Vertical Leap

Anyone have any sure-fire ways of increasing ones vertical jump? Also has anyone noticed any vertical increases when they included olympic style lifts (clean…etc.) into their program?

Thanks

Olympic lifts, if done properly. are very explosive
movements. That style of training is very good for
improving vertical leap. A bunch of guys that play on the
university basketball team near where I live train at the
same gym I do, and they swear that doing power cleans
improves their vertical.

A sure fire way to increase your verticle leap is simple. All you have to do is purchase a pair of strength shoes, and follow the program. They advertise in almost every body building mag. I have increased mine by 6in. They are unbeliviable.

I went from being able to hang on the rim to catching alleyhoops in about twelve weeks after I did some specialization work for my hamstings and glutes. I did the old Poliquin split for hammies in his book and finished that cycle with deadlifts and then powercleans. Im only 5`11 and i weigh in at around 230 pounds. The posterior chain is what makes the difference in jumping.

Another thing besides weights is to JUMP! I started lifting (long ago) and went from slapping the backboard to getting my fingers over the rim in about six weeks. From there after playing ball I would dunk tennis balls every way possible until I couldn’t do them anymore. Then you just move up from there(softballs, vollyballs etc) This was back in 1987 and I knew nothing about proper training techniques,plyometrics, or recovery periods. Incorporating a solid weight training program, dropping the bodyfat, and plyometrics will give even the most ground bound of people a little ups.

I went from 18 inches to a three step 48 inch. in 4 yrs. It took alot of pain & a smart program. If you truly want to jump high & run fast, you have to look for the “SECRETS” that are out there.
What got me my vertical? It’s called the “SuperCat”. All the Division I schools have it. ( The better ones do at least ) Many of the pro football & basketball teams have them. It’s made by a company called Powernetics.

Goldberg is right…build up the glutes and hammies, get as strong as you can…and then teach your body how to use that strength by dong olympic lifts, plyos, and even strength shoes. The strength shoes aren’t gonna work very good by themselves unless you’re already fairly strong.

if you use those platform shoe things please make sure you have good arch-support. Jumpsoles gave me 4" on my vert and 2 collapsed arches (now I have to put friggin orthotics in all my shoes). got better gains with OL. powersnatches and powercleans are great, but I also got alot out of jerking heavy weight(or doing jumpsquats with a simular depth dip and drive). this is the same rebound action you use to jump.

Do the Poliquin split for the posterior chain and use the Strength shoes concurrently but reduce the recommended volume. Do work to strengthen your arch during the time that you are wearing the shoes. Make sure that you have a 4-6 week volume followed by a 4-6 week intensity cycle on both programs

when i was in the service, i was 6’3", 180 libs and could not dunk (i can still hear the teasing) i did power cleans, and practiced vertical leaping and inside a couple of months, iwas up 3-4 inches.