If you want to increase your athletic performance, you should seriously consider learning to jump higher. There's no doubt that high school athletes to college intramural players to city recreational league players to professional athletes all want to jump higher to be more successful in those sports. This article will provide a basic understanding of how to jump higher and some basic techniques one can use to jump higher.

When athletes express the desire to jump higher, they are basically saying they want to increase vertical jump. Professional and college athletes generally have a vertical jump in the 26-36 inch range. Although some of these athletes have a natural God-given ability to jump higher, most of them--and generally all of the general public--can use certain exercises to increase vertical leap. Roughly speaking, we can divide these exercises into strength and power training portions.

You have to hit the gym to do the strength training portion of jump training, which consists of leg movements like squats, leg presses, and lunges. Make sure that you are putting in three to four days a week of weight training to build that strength foundation necessary to increase your jumping ability. Nobody said it would be easy to train to jump higher!

Doing explosive movements comprises the power training aspect of learning to jump higher. A great exercise is jump roping. Despite seeming so simple, jump roping for 20-30 minutes a day can increase your vertical leap by 2 inches or more. Another great exercise is running stadium stairs. Go to your local high school or community college football stadium and there will be stairs you can run. Another exercise is called box jumping. You can buy jumping boxes from your local sports store or you can use stairs instead. The proper way to use jump boxes is to jump on and off the boxes repeatedly, making sure you are using shock-absorbing shoes on a wooden or carpeted surface. Start out with boxes at a low height, then slowly increase the height over time.

One way to effectively jump higher over time is to combine strength training and power training. Make sure that you are in good shape and always consult a doctor before starting any exercise regimen. Also, be careful that you don't overexert yourself because these exercises tend to be very stressful on your lower legs, especially your ankles and knees. Commit yourself to work hard and consistently do these exercises, and you will find that over time you begin to noticeably jump higher!