How many vertical jumps should I do in a session?

Five sets of 3 jumps with 30 to 60 seconds between reps, done early in a session while you are fresh, is a full dose. Stop the set the moment a jump lands short of the one before, since you are training height rather than tolerance. Twice a week is plenty, with a max test every few weeks.

How do I make the vertical jump easier or harder?

Easier: jump to a submaximal target, keep your hands on your hips to take the arm swing out, or jump onto a low box so the landing is shorter. Harder: start from a dead standstill with no countermovement, hold light dumbbells, jump off one leg, or add a step or two of approach. If landings bother your knees, jump onto a box and step down.

What is training the vertical jump good for?

It develops lower-body power and the ability to produce force fast, which is what basketball, volleyball and most field sports run on, and it doubles as an honest test of progress. It is a poor conditioning tool, because high reps make the jumps slow and train the wrong quality, and a poor choice on legs already tired from squatting. Sore knees or Achilles tendons mean landing on a box first.

Intermediate

Vertical Jump

The vertical jump is the cleanest test of lower-body power there is, and training it teaches you to link a fast dip with an explosive extension of the hips, knees, and ankles. Reaching for a fixed overhead target keeps every rep honest and maximal. Program it fresh and early in a session for low reps with full rest, since fatigue erodes the exact quality you are chasing.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Glutes, Quads
Type: Plyometric
Browse by muscle: Gluteus Maximus, Rectus Femoris, Vastus Lateralis
Browse by movement: Squat

How to do it

1
Stand tall with feet hip-width and weight balanced over the mid-foot.
2
Swing both arms back and dip quickly into a quarter squat to load the legs.
3
Reverse the dip without pausing, throwing the arms up as you extend hips, knees, and ankles.
4
Reach one hand as high as possible toward a target at the peak of the jump.
5
Land softly on both feet in a quarter squat, letting the hips sink to absorb the impact.
6
Reset fully to standing before the next maximal effort.

Tips

Time the arm swing with the leg drive; a mistimed swing leaves inches on the table.
Keep the countermovement quick and shallow rather than sinking into a slow, deep squat.
Chase full triple extension in the air, finishing with the body long and the toes pointed down.

Variations

Common mistakes

Knees collapse inward on the landing, which is the riskiest half-second of the rep; land with the knees tracking over the toes and the hips travelling back.
Sets of fifteen turn a power drill into conditioning, and after four or five jumps the height drops; every rep past that trains a slower jump.
Tucking the knees up in the air makes the jump feel higher without moving your hips any higher; measure against a fixed reach and let the target settle the argument.
The chest pitches forward in the countermovement so the hips shoot back like a deadlift, which sends the drive out behind you instead of straight up.
The next rep starts before you have finished the last one; stand tall, settle your feet and breathe, because a rushed setup is a jump you never fully loaded.

Frequently asked

How many vertical jumps should I do in a session?: Five sets of 3 jumps with 30 to 60 seconds between reps, done early in a session while you are fresh, is a full dose. Stop the set the moment a jump lands short of the one before, since you are training height rather than tolerance. Twice a week is plenty, with a max test every few weeks.
How do I make the vertical jump easier or harder?: Easier: jump to a submaximal target, keep your hands on your hips to take the arm swing out, or jump onto a low box so the landing is shorter. Harder: start from a dead standstill with no countermovement, hold light dumbbells, jump off one leg, or add a step or two of approach. If landings bother your knees, jump onto a box and step down.
What is training the vertical jump good for?: It develops lower-body power and the ability to produce force fast, which is what basketball, volleyball and most field sports run on, and it doubles as an honest test of progress. It is a poor conditioning tool, because high reps make the jumps slow and train the wrong quality, and a poor choice on legs already tired from squatting. Sore knees or Achilles tendons mean landing on a box first.

Related exercises

Other movements among FitRay's 2,000+ exercises that load the same target muscle — same equipment and level first.

All Glutes exercises