exercises that increase your vertical leap?

what are some good exercises for increasing your vertical leap?does running help at all?thanks

I know back in high school there was a machine we used called the CAT. It had a place for weights in the front and a place for your shoulders to lift up, and you used your cav's to lift it. Damn my cavs burned like hell afterwards.

squats, any calf or quad exercise.
try measuring your vertical now, then checking on it every once in a while. you will see results and this will help motivate you toward your goals. (oh yeah, set a goal)
-try for a quick contraction.

Leg press, calf raises, leg extensions

The big thing for vert. is ham strings.
I never really concentrated on jumps, but jump squats using moderately light weight helped me touch rim at 5'8" :smokin:

Use a smith machine and just....jump comin out of your squat

3 or 4 sets of 10 should be sufficient

hamstring?!!! they help you run, but not jump.
-i always thought the calf muscle was a large portion of the vertical. they used to make those special shoes to help develop the calves.

i heard running stairs works to increase it a little,is that true?

think about it kitted...
What motion are you doin with ur doin squats?
Now compare that to the motion that u do from a flatfooted jump...calves are important too, but without good hams, it wouldn't be very high of a jump...

when doing squats you are mainly using your quads and glutes. your hamstrings ONLY help stabilize. do you use your biceps when doing bench press?
-muscles pull, they do not push.
by my previous posts, people should understand that i know quite a lot about this material.
-oh yeah, i will have a phd in anatomy (among other things) in the future.

If you are white then give it up. White men can't jump.
:smile:

Oh OK i see what ur sayin!
There's no way a ham string could do what i was talkin about... I Usually base what muscles are being "worked" by the size growth...squats made my hams huge. Now that i think about it i realize i'm an idiot...Quads pull your leg back strait once u're in he squat position! ;) gotcha
I need to Seperate what i've been taught from what is rational

skipping :p

Depth jumps. Find a bench and jump off it, when you hit the ground bend the legs a little and explode back up into the air straight away as hard as you can.

stay away from the leg machines
when on a machine your sitting down or squatting your using your legs and your pushing against your back.. have you ever done a squat in the middle of a basketball game
the key is functional training
do a super leg workout

24 squats(no weights just your own body weight) immediately to
24 Alternating lungs(12 each leg) immediately to
24 Alternating box jumps immediately to
12 squat jumps

do this as fast as with a lot of control with each jump when finshed with the set rest 5 mins then do it again 3 sets.

this will help with your vertical,speed,endurance and balance

try this work out and let me know how ya feel

Leg machines are fine, as long as you use them properly. I dont do squats when I race either but they sure as hell give you bang for your buck in terms of building muscle.

Also try jefferson lifts. Dont treat your legs lightly, they walk run jump EVERY day. They need a good bit of stress to get them changing.

theres a program called plyometrics that enhances your quads, calves, and ham strings. search on the internet for that, and stick to it. we do it in school for football and basketball, and it certainly makes a difference in your vertical leap.

I'm at 28" right now, and over the summer I hope to be at 34"

probably the best program out there is aware jump
it reeeeaaaaly works, oooh man, i'm so grateful and excited and i can't thank him enough. seriously, i've tried loooots of programs and most them are GARBAGE. they are not as close as the claim to be. that's why they just want to take your money. yes you will gain something like 3 maybe 4 inches max.

i gained 11 inches. maybe 12 with aware jump. the website is:

www.aware-jump.com

hope that helps, it has some really helpful and effective exercises.

Shmole

Do Olympic lifts such as clean, hang clean, clean and jerk, ect. Anything with explosive movement will help a ton. Also freeweight squats are the best. Stick to freeweights because you are getting that extra bang for your buck working the stabilizers.

Use leg weights. you know the ones that strap on your leg. walk around with that where you go.

i was always more into machines then free weights when it came to my legs. while i totally agree with what the guys are saying. my left knee is bad(and i broke my femur a while back), i mean really bad, and i also have atrophie throughout my left foot. alot of my problem is lack of control... i have nerve damage which means feeling is shot, and 40% motor control has been shot for the rest of my life (im 18 by the way) from mid shin down. things like leg presses really helped me. because i cant balance myself, unless i have a wall handy or something to hang onto, but normal squats are out for me. i have to use smith machines if i want to use weights. but just squats really helped me, along with things like stair running (ask any guy who does it, it is a killer work out), leg extensions, ham curls, leg presses. also running using verying styles, like do .5 mile running normal, .5 high knees, .5 backward... there are others i just cant remember.

Use leg weights. you know the ones that strap on your leg. walk around with that where you go.

these i disagree with though (if you are refering to ankle weights) they screw with your knees. well it could be helpful with good knees but if they are bad... then no. ( i remember lots of ice, and heating pads on my knees from wearing them. only after that did the doc tell me to stop using them.)

these i disagree with though (if you are refering to ankle weights) they screw with your knees. well it could be helpful with good knees but if they are bad... then no. ( i remember lots of ice, and heating pads on my knees from wearing them. only after that did the doc tell me to stop using them.)

I second that. That will really screw up your joints. If you want to wear ankle weights wear them on a stair stepper or something.

something that might get you going though on using "day weights"< like the ankle weights. that would be a weight vest. ive seen them in aywhere from 20 to 200 lbs, made of different composites, some have sand, others steel plates, and others yet lead plates. we made 75 lb poor man weight vests that rested out on our pads (when i was playing football> before my knee was blown out) which were ankle weights sewed together. they really helped. when i started using them i was running an 8 minute mile (12 with the weights) a month later i was running 8's with the weights and 6 without then by the end of the summer i was doing 13 minute 2 mile with and was running 5min miles(w/o the vest) < with some mad endurence, im talking i could run a 3/4 mile on flat sprint, 3 miles was nothin. but also remember this was football practice we were doing more then just running. but i attribute my quickness from slingin around that damn vest/

In my opinion, "hops" (jumping high) come natural. Either you got it or you don't!! I knew guys who are 6 feet tall and were very strong in leg excercises but couldn't dunk, let alone touch the rim. One way that may help you is stand underneath a basketball goal, then jump and touch the backboard. Repeat this process until you get tired (each jump higher and higher). Lots of walking lunges might help too.

In my opinion, "hops" (jumping high) come natural. Either you got it or you don't!! I knew guys who are 6 feet tall and were very strong in leg excercises but couldn't dunk, let alone touch the rim. One way that may help you is stand underneath a basketball goal, then jump and touch the backboard. Repeat this process until you get tired (each jump higher and higher). Lots of walking lunges might help too.

that might take a while for some people. but i do disagree with the first part, before i was doing leg presses i couldnt touch our hallway cieling, now i can palm it and i havnt grown at all so i know its not me being taller.

that might take a while for some people. but i do disagree with the first part, before i was doing leg presses i couldnt touch our hallway cieling, now i can palm it and i havnt grown at all so i know its not me being taller.

I guess what I'm saying is back in the day, there were lots of friends of mine, myself included NEVER worked our legs and some could jump high and some could'nt. I'm sure strengthening your legs would help (even though you should work them regardless).

i dunno how old you are there mars, but you are right. my dad could do an amazing mile. he was really built when he was younger. but you gotta think, now kids arent running, not out playing sports, most of the time kids are playing video games, or online. then when you get older, car, job, money, and girls take over. its sad really.

i dunno how old you are there mars, but you are right. my dad could do an amazing mile. he was really built when he was younger. but you gotta think, now kids arent running, not out playing sports, most of the time kids are playing video games, or online. then when you get older, car, job, money, and girls take over. its sad really.

Unless you get a physical labor job then you'll do double duty :D

literally my favorate jobs are the labor intensive ones. the ones you feel the next morning. for instance i work at a garage, and those rumble bee rims are 60 lbs(give or take), w/o tires. and when you are wrenching that around into those damn studs, you really get a work out. especially when you gotta step back and giver her another try. that and when you are lifting trannies and motors, to move them out of the way.

I prefer my computer job :D

well my knees are already bad, but computer jobs i hear give you some serious carple tunnel. also you can get posture problems (my dad is one he has disc problems, and when he doesnt pay attention to it, his hands eill go numb, or he'll get shots of pain down his sides and arms.

well my knees are already bad, but computer jobs i hear give you some serious carple tunnel. also you can get posture problems (my dad is one he has disc problems, and when he doesnt pay attention to it, his hands eill go numb, or he'll get shots of pain down his sides and arms.

Well I have no problems and I spend a considerable amount of time on the comptuer between school and home. Then at work I'll spend like 5 hours straight (I only work 15 hours a week) at a computer. Never had any problems and doubt I will. Just make sure your wrists are up.

squats,leg press, just about any leg work-out that builds muscle helps out a lot. I know they do. In high school I did a lot of leg work because I was a tailback. Since I've been out of school, I've lost 5" OFF MY JUMP!(ok maybe 3 1/2) I can't dunk anymore. But recently I've been in the gym and i'm going to get that back.

Just stay away from the machines? Is jumping doen on a machine or does something stabalize you while you jump? No, it's a natural movement. The best way to improve this natural movement is to do free weight exercises that allow natural movement. Alsoi go high weight low reps if you want to build those muscles. You have fast twitch and slow twitch muscles. The fast twicth are what you want to build because they are the power muscles. This is acheived by high weight low reps.

he's got a point, think little stabilizer muscles, anyone who has gone from machine to free weights, or bar, to bum bells knows what those stabilizer muscles do. but if you are semi disabled (ie bad knees, no control due to nerve damage, scar tissue from surgery, ect) machines will help prevent injury. but once you start making some gains then go to free weights.

one other thing about the machines is lots of them are designed to be able to use just one leg (do this so your strong leg doesnt take over). this can also help you build up your "weak" leg, or non dominant leg.

See I've been lifting so long my strength between my both my arms and both my legs are the same. I don't have an imbalance. My left arm is just as strong as my right arm and my right leg is just as strong as my left leg.