How to Increase Your Vertical Jump: 15 Proven Methods

Whether you want to dunk a basketball, spike a volleyball, or simply become a more explosive athlete, increasing your vertical jump is one of the most sought-after goals in sports training. The good news is that with the right approach, almost everyone can add significant inches to their vertical.

This guide covers 15 proven methods for increasing your vertical leap, organized from the most impactful to the supplementary strategies that round out a complete training approach.

The Big Movers: Training Methods With the Highest Impact

1. Barbell Back Squats

Heavy squats are the single most effective exercise for building the raw leg strength that powers your vertical jump. Research consistently shows a strong correlation between squat strength and jump height. Athletes who can squat 2 times their body weight almost always have impressive verticals.

How to implement: Squat 2 to 3 times per week, using a mix of heavy sets (3-5 reps at 80-90% of your max) and moderate sets (6-8 reps at 70-80%). Prioritize depth. Going below parallel recruits more muscle fibers and develops strength through a greater range of motion.

2. Depth Jumps

Depth jumps are the gold standard of plyometric exercises for vertical jump development. You step off a raised platform, absorb the landing, and immediately explode upward as high as possible. This trains the stretch-shortening cycle, which is the elastic recoil mechanism that adds inches to your jump.

How to implement: Start with a box height of 12 to 18 inches. Perform 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps with full recovery between sets (2-3 minutes). Quality matters far more than quantity. Only do these when you are fresh and have a strength base.

3. Power Cleans and Hang Cleans

Olympic lift variations develop rate of force development, the ability to produce maximum force in minimum time. This is arguably more important for jumping than absolute strength. A power clean requires you to explosively extend your hips, knees, and ankles simultaneously, which directly mirrors the biomechanics of jumping.

How to implement: Perform 4 to 6 sets of 2 to 3 reps at 70-85% of your max. Focus on speed and technique rather than grinding out heavy reps. If you are unfamiliar with Olympic lifts, seek coaching before adding them to your routine.

4. Plyometric Box Jumps

Box jumps develop explosive power while teaching your body to produce maximum force quickly. They are also lower impact than depth jumps since you land on an elevated surface, reducing the eccentric stress on your joints.

How to implement: Use a challenging but manageable box height. Perform 4 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps. Step down (do not jump down) between reps to reduce joint stress. For more plyometric exercises, see our guide on plyometric exercises for vertical jump.

5. Bulgarian Split Squats

Single-leg strength is critical because most athletic movements (including many types of jumps) are initiated from one leg. Bulgarian split squats develop unilateral strength and address muscle imbalances that can limit your jumping potential.

How to implement: Perform 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps per leg with dumbbells or a barbell. Keep your front shin relatively vertical and drive through the heel and midfoot.

Intermediate Impact Methods

6. Reactive and Repeated Jumps

Training your body to absorb and redirect force rapidly is critical for athletic jumping. Repeated tuck jumps, hurdle hops, and bounding drills improve your ability to spend less time on the ground (reducing ground contact time) while producing more force.

How to implement: Incorporate 2 to 3 reactive jumping exercises into your plyometric sessions. Start with 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps and progress volume gradually. These drills are particularly important for basketball and volleyball players who need to jump repeatedly during play.

7. Hip Flexor and Ankle Mobility Work

Tight hip flexors restrict your ability to fully extend your hips during takeoff, which directly limits jump height. Limited ankle dorsiflexion prevents you from loading your calves properly during the countermovement phase of a jump.

How to implement: Spend 10 to 15 minutes daily on targeted mobility work. Key areas include hip flexor stretches (couch stretch, half-kneeling hip flexor stretch), ankle mobilizations (wall ankle stretches), and thoracic spine mobility drills.

8. Trap Bar Deadlifts

The trap bar deadlift is essentially a squat-deadlift hybrid that is highly specific to the jumping movement pattern. It develops posterior chain strength while allowing you to maintain a more upright torso, similar to your posture during a vertical jump.

How to implement: Perform 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps with heavy weight. These can be used as an alternative or complement to back squats in your training rotation.

9. Sprint Training

Sprinting develops the same fast-twitch muscle fibers that power your vertical jump. Short sprints (10-40 meters) are particularly effective because they require maximal power output and share biomechanical similarities with the running approach to a jump.

How to implement: Perform 6 to 10 sprints of 20 to 40 meters with full recovery (2-3 minutes) between reps. Sprint training should be done when you are completely fresh, ideally at the beginning of a workout or on its own day.

10. Weighted Jump Squats

Adding light to moderate resistance to a jump squat helps bridge the gap between heavy strength training and bodyweight plyometrics. It teaches your body to produce force explosively against resistance.

How to implement: Use 20 to 40 percent of your squat max. Perform 4 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps, focusing on maximal jump height on every rep. Land softly and reset between reps.

Supporting Strategies

11. Optimize Your Nutrition

Your body cannot build muscle, recover from training, or produce maximum energy without proper fuel. Key nutritional priorities for jump training include:

• Adequate protein (0.8 to 1 gram per pound of body weight) to support muscle repair and growth
• Sufficient carbohydrates to fuel high-intensity training sessions
• Anti-inflammatory foods (berries, fatty fish, leafy greens) to support recovery
• Hydration. Even mild dehydration reduces power output

For a detailed nutrition plan, check our vertical jump nutrition guide.

12. Prioritize Sleep and Recovery

Training breaks your body down. Sleep and recovery build it back up stronger. Athletes who sleep less than 7 hours per night consistently show reduced power output, slower reaction times, and impaired muscle recovery.

Target 8 to 9 hours of sleep per night. Also consider incorporating foam rolling, contrast showers (alternating hot and cold water), and active recovery days into your weekly schedule.

13. Reduce Excess Body Weight

Every extra pound of non-functional weight (body fat) that you carry is a pound you have to lift off the ground when you jump. Reducing body fat while maintaining or increasing muscle mass improves your power-to-weight ratio, which directly increases vertical jump height.

This does not mean you should crash diet. Aggressive caloric restriction will impair your training recovery and could cause you to lose muscle. Aim for gradual fat loss of 1 to 2 pounds per week through a moderate caloric deficit combined with your training.

14. Strengthen Your Core

Your core is the bridge between your lower and upper body. A weak core leaks energy during the jump, reducing the force that actually propels you upward. Core strength also improves jump technique by helping you maintain proper posture throughout the takeoff.

Key exercises: Hanging leg raises, ab wheel rollouts, Pallof presses, and medicine ball slams. Incorporate core work 3 to 4 times per week.

15. Train Your Arms

This one surprises many athletes, but your arm swing contributes roughly 10 to 15 percent of your vertical jump height. A forceful, coordinated arm swing generates upward momentum that supplements your leg drive.

Practice your arm swing deliberately. Stand flat-footed and practice swinging your arms from behind your hips to overhead as explosively as possible. Then integrate this aggressive arm swing into every jump you perform during training.

Putting It All Together

The most effective approach to increasing your vertical combines several of these methods into a structured program. A typical training week might look like:

• Monday: Heavy squats + core work
• Tuesday: Plyometrics (depth jumps, box jumps, reactive jumps) + mobility
• Wednesday: Active recovery + flexibility
• Thursday: Power cleans + Bulgarian split squats + core work
• Friday: Plyometrics + sprint training
• Saturday/Sunday: Rest and recovery

The key is balancing training stress with adequate recovery. More is not always better. Overtraining will actually decrease your vertical by preventing your body from adapting to the training stimulus.

Consider a Structured Program

While you can absolutely build your own vertical jump training plan using the methods above, many athletes find that following a professionally designed program produces faster and more consistent results. A good program handles all the programming variables for you: exercise selection, volume, intensity, progression, and periodization.

If you are interested in a structured approach, check out our guide to the best vertical jump programs of 2026. The top-rated programs, including Vert Shock and the Jump Manual, have helped thousands of athletes add significant inches to their verticals with proven, systematic training plans.

Final Thoughts

Increasing your vertical jump is not about finding one secret exercise or magic trick. It is about systematically developing the strength, power, and technique needed to propel your body higher off the ground. Apply the 15 methods in this guide consistently, prioritize recovery, and track your progress. The inches will come.