How to Jump Higher

[Kristy Ross]

When Kent Benson, the former National Basketball Association player,
came to the University of Indiana he could jump only 9 inches off the
ground. That's an embarrassing jump for a seven-foot All-American. One
year later, he was able to jump three times that high because he had a
good coach.
How high you can jump is determined by the force that you can exert
when you contract your leg muscles against gravity. Strengthening your
muscles in the same way that you use them in jumping will help you to
jump higher. You strengthen muscles by exercising them against
progressively greater resistance, such as lifting heavier weights. To
be able to jump higher, you have to exercise your muscles against
resistance in the same way that you use them when you jump. You can
bend your knees and hips and straighten them by performing leg presses
up while lying on your back, sideways while sitting in a chair, or
down against the ground when you squat in the upright position.
Set up a schedule in which you lift moderate on Monday, easy on
Wednesday and hard on Friday. Monday, after you finish basketball
practice, do two sets of the heaviest weight that you can squat 15
times. On Wednesday, pick a lighter weight and squat three sets of
ten. On Friday, use the heaviest weight that you can squat ten times,
add weight and use the heaviest weight you can squat six times, and
then add weight and squat the heaviest weight that you can squat three
times. On days when your muscles feelsore or tight, skip your
weightlifting workout.