this region of the body but need these muscles to be strong and powerful to create a high vertical leap.
As the knees spread farther and farther apart, the sumo squat begins to target these muscles more and more.
These muscles are going to have the most growth potential and should be exercised slowly and safely over time to make sure you avoid a tear.
The inner thigh muscles are crucial to get those extra vertical jump inches.
#10 Jump Rope
Jumping rope is a great vertical jump exercise you can do at home or at the gym or park.
Try to mix in single leg and double jumps to really stress the calf muscles and make it more challenging for them.
Try side to side jumps, scissor jumps, and front to back jumps.
Anything you can do to make the exercise more challenging will be necessary to get maximum power.
A strong pair of calves could be the difference between grabbing the rim and dunking a basketball.
#9 Depth Jump
One of the best vertical jump exercises is the depth jump.
These intense, plyometric exercises allows you to overload the stretch reflex and create a more powerful ground force reaction.
To do this exercise, you need to stand upon a 1-2’ tall box, drop off the box and land into a soft, deep squat, and immediately bounding as high as you can onto another much higher box.
If you have weak or unstable knees, it might be smarter to just start from the ground for your jump and simply step safely off the box without jumping.
#8 Stadium Stairs with Dumbbells
Another great jump training exercise with dumbbells are stair climbers.
If you have a local stadium you can do these at, grab your dumbbells or med ball and start running up them as fast and safely as you can.
After a few sets of these, your legs will be on fire and your body will be exhausted.
Pair these with sprints and jump squats or lunges and you’ll have one of the most challenging leg workouts possible.
Sprint and stair days are dreadful but if you can get through it, you will feel a rush of adrenaline when you are done.
#7 Split Squat
Split squats are a great way to destabilize your legs and focus your attention on the inner and outer thighs for stability and strength.
Like the sumo squat, a split squat will develop the smaller muscles that aren’t as targeted during a traditional squat.
This is a great vertical jump exercise to do at home because you only need a pair of dumbbells and a bench, chair, couch or stair to hook your back leg on.
Make this exercise more challenging by jumping with your front leg as high as you can.
You can also add bands or chains to the lift to make it much harder at the top of the lift.
#6 Weighted Jumps
Weighted jumps are a perfect way for you to practice jumping under the stress of extra weight.
Either hold a pair of dumbbells or throw on a weight vest.
If you use the weight vest, it will be easier to mimic a jumping motion.
You can also incorporate lunge jumps and sumo jumps to your weighted jump routine.
#5 Suspension Strap Pikes
One thing people often forget is how much they stress their ab region when making such an explosive jumping movement.
Add suspension strap pikes to your vertical jump workout list to make sure your core is in tip top shape.
Your abs, obliques, and hip flexors will be challenged to keep your body stable during the plank and pike stages of the lift.
Try not to let your hips sag and keep your abs engaged the entire time.
#4 High Knees
High knees should be a part of everyone’s vertical jump training program.
Helping your calves, quads, and hip flexors to be quick and explosive make this a must add exercise to your vertical jump workout.
Make it more challenging by spreading your legs farther apart and bounding side to side.
This will train the outside of your legs for a quick ground strike, making you faster and more explosive.
#3 Glider Lunges
Any time you can make an exercise safely unstable you should.
Gliders are going to challenge your legs to keep from collapsing the farther you spread them apart.
Use some glider to make your lunges difficult.
Add some dumbbells to make the exercise even more difficult.
You can do reverse lunges, side lunges and curtsy lunges with great resistance.
The inner thighs are really going to feel the burn with these exercises
Make sure to do these slowly and safely on the way down, explosively on the way up.
#2 Kettlebell Swing with Resistance Bands
The kettlebell swing is one of the best exercises for improving your vertical jump.
Sitting back into a squat and driving the hips through during a kettlebell swing help mimic the action the vertical jump.
The legs are going to get a great workout with this exercise.
Make it more challenging by standing on a resistance band and wrapping it around the kettlebell. This will not only further challenge your glutes, but will give your shoulders a great workout as well.
Try this: Challenging 8-Minute FAT BURNING Kettlebell HIIT Workout
#1 Vertical Jump Training Exercise: Seated Back Squat with Resistance Bands
The #1 Vertical Jump Training Exercise is the seated back squat with resistance bands.
This exercise forces you to drive your body up with leg and back power through the entirety of the lift.
The bands make it more challenging at the top of the exercise, the point at which you need to continue accelerating upwards to finish the lift.
This vertical jump exercise will challenge the glutes, quads, hamstings, and back.
You can even add a little toe raise to the lift at the end.
To do this, grab a bench or stable platform to sit on at the bottom of your squat.
In squat postiion, unrack the weights and slowly squat down onto the bench.
Lift your heals slightly off the ground, then immediatly drive them back into the ground driving vertical with explosive force.
The bands attached to the outside of the bar should provide you added resistance all the way to the top of the lift.
Here are some Exercises to Pair with Deadlifts and Squats (Supersets)
Summary: 20 Vertical Jump Exercises
There are hundreds of vertical jump training exercises out there but it’s smart to tailor your workouts towards the ones that give you the most bang for your buck. Remember to do the exercises explosively, safely and with correct form. If you incorporate these exercises into your vertical jump training program, you could see large increases in your vertical leap within a months’ time. Keep these exercises in your pocket and pull them out when your ready to go for that 40-inch vertical.
If you need the exercise equipment for the exercises above, grab these 20 ESSENTIAL Pieces of Functional Training Equipment
