When I was younger, I could jump as high as a mouse could fly…ok…bad analogy…but you get the picture.

I couldn’t jump.

I also didn’t have any of the knowledge about training that I do now. My knowledge at that time was limited to what the people around me told me and what I read on less-than-bad, basketball training websites.

But then I started to get some good info from some good sources. Although I didn’t fully understand it all (actually, I understood very little of it), I knew some things for sure…or I thought I did.

The new sources I had found were telling me that to jump higher, you had to get stronger. Period.

If you got stronger, you would be jumping higher.

So, I took that to heart.

I squatted. I deadlifted. I lunged. And I got stronger.

But, I wasn’t jumping higher…

So, imagine, at this point I’m like, “What the heck?” They say get stronger to jump higher…the science says get stronger to jump higher…I got stronger…and I’m not jumping higher.

(and here is the point in the story where I tell you what was going on….SUSPENSE…HUGE, OBVIOUS REVELATION COMING…)

So, why was I not jumping higher even though my strength had increased drastically?

Intermuscular coordination (like you’d expect anything less from me?).

Seriously, don’t worry about that long, boring term!

Let’s just call it “skill”. Intermuscular coordination=skill.

So…the reason I wasn’t jumping higher was because of skill?

…let’s delve into this one…

Jumping is a skill. Like anything else, the more your practice it, the better you get at it. Like, if you want to get faster, you would do form of speed training.

And if you want to jump higher, you would need to some form of jump training.

So, although I was getting stronger, I was only increasing my potential for jumping higher. That’s why I wasn’t becoming a kangaroo on the court. If I had been getting stronger and simultaneously working on my jumping, I would have been well on my way to becoming a freak basketball player.

And that’s what today’s lesson in how to jump higher is all about; that jumping higher is a skill that requires some practice.

It’s why you probably have some basketball teammates who never lift weights, but might practice their jumping all the time and see improvements in the vertical jump.

But, here are the kickers (don’t act like you didn’t know they were coming):

• If you all did was practice jumping, you’d see some improvements, but only up to a certain point, a point you would reach rather quickly. Why? Well, you can only get so good at it. Once you hit that point where you’re coordination in jumping is cash money, you’re going to need to find other ways to keep upping it (strength, shock methods, etc.).

• When you do work on your jumping, it needs to be of the highest quality (read that one again…super important). If you’re practicing your jumping by doing 10 jumps every minute, you’re going to get tired. When you’re tired, your coordination suffers…and then you’re not getting any better at it. Keep this training for when you’re fresh and allow enough rest time between reps to make sure you’re fresh and ready for each jump.

So, those are your two main “things to remember when trying to jump higher”.

Now, how can apply this to your own training?

Easy, just throw it in before your basketball workouts or scrimmages, when you’re fresh. Do 10-20 good, clean, high-quality jumps a couple times a week, and you’re bank.

Or, you can do it before your training workouts. Again, high-quality and all-out, 10-20 reps, each with enough rest in between (30-60 seconds is good for most).

To close this freaking awesome article up, let’s go back to when I realized my error in jump training and what happened after my epiphany and I started adding in some jump practice…my vertical jump finally started going up… that’s it, end of story, what else could you possibly want, my hands are tired from typing, go use this information and start flying! ☺

How to Jump Higher Part I

How to Jump Higher Part II

How to Jump Higher Part III

How to Jump Higher Part IV

How to Jump Higher Part V

How to Jump Higher Part VI

How to Jump Higher Part VII

*This is the first installment of a several part series all about HOW TO JUMP HIGHER.* Read the rest of this entry »

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