It is important if you want to increase your vertical jump that you look at your progress, and no one else’s. Try to pinpoint what aspects of your vertical jump exercises you tend to be weak. Usually, these are the drills that you have little or no interest in, so you don’t try as hard to perfect them.

When it comes to trying to increase your vertical jump, here are some steps you should adapt:

1. Have a specific goal. Do you want to increase your vertical jump by 2 inches? Or are you planning to aim for a higher jump?
2. Work on specific areas of your body that contribute to your vertical jump. For instance, ankles, leg muscles, lower back, abdominal muscles, and arms. Every workout, do some exercises that will develop each area. For example, ankles exercises will strengthen your landing and help you keep balanced. Part of the explosiveness of your jump will come from the strength and power you have in your ankles. If you tend to be wobbly when running, then you should consider your joints to need extra work.
3. Concentrate on each vertical jump exercise as you do them. One way to improve vertical jump is by mentally measuring your skill. It’s what dancers also do. In the case of dancers, it is their extensions that they can quantify. They start by seeing at what level they can top their extensions, and then work on them inch by inch until their kicks can touch the side of their head.
4. If you are feeling too much pressure on your leg joints, you might want to invest in extra soles for added cushion. There is one vertical program called Jumpsoles that has that extra cushion for your shoes. You can check it out and see if it will help alleviate the pressure.
5. Observe others as they jump, just do not measure your success against their achievement. It might backfire on your motivation and determination. Of course, only you can say for sure if observing others will help or not.

Finally, finding your weakness in vertical jump is best done by listening to your body. If you are honest, you will know what your weakness is. Otherwise, ask your coach or have someone record your jump, and then observe yourself on tape.

1. Depth Jump – Look for about one foot high and go on top of it. Jump off the box and bend your knees as you touch the ground. Then, immediately jump as high as you can. This way, you are converting the stored energy that you accumulated as you touched the ground so that you can jump higher and with more power than the standard jump.

2. Rim Jump – Put your arms on your sides while standing straight, jump up vertically and make attempts on reaching the hoop using one hand only. Do this over and over again until you get tired.