Swish Elite Training

One of the biggest factors in jumping high is momentum. Momentum occurs when you are doing your approach. Not everyone understands how to use this as an advantage when trying to jump higher. I’ll be giving you the best ways to maximize your momentum and have complete control. The main concepts I will be discussing are arm swing and hand motion.

Arm Swing

Your arm swing is crucial in creating a high amount of momentum when jumping. These are the best techniques in order to maximize it.

Key points to focus on:

• Arm swing should start from initial take off towards where you are jumping.

• The bigger the arm swing (in rhythm) the stronger the momentum.

• Your swing should be in sync with your legs. (Opposite leg, Opposite foot).

• Arms break together on the last step and swing far back.

Once you understand this, you can then focus on hand motion.

Hand Motion

When proceeding towards your take off you should be moving with open hands.

• During the takeoff step your hands should start high at a vertical angle and follow back with your arms at the same angle (again with open hands).
• When you are at the lowest stance and about to take off your hands should be the farthest with open hands towards each other.

Practice

The best way to practice arm swing and hand motion is by running or jogging with proper form.

It will work on your muscle memory and it will become natural once you continue to practice.

Exercise / Drill

A great exercise that you should do that will focus on form and strength are single-leg jumps.

Single-Leg Jumps (Lateral)

Step 1

• Balance on one leg and jump laterally side to side

Step 2

• Jump as far as you can while maintaining balance

Step 3

• Regain balance before jumping back

Step 4

• 15 jumps each leg (3 sets)

Single-Leg Jumps (Vertical)

Step 1

• Balance on one leg and jump vertically forward and back

Step 2

• Repeat steps 2-4

As a player who is looking to increase their vertical jump, you will need to learn the importance of technique. Technique refers to how you specifically carry out something, in this case jumping. Some of you may be thinking, “Well I already jump high.” This may be the case, but if you don’t have proper mechanics then you’re not maximizing your vertical. 

The best way to figure out if your mechanics are off is by breaking down each step of your jump. Which is why we are going to start by focusing on approach.

Approach?

Approach is all about the lead up to your jump. Every step matters when you’re working on jumping higher. Now there are four main ways that players try to run and jump, and you may do one of these, so pay attention. 

• Sprint (Running at full speed as fast as you can)

• Stutter step (Chopping your feet with small tip-toeing steps)

• Long strides (Strides that are longer than your normal strides)

• Slow walk (Walking slowly with small steps)
  

These are all the ways you SHOULD NOT do when working on your approach. All of these ways will hinder your vertical and minimize the height you could reach.

Why shouldn’t I sprint?

Sprinting is the most common way I see players approach. Although it’s the most common it doesn’t make it correct. I used to do the same thing and it wasn’t until I got older to understand that it wasn’t helping me jump higher. So, why is it bad? There are two main problems with using sprinting as an approach. 

1. It creates too much momentum that burns out before your jump and causes you to not reach a maximum height.

2. It causes you to jump at a forward angle (we want to jump straight up).

Why shouldn’t I stutter step?

Stutter stepping is another common way I see players use as an approach when jumping. The thought process behind this approach is that it builds up momentum. However, this is not the case. When you stutter before going into your jump it actually breaks up your momentum which results in a decrease in explosiveness. It also forces you to change your step pattern which ends up hurting the height of your jump. 

Why shouldn’t I take long strides?

Using long strides is a bad approach when jumping because it creates off-balance to your legs. It feels uncomfortable and doesn’t produce enough balance to create an explosive jump.

Why shouldn’t I slow walk?

A slow walk isn’t producing any momentum. One of the biggest ways to gain momentum is from our arm swing which we can produce from a slow walk. Also, it causes too short of strides which can make our balance off. 

What approach should I use?

There are two different approaches that I recommend in order to maximize your vertical jump.

Approach 1. Jogging speed with regular arm swing movement.

This speed creates momentum with proper balance and focuses on control. It’s the best approach for beginners to use because it forces your body to stay in control and jump straight up once taking off. 

Approach 2. A speed above jogging, but NOT sprinting.

This speed is best for players who have mastered the first approach and want to start adding jumping into more game-like situations. It creates a great amount of momentum that still keeps your body under control when exploding up. The momentum comes from both the lead-up steps and the arm motion during each step.

Now what?

Now that you have figured what not to do, it’s time to work on the correct approach. I highly recommend working on the first approach, especially if you’re beginning your vertical jump training. Every time you’re working on your jump you NEED to focus on using either approach 1 or 2. And the best way to do this is by going out there and practicing. Do this when trying to touch the net, backboard, or rim on a basketball hoop. You could even do this when trying to block or hit in volleyball. And all of the other needs for jumping in other sports. 

The BEST drill to use

The best drill to use when working on the approach and jumping straight up is wall jumps.

EXCEPT these aren’t regular wall jumps. These are my special wall jumps.

1. Stand about 10-12 feet away from a wall

2. Use either approach 1 or 2

3. Move directly towards the wall but take off about 2 feet in front of the wall

4. Jump straight up (If you want to measure your height, touch the wall and mark it)

This drill focuses on your approach (building momentum) and jumping straight up vertically rather than forward. 

I recommend doing this drill for 10 minutes every day. You can never jump enough which is why you should do this every day. Create a workout plan on when to do this and how many you want to do. A good number is about 25-50 a day. Make sure that you reset on everyone and don’t rush through the drill.

Everyone wants to increase their vertical jump. Whether it’s trying to touch the backboard, rim, or even dunk. Especially as a basketball player, it’s a confidence boost when you know you can jump high. Some of you may be able to jump high already but want to jump higher, and others may not be able to jump high at all. I will be giving you the best information on how you can increase your vertical jump no matter where you are on the “jump chart.” A lot of trainers focus more on the exercises you can do to increase your vertical jump, which is great. However, I will be giving you more than just exercises. Each week I will be breaking down all the components of jumping and how to maximize each jump.

Introduction

So the first thing you need to know is that there is more to jumping than just literally running up and jumping. A crucial part to increase your vertical jump is your technique. You will hear me preach consistently about having a proper technique. My journey to dunking began at the end of high school on my way into college. I increased inches on my vert because I came to the realization that I needed to work more on my technique. Had I known this sooner rather than later, I would definitely have been able to dunk in high school.

So, as I stated previously, technique is a huge part of jumping and increasing your vertical. Which is why that is the first thing we will be focusing on. However, we won’t be niching it down right away, instead, we will be taking a more broad approach.

Are you a one-foot jumper or two?

If you want any chance at increasing your vertical jump this is where you need to start and evaluate yourself. When I was younger in high school, I only jumped off of one foot because that’s what felt comfortable at the time. I never even tried jumping off of two feet until my senior year. I wasn’t open to trying something else that was foreign to me. When I had friends tell me to try jumping off of two and I did, it felt weird and awkward at first. However, I continued to practice it until it became comfortable. After understanding the technique, it became ten times more comfortable than jumping off of one foot.

How do I know if I’m a one-foot jumper?

When you want to jump your highest and try to touch the net, backboard, or rim do you use one foot? The best way to figure out if that is your strongest jump is by evaluating yourself.

Practice going off of one foot and take note of some different things:

Step 1

• How high do you get?

• The best way to measure the height of your vertical is to put tape on your fingertips and jump to touch a wall or the hoop/backboard. For example, you may hit the third loop in the net or the 11th brick on a wall.

Step 2

• Does your leg feel weak or strong when you take off?

• By this I mean does your knee buckle? Is there any pain when you are jumping?

Step 3

• Do you get up higher than off of two feet?

• When testing is there a significant difference in height when jumping.

Step 4

• Does it feel comfortable?

• Is it your go-to step? Does it just feel right?

Step 5

• Is it natural for you?

• Is it something you don’t have to think about. It’s just something you do naturally.

How do I know if I’m a two-foot jumper?

The same goes for figuring out if you’re a two-foot jumper. You must evaluate yourself in every aspect of jumping. Practice going off of two feet and take note of different things, for example:

Repeat steps 1, 4, and 5 except with two-foot jumping rather than one.

Step 1

• Do you feel more power from your bottom half when exploding up?

• Does it feel like you’re engaging your legs and exploding up kind of like a spring?

Step 2

• Do you get higher than off of one foot?

• When testing is there a significant difference in height when jumping.

Is it possible to be both?

YES. There are a lot of players who are able to take off either way. However, if you asked them they would most likely tell you that they can get higher up off of whichever is their style or more comfortable to them.

What was taught?

Jumping is more than just exercises, it has a lot to do with technique. There are only two jumping styles and the goal is to figure out which one pertains to you so you’re able to maximize your jumping ability. Some of you may instantly increase inches on your vert by just doing this. Others may not be able to but it will still be helping the process of jumping higher and gives a focus point when training. 

Now What?

Now it’s time to figure out what type of jumper you are. It may take time, it isn’t something that you can figure out overnight. It can take up to a couple of weeks or even months. Don’t rush the process but truly focus on yourself and evaluate your jumping so you can ultimately figure out your jumping style and increase your vertical jump.

How do I start training once I figure out my jumping technique?

To begin with training, you should start with box jumps. Now I’m not talking about regular box jumps, I’m referring to box jumps that are designed to focus on your jump technique. These box jumps start the same way but end differently depending on if you’re a one foot or two-foot jumper. The box jumps you will be doing are called “drop off box jumps.”

What are drop off box jumps?

Drop off box jumps are where you stand on either another box jump or a higher surface to start. You then let your foot fall off or “drop off” the box to the ground, then explode up onto the next box in front of you.

One foot drop off box jumps

1. Need two box jumps or two different level platforms to jump off and onto.

          2. Have the boxes/platforms about 3-4 feet apart

          3. Stand on top of one of the boxes/platforms.

          4. Let one leg fall off of the box to make contact with the ground.

          5. Explode off the one leg that made contact with the ground and straight up onto the box/platform in front. (Make sure you land with only one foot on the box/platform)

          6. Do 3 sets of 20 reps.

Two foot drop off box jumps

          1. Need two box jumps or two different level platforms to jump off and onto. 

          2. Have the boxes/platforms about 3-4 feet apart

          3. Stand on top of one of the boxes/platforms.

         4. Let one leg fall off of the box/platform to make contact with the ground, that leg should be quickly followed by the other leg.

         5. Once both feet hit the ground, explode up onto the box/platform. (Make sure you land with both feet on the box/platform)

         6. Do 3 sets of 20 reps.

Especially for beginner jumpers, I recommend doing this workout 3/4 times a week. I prefer a day rest in between to let my muscles repair. For example, MWF and maybe one day on the weekend. This schedule will allow me to almost get a full day of rest between each workout.

-Scotty The Trainer