You want to fly. Everyone does. Whether you're trying to snag a rebound over the tall kid in your local rec league or you're just tired of grazing the rim with your fingernails, the obsession with the vertical jump is real. But honestly? Most of the advice out there is garbage. You see people doing 500 box jumps a day or buying those weird weighted shoes that look like platforms from the 70s. It doesn't work like that. If you want to know how to get your vertical higher, you have to stop thinking like a cardio junkie and start thinking like a physicist.
Jump height is a byproduct of power. Power is force multiplied by velocity ($P = F \times v$). If you can’t move heavy weight, you have no force. If you can’t move light weight fast, you have no velocity. Most athletes are lopsided in one of these directions.
The Force-Velocity Curve is your new bible
Think about a massive powerlifter. He can squat 600 pounds. That is an insane amount of force. But can he dunk? Probably not, because he moves like a glacier. On the flip side, you have the skinny kid who plays volleyball. He’s lightning-fast and springy, but he’s so weak he can barely bench the bar. He’s all velocity. To maximize how to get your vertical higher, you have to bridge that gap. You need to be the person who is both strong and explosive. This is what coaches call "Rate of Force Development" (RFD). It’s not just about how much force you can produce, but how quickly you can turn it on. In a jump, you only have about 0.2 seconds to produce force. If your body takes 0.5 seconds to reach peak force, that extra strength is literally useless in the air.
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Why your squat depth actually matters
I see it every day in the gym. Someone loads up the bar, does a two-inch "ego squat," and walks away thinking they’re getting more explosive. They aren't. Research from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research has shown that deep squats (at least to parallel) lead to better vertical jump gains than partial squats. Why? Because it increases the "impulse" or the time under tension where your muscles have to work through a full range of motion. It builds the glutes and the vastus medialis—the "teardrop" muscle above your knee—which are the primary drivers of that upward launch.
But don't just squat. You need to move the bar with intent. If you’re grinding out slow, painful reps, you’re training your nervous system to be slow. Dr. Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell pioneered the "Dynamic Effort" method for a reason. You should be taking about 50-60% of your max and moving it as fast as humanly possible. That’s how you teach your brain to recruit motor units instantly.
The hidden power of the "Stretch-Shortening Cycle"
Ever notice how you jump higher when you take a approach step compared to jumping from a standstill? That’s the Stretch-Shortening Cycle (SSC) in action. Your muscles and tendons act like giant rubber bands. When you dip down quickly, you’re "loading" the spring.
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- Amortization Phase: This is the split second between the downward movement and the upward explosion.
- The shorter this phase is, the higher you go.
- Plyometrics like depth jumps (stepping off a box and immediately jumping up) train this specific mechanism.
If you spend too long at the bottom of your jump, the stored elastic energy dissipates as heat. You’re essentially "leaking" power. To fix this, you need to stop doing high-rep tuck jumps. Plyometrics are not cardio. If you're doing more than 6-8 reps of a high-intensity jump, you’re just getting tired, not getting bouncy. Quality over quantity. Always.
Stop ignoring your feet and ankles
People obsess over quads and glutes, but your ankles are the final link in the chain. If you have "soft" ankles, you’re basically trying to jump off a mattress. You want your ankles to be like stiff springs. This is where isometric holds and pogo jumps come in. Try standing on one leg and rising onto your toes, holding that position for 30 seconds with a heavy dumbbell in your hand. It builds the structural integrity of the Achilles tendon. A stiff Achilles can store and release way more energy than a flexible, "mushy" one. It’s the difference between a pogo stick and a pool noodle.
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The central nervous system (CNS) factor
Training to get your vertical higher is taxing. It’s not like building big biceps where you can just pump away until you feel a burn. Jumping is an all-out assault on your nervous system. If you’re training your vertical five days a week, you’re going to plateau. Your CNS takes much longer to recover than your muscles do. Most elite jumpers only do max-effort plyometrics twice a week. The rest of the time is spent on recovery, technique, or low-intensity strength work.
Honestly, sleep is your best supplement. If you’re getting six hours of sleep and wondering why your vertical isn't moving, there’s your answer. During deep sleep, your body releases growth hormone and repairs the neural pathways you fried during your workout.
What a real week of training looks like
Forget the "Jump 100 times" programs. A real protocol that addresses how to get your vertical higher looks more like a balanced attack. You might have a "Heavy Day" focused on trap bar deadlifts or back squats to build that force floor. Then, you have a "Speed Day" where you do medicine ball throws and unweighted jumps to focus on velocity. In between, you work on your "penultimate step"—that long, fast second-to-last step in a running jump that converts horizontal speed into vertical lift.
Most people mess up the penultimate step by stuttering their feet as they get close to the hoop. You want to accelerate into the jump. If you slow down to "prepare" to jump, you’ve already lost three inches of height.
The role of body composition
It’s simple math: $Force = Mass \times Acceleration$. If you increase your mass (body fat) without increasing your force production, your acceleration (and jump height) goes down. You don't see many elite high jumpers with high body fat percentages. Every extra pound of "dead weight" is something your muscles have to fight against. This doesn't mean you should starve yourself—you need fuel to be explosive—but being lean is a massive "cheat code" for a higher vertical.
Actionable Next Steps
- Test your baseline. Record yourself jumping against a wall with chalk on your fingers. You can't manage what you don't measure.
- Fix your squat. If you can’t squat at least 1.5 times your body weight, focus on raw strength for the next 8 weeks. That is your biggest "low-hanging fruit."
- Incorporate "Shock" training. Add depth jumps into your routine, but only once a week. Step off a 12-18 inch box and explode upward the instant your feet touch the ground.
- Film your approach. Watch your last two steps in slow motion. If your penultimate step isn't longer and faster than your previous steps, you're leaving inches on the floor.
- Prioritize the Achilles. Do 3 sets of 45-second isometric calf holds twice a week to stiffen the "springs" in your lower legs.
- Track your CNS fatigue. If your standing reach drops by more than 2 inches on a given day, you haven't recovered. Take an extra rest day.
Getting a higher vertical isn't about one "secret" exercise. It's about the boring, consistent work of getting stronger, staying lean, and teaching your brain to fire every muscle fiber at the exact same micro-second. It takes time. But when you finally feel that "click" where the ground feels like a trampoline, it's all worth it.