For many athletes, learning how to jump higher would give them a decided advantage.  It is a skill that is necessary for some sports like basketball and volleyball.  There are some ways on how you can improve your vertical leaping ability and be able to perform better in your sport.  Following are some of them:

•    Lose some weight. – The logic behind this is simple.  If you are lighter and have less body mass to elevate to the air, it would be easier to jump higher than when you have a heavier body.

•    Develop your flexibility. – If being able to jump over hurdles is required, the ability to swing the lead leg in the direction you need it to go is important to be able to optimize the jump's momentum.  The key is in being able to lift your leg as high as possible to ensure maximum elevation.  The great jumpers have a 3:2 quadriceps to hamstring strength ratio.  Without flexibility, a strength imbalance that will hamper the ability to jump higher will develop.

•    Build your base strength. – Because jumping can be physically demanding, muscle strength is important.  The focus must first be on improving the strength of the muscles to make it easier to enhance the jumping ability.

•    Get in the right position. – How to jump higher requires that the hips be flexed at 30o, the knees bent at 60 o, and the ankles flexed at about 25 o.  This is necessary so that the required power can be generated without causing any injury to the knees. A word of caution, though.  Make sure that the knees are not pointing inwards and positioned in what is known as a knock knee.  The ideal position is to have them over the second toe.  The arms must likewise be at the sides.

•    Improve your explosive movements through plyometrics. – Plyometrics can help develop your explosiveness.  In basketball, for example, an explosive first step is necessary to leave your guard behind and build up the proper momentum that will propel you to a higher vertical leap that will culminate in a thunderous slam dunk.  This is because extra energy for jumping is generated by the first one or two steps.

•    Elevate the body with the legs by springing off the feet's balls. – While doing this, swing the hands upwards in the direction of the ceiling to gain extra momentum.  Exhale while you are at it as if you are lifting weights.

•    Use the balls of the feet in landing and then roll towards the heels. – For proper shock absorption, the knees must be bent upon impact.

Strength building exercises done as a means on how to jump higher, must involve the use of weights that should be very proximate to your personal limit and executed with few repetitions, unless there are other training goals that you require which concern your lower muscles.  As the proper jumping form is an often-overlooked area, it may be advisable to get a competent coach to review your form in executing jumps.