One of the most explosive physical movements executed in sport. In a number of sports, the higher the athlete is able to jump, the greater the prospects of success in that discipline. Even if you’ve been jumping since you were a kid, you need to learn the proper technique. If you are an athlete and you want to do a Vertical jump properly than here are some easy changes that you have to do.

We will discuss the following in this article:

• Start by doing the Proper Vertical Jump
• Bend on your Knees
• Power Jump
• The Ideal Jump Landing
• Some Additional Tips

Start by

Standing with your feet exactly hipbone width apart, not wider or closer. This stance should allow your legs to be stacked straight up and down from your feet to your hips. Your toes should point forward (every Toe from the big toe to the pinky toe should be facing forward — not turned outward or inward).Picture having headlights on your hipbones, kneecaps, and big toes. Make sure all of your headlights are facing straight ahead.

Adding a couple of lateral steps into your jumping routine can help you with some extra jump. The energy flourished in those steps can help generate additional upward lift that can put an extra inch or two into a vertical leap. To push off the ground, use the power of both of your legs even if you’re taking a few steps before you jump.

Bend on your Knees

You have to bend on your knees if you want to get the most power out of your legs and surely the most height into your jump. For some people it’s helpful to imagine sitting in an imaginary chair before you jump. Your feet should be about shoulder-width apart, and your hips should be flexed at 30 degrees, knees bent 60 degrees, ankles flexed 25 degrees in order to generate the most power without injuring your knees. While sitting in this squat form you should be able to lift your toes up and down, balancing on the balls of your feet.

Keep your knees as straight as possible, ideally positioned vertically over your toes and be careful with your back you got to keep it very straight while you’re jumping. So keep practice and use the imaginary chair to help you, also keep your back straight to avoid injury.

Power Jump

The next step is to focus on your legs and try to extend them with as much power as possible. You can imagine as you’re pushing the floor, or trying to push ground away from your body. The power that you put into this step will define the power and the height of your jump. If it’s properly done your feet should roll forward, from your heels to your toes as you jump off. You should feel pressure on your heels moving up your feet towards your toes as you come back to a standing position, normally, and in a jump you’ll do the same thing much more quickly. Remember roll all the way to your toes when you are jumping.

You need to keep your arms parallel to each other and move them just a little behind your rear and sway your arms forward as you are straightening your whole body. Also for more comfortable and fluid exhale as you approach the leap it’s important to exhale as you are pushing off into a big vertical jump. So breathe out as you leap.

The Ideal Jump Landing

It will allow an athlete to safely and efficiently absorb shock through the joints (hips, knees, and ankles) during the landing.  It also puts the body in the right position to rebound safely and powerfully. This movement comes fairly easily once trained. When you land, you should take care to land in such a way as to keep the kinematic chain going in a single plane from the ball of your foot through your ankle into your knee and finally through your hip joint.

Land with your whole foot and keep your weight evenly distributed from heel to toes. Avoid landing only on the balls of your feet. Ensure your knees are tracking over your foot and not caving in or falling outward Bend your knees slightly before you end to soften the impact on your knees. Let your knees absorb the momentum, falling into a partial squat, to absorb the shock. After you bend your joints when you land, you will transfer the force of landing into your muscles and tendons, as you know they are built to absorb and dissipate forces like this. So you can briefly store and release this energy elastically by moving forward into another jump.

TIPS

Don’t get scared or hesitate, do your workouts but do them short. Jump training is about short high quality efforts, than long low intensity work. Don’t lock your knees, avoid high impact. Flexing your knees allows the leg muscles to act as shock absorbers.

Don’t push yourself too hard, if your body tells you to stop than you need to listen to it. So if you are sore you don’t have to push yourself, and if pain is severe go and see a doctor. You may have pulled a muscle or sprained something.

Last but not least look before you jump, you can jump into something or someone dangerous.

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