If you’re looking for 9 weeks of workouts to increase your vertical jump then you’ve definitely come to the right place. I’ve written this 9 week strength program to focus on building full body strength, with a specific focus on increasing your vertical jump. I’ve combed through the latest research to create a program that is effective and scientifically proven. Keep reading for more.
When I was writing this plan I debated on creating a simple add on program or a full program, complete with all the details you need to increase your lower body jumping power. Ultimately I decide to create a complete program, as I felt it might be hard for some athletes to integrate the weighted jumps and plyometric exercises into their current workout routine. Here’s a quick overview of these workouts to increase vertical jump.
9 Week Strength Program to Increase Vertical Jump: Overview
- 45 Total workouts to increase your vertical jump
- 5 Day split, with 2 rest days per week
- Upper body, and lower body programming included
- Designed to be done in any large gym, and most home gyms
- Appropriate for intermediate athletes with safe form, and some plyometric experience
This program is ideal for basketball, football, volleyball, and other field sport athletes that need to specifically increase their vertical jump. It’s important to note that, while these workouts can probably increase your sprint speed, they are not designed to do so.
If you want to work on sprint speed, then I recommend checking out this workout program, or these 100m sprint training drills. You will likely have better luck with those plans. Before we get to the details of what makes these workouts to increase your vertical jump so effective, you should sign up for the email list. We’ll send you more fitness and tactical articles as soon as they’re released.
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Scientific Research On Increasing Vertical Jump
If you’ve read any of my other programs, then you know that I write a lot of different programs for athletes of all types. I’ve got programs for CrossFit style athletes, Hybrid Athletes, Bodybuilders, and those looking to build functional strength.
It should be no surprise that I like to base my plans off of the best research I can find. The 9 Week Strength Program to Increase Vertical Jump is no different. I reviewed over a dozen studies and quickly came to understand that there are really only two ways to increase your vertical leap and jumping ability.
Workouts to Increase Vertical Jump: Lower Body Strength Training
The first method is to increase the strength of your lower body. It makes sense that strength exercise would increase your bodies ability to jump high. Interestingly enough, it’s not the most effective training method for increasing your vertical jump.
This research study shows that front squats can increase your vertical jump 7.3% in 6 weeks. They also found that hip thrusts only increase your vertical jump height by 3.4%, in the same time frame. Another study found that olympic weight lifting (snatches, and cleans) increased the vertical jump by 7.7%.
From my review of the strength training research, it seems that increasing your lower body strength is a great long term method to increase your vertical jump. If you want an awesome program to increase both conditioning and strength then you should check this out.
While these weight training results are commendable, they are lagging compared to plyometric training, which is a great way to efficiently increase your ability to jump high.
Workouts to Increase Vertical Jump: Plyometric Training
Plyometrics are some of the best exercises for vertical jump performance. They are a series of jumps, squat jumps, skips, and other drills that help build your ability to jump high. Most often they’re done with body weight, but research has shown that weighted plyometrics can generate some incredible results, in any starting position.
This research study demonstrates that using a weighted vest, with 10% of body weight load, for plyometric training, generated a 12.2% increase in vertical jump, in a 10 week program. More incredibly, this research was performed on very experienced semi professional athletes (national team basketball players), who were already good jumpers.
This research study shows that the most effective plyometric programs were 7 or more weeks in length. The programs with best results had 1-2 sessions per week with 180-240 jumps per session, of various types.
They also showed that a 10% increase in weekly jumps is ideal to build explosive power, and a good vertical jump. The good news is that I’ve structured these 45 workouts to increase your vertical jump exactly along these research guidelines. Let’s get to the program.
9 Week Strength Program to Increase Vertical Jump
Before we dive into each of the separate weeks of this program, we need to discuss a few things. First, and foremost, plyometric training can be dangerous. Often times you’re jumping onto boxes, or off of boxes, landing with a lot of force.
If you’re new to the gym then I highly recommend starting with this beginner strength training program. You can then try this intermediate program. At that point you could start this vertical jump plan.
If you’re no stranger to the gym, but haven’t done any plyometric training, then I recommend scaling the intensity of these jumps. You can do that by reducing the number of sets, and reps, or reducing the height / load for the jumping movements. This is especially important for athletes that are 40+ years of age. Check out this video for some different options to for plyometric training.
Now that we’ve covered some of the safety info, we can get into each week of the program. I highly encourage you to read through all 9 weeks, as I will cover different aspects of the plan in each section. This will ensure you execute the plan correctly. Let’s get to it.
Vertical Jump Program: Week 1
Welcome to the first week of workouts to increase your vertical jump. You can see that you will be in the gym 5 days per week. Two of those days will incorporate plyometric training. Most athletes will combine their plyo training with their planned lifts, but you can certainly separate the workouts if desired. Just make sure you’re thoroughly warming up, prior to starting any jumps.
If we take a look at Session 1, you can see that we have bench press, dumbbell row, and incline bench for our upper body lifts. You also have the plyometric training with box jumps every minute on the minute (EMOM).
This is followed by elastic band jumps where you will anchor the elastic bands to the ground using a pair of dumbbells or weighted plates, and jump against their resistance. If you don’t have any elastic bands you can pick up a cheap set here (Amazon Affiliate Link). You’ll then finish with single leg jumps.
Vertical Jump Program: Week 2
Like my other muscular strength programs, I tend to keep the structure the same week to week. However, I like to plan for a smart progressive overload, which avoids stagnation, as the weeks go by. That means you’ll be jumping a bit more, and lifting a little more total volume.
If we take a look at Session 7, you can see it’s a lower body strength day. We start with the front squat, because research shows it to be a good option. We then move to the hamstring curl, because strong hamstrings can prevent some knee injuries.
We finish this gym session off with goblet squats and romanian deadlifts to build a nice pump, and increase your lower body muscle mass. Next let’s get to week 3.
Vertical Jump Program: Week 3
This week starts to become challenging. Often times you’ll see the term RIR, which stands for reps in reserve. This means that if you have a set of 10 at 2RIR you would be able to do 12, if you went all out. Instead, you are stopping short, leaving 2 reps in reserve.
In Session 13 you can see that we are working the shoulders and lats with seated dumbbell presses, and inverted barbell rows. For this session I expect you to do those two lifts, and then transition to the plyometric drills. After that, you can begin to warm up for the olympic lifts.
I say this for a reason. It’s best to have your legs fresh for plyo jump training. If you were to do the olympic lifting first, then you would be sapping some of your energy for the most effective part of the workout routine. Let’s move on to week 4.
Vertical Jump Program: Week 4
In this week we really start to see the weight increase. It’s one of the heaviest weeks in the program. You might be feeling maxed out on these lifts. This is perfectly normally. I’ve designed it that way, as next week we reduce the overall load, and volume, so your body has a chance to adapt and grow.
If we take a look at Session 19 you can see that it’s another lower body day. We start with the hex bar deadlift, which I’m a big fan of. If you don’t have this bar then, you can do sumo deadlifts instead.
We then move to reverse barbell lunges, followed by calf raises, and hamstring curls. In the last part of the workout, I have you doing barbell windshield wipers, which are a great exercise for your abs and hip flexors. Any good athlete needs a strong core. Now, on to week 5.
Vertical Jump Program: Week 5
In Week 5 we see a reduction in overall work in the gym. This is called a deload, and it’s very important for your long term progress. Some of you will no doubt feel like you aren’t working hard enough. This is by design. Your body can only build and strengthen muscle tissue when it isn’t over taxed. You’ll need the recovery time, as next week we start a new cycle.
If we take a look at Session 9, we see that this is an upper body day, with a focus on accessory muscles like biceps and the upper back muscles. It’s important to work on upper body muscle groups even as we focus on workouts to increase vertical jump.
The last part of this session is a 20 min jog. You could do this at the end of the session, or you could separate this from your weight lifting. The run has a dual purpose. It helps increase circulation, aiding in recovery. It can also build some tissue tolerance in your ankles, calf muscles, and knees for more intense plyo training.
Vertical Jump Program: Week 6
Week 6 is the first week of the next microcycle of the program. Just like my other quality programs, the same muscle groups are being worked, on the same days, but I’ve changed the movements, reps, and sets. This is important because your body tends to adapt rather quickly to the same movements, the longer you repeat them. You have to find the sweet spot where you spend enough time to show improvement, but not so much time where you begin to stagnate.
If we look at the plyometric training for Session 26, we can see that it I’ve kept the same movements, but I’ve altered how each rep needs to be executed. The box jumps should be done with 10 seconds of rest between each rep. You can then take 1-2 minutes of rest between sets.
For many athletes this will feel somewhat odd to wait between reps. This is important because it allows you to execute each rep with maximum effort. During my research review this was an important factor for increasing your vertical jump. Let’s get to week 7.
Vertical Jump Program: Week 7
Just like the previous cycle, we’ve increased total training volume and intensity this week. The strength training movements are generally around 1 RIR, and the plyometric movements have increased in intensity as well, especially as we’ve add one more plyo session.
In session 32, we see a novel movement for most athletes, the banded kettlebell swing. This movement is one of the best ballistic movements for lower body power. You should choose a moderately heave kettlebell. Most men will go with a 53 pound KB, and the women will go with a 35.
You then loop a moderately weighted elastic band through the handle, standing on the the remainder, while you perform your kettlebell swings. Because the band is anchored to the ground, this allows you to put way more power into the movement. The band keeps it from flying over your head. Now let’s cover the second to last week.
Vertical Jump Program: Week 8
Because this is the second to last week, you should expect it to be pretty hard. There are no changes in terms of the movements you will perform. By now you should be feeling confident in your ability with these exercises. Use that confidence to be a little more aggressive on the sets of AHAP this week. You can push the weight, as long as you’re using proper form.
If we look at Session 38, you can see that we are starting to add in some extra load to the split jumps. This is one area where less is more. I still want maximum speed on the landing and jump, so don’t add too much weight. Ideally you would add about 10-15% of your bodyweight. Now, let’s talk about the final week.
Vertical Jump Program: Week 9
This is the final week of the 9 Week Strength Program to Increase Vertical Jump. It is also a deload. This means you can expect to see reduced volume, with relatively heavy weights. We’ve also dropped the total amount of contacts you will be doing in your plyometric training.
Don’t worry, it’s still fairly intense, as I’ve left in things like the drop jumps which can be very hard on your lower body. Make sure you aren’t being too aggressive with the box height. These are more about reversing your weight quickly rather than jumping from a tall box.
After you finish this week I recommend taking 2-3 days off and then retesting your max vertical jump. If you’ve been consistent and allowed for adequate recovery, then you could see a 10% percent improvement in your jump height. Either way you should be in better shape now than when you started.
If you enjoyed this style of program, then you should check out the next section where I recommend some great follow on programs to help you continue to improve your overall fitness.
Finding Your Next Program
I have a wide variety of programs, for athletes of all sorts. In this section I will link to several of my programs that would be a logical follow on to this one. I recommend following the links to the programs that seem interesting. You’ll be able to read more about them there.
Strength and Muscle Mass Programs
- 8 Week Functional Bodybuilding Hybrid Program
- 12 Week Functional Fitness Training Program
- 9 Week Functional Fitness Strength Program
- 7 Week Free Functional Bodybuilding Hybrid Program
- 6 Weeks of Muscular Growth for Functional Fitness Athletes
If you’re an athlete that really needs both strength and endurance, then I highly recommend you check out one of my most popular premium programs below. It has all the details you need for every single workout.
Aerobic and Anaerobic Conditioning Programs
- 8 Week Hybrid Strength and Endurance Training Plan
- 12 Week Apex Hybrid Performance Fitness Plan
- 8 Week Hybrid Bodybuilding and Endurance Training Plan
- 15 Week Lift Heavy Run Fast Program for Functional Fitness
- 12 Week Functional Endurance Training Program
Final Thoughts
This program can be hard on your lower body so it’s important to manage your rest and your food intake. Check out my nutrition guide for athletes, and this article on recovery. It will keep you from wasting your time on things like ice baths, that are terrible for most strength training athletes.
If you have any comments or questions on this program, put them in the comments section below, and don’t forget to join the email list. Now get out there and get training!
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Perfect timing for this program. My two nephews are high school athletes, just went on summer break and going to leverage this to hopefully increase their verticals. Thanks!
Great. Hopefully they make some awesome improvements!