As adults, jumping isn’t something we do very often. Unless you play a sport like football or netball, jumping around is something you probably left behind in childhood, along with your Barbie dolls and Sylvanian Families collection.

But there’s a case to be made for revisiting your jumping days, especially when it comes to your overall fitness. While you might not need to jump high on a regular basis, training yourself to jump higher – known in the fitness world as ‘vertical jump training’ – can offer a whole host of benefits on top of allowing you to defy gravity for that little bit longer. And if all else fails, knowing you can reach impressive heights using just your body is kind of cool, right?

So, whether you want to learn more about vertical jump training and its benefits or are ready to start training, here’s everything you need to know. 

While elite athletes use vertical jump training to improve their performance, you don’t need to be a pro to make vertical jump training worth your while.

“Even for individuals not involved in competitive sports, incorporating vertical jump training into a workout routine can offer several benefits,” says Calum Sharma, head of exercise science at Body Lab London. “The increased lower body strength, power and agility this form of training offers can contribute to overall fitness and enhance everyday activities.”

Vertical jump training can also help you to become more co-ordinated, as it requires you to be aware of where your body is in the air. And that’s not forgetting the impact it can have on your all-around fitness.

“Vertical jump training also contributes to core stability and can positively impact bone density,” adds Ali Malik, a personal trainer and founder of Fit Labs Kensington. “Its incorporation into a training regime provides a multi-faceted approach to fitness, and because progress is tangible and measured, it instils a sense of accomplishment and motivation.” 

If you compete in any kind of sport, vertical jump training can also offer performance benefits, Sharma adds.

“The improved explosive strength from vertical jump training can translate to enhanced performance in various sports that require quick bursts of power, including activities such as sprinting and agility drills,” he says.

And then there’s injury prevention. While the act of jumping is high impact, the training required to jump higher is all about strengthening the muscles and joints in the lower area of your body. Because of this, the training can lead to better joint stability. “This can potentially reduce the risk of injuries, especially in activities involving jumping and landing,” Sharma adds.

Vertical jump training isn’t just about bouncing up and down for hours: it requires a multi-faceted approach. Because vertical jump training is a form of plyometric training, which involves short, intense bursts of activity, you need to make sure you’re taking the necessary steps to prevent injury so you can reap the benefits in the future.

The most important thing to remember is to start slow; jumping is an incredibly high-impact movement, so you want to ensure your body is prepared to absorb the pressure that jumping places on your joints and muscles. Because of this, Sharma recommends starting by nailing the most important part of jumping: the landing.

“Start with landing work, such as dropping off a box and sticking your landing,” he says. “This will help to get your body accustomed to absorbing forces, which is integral when beginning plyometric training.”

He continues: “Don’t start with high volumes either, as this could lead to injury. Make sure you are gradually increasing the load over a period of weeks.” 

If you want to start vertical jump training, Sharma and Malik recommend implementing the following into your workouts:

1. Plyometric exercises

These include box jumps (where you jump from the floor onto a box), depth jumps (where you step off a raised surface and then do a jump) and jump squats (where you jump upwards from a squat position). These kinds of exercises help to build your explosive power and improve the stretch-shortening cycle in the muscles – both necessary for increasing your vertical jump.

2. Strength training

To jump high, you need a strong body. You’ll need to focus most of your training on your lower body using compound exercises such as squats, deadlifts and lunges, but don’t forget to balance out your workouts with some core and upper body movements; these areas will help to build the momentum and stability needed to launch your body and land strong.

3. Jump-specific training

This one isn’t rocket science: if you want to jump well, you need to practice. This means refining your landing technique (you should land on the balls of your feet followed by your heels, and always bend your knees), as well as practising your take-offs to maximise your power.

4. Flexibility and mobility

You don’t want to be stiff when you’re flying through the air, so maintaining flexibility and mobility practises is essential. You should pay particular attention to the hips, hamstrings and calves to ensure they’re able to move freely and are recovering well from the increased load.

5. Progressive overload

Being able to jump higher requires increased strength and power, so you want to make sure you’re always challenging your body to make progress. This might mean increasing the intensity of your workouts, or simply making them more complex – you just want to ensure you’re giving your muscles new challenges as you go on. 

Images: Getty