Do I Have to Be Tall to Jump Higher?

This is the most common question asked by aspiring basketball players. And the most common and perhaps the most flawed answer given is "Yes". And I say RUBBISH to that.

Let's go through this logically. If you are 6 foot tall, then to reach up to grab a book from the top shelf of a 7 foot bookshelf won't be hard. Yes, you may have to stretch your hand up a few inches, but it certainly won't be taxing. But the important thing to note is that you are not jumping, you are merely stretching. If you are 5 foot tall, then you may have to jump to get to that book on the top shelf. Let's explore this further - I'm sure you have heard of James LeBron and Spud Webb?

James LeBron - standing at 6'8'' and 250 lbs, has a 41 inch vertical.

Spud Webb - He was one of the shortest players in the NBA, standing only 5'7", yet he won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 1986. He had an amazing vertical of 42 inches!

So we have a 5'7" player with a longer vertical than that of a player of height 6'8"! I think you get the picture now. You don't need height to jump higher.

Definition 1: Vertical leaps require force to push you off the ground. Note, not HEIGHT but FORCE.

If we were to explore through this further, we would arrive at the following conclusion: Jumping high can be attributed to:

1. POWER
2. SPEED
3. TECHNIQUE

Importantly, one requires all three to condition into an all rounded athlete.

POWER: Focus on strength training, specifically AROUND the quads and calves. Squats hops, depth jumps, thrust ups, deadlifts and reverse toe raises and such are examples. What we're trying to do here is to strengthen the shin and hamstring muscles. Note - we're not strengthening the muscles that we normally associate with increasing our vertical jump like the calf muscle or quad muscles, but on the contrary, the muscles around these. The reason for this is the major jumping muscles will not produce their max capable power unless their opposite muscle is strong enough to handle it.
It is very important to have a dedicated schedule over a period of a few weeks just on strengthening your muscle groups.

SPEED: Focus on cardiovascular exercises here, specifically high intensity cardio like sprints. Another good exercise is jumping rope. Not only does it give you some cardio exercise but it uses some of the muscles needed for jumping.

When all your muscles are stronger they complement each other and with the combination of your new found speed, you will begin to really feel the difference.

TECHNIQUE: Now you need to focus specifically on exercises that purely focus on the vertical - dynamic step overs, split scissor jumps. Work on your footwork, get the right balance between your power and speed.

Continue focussing on your POWER, SPEED and TECHNIQUE until you get to your optimal vertical. Good luck.

sensations