Improving Your Jumping Agility

Jumping is crucial to the life of a basketballer. Having a good vertical leap means you can reach higher to nab the ball on a rebound or shoot with more confidence and increase your overall game.

To improve your jumping agility, start by simply jumping in place to better learn how your body reacts to the movement. Carefully watching and feeling what your body does as you leap and land will give you an indication on areas you may need to work on. In addition to this simple step, we have compiled some exercises to incorporate into your weekly basketball training. 

Lateral Box Jumps

While you may be performing regular box jumps in your routine, doing them laterally can help with your jumping agility. Jumping laterally strengthens your hip flexors, which benefits side-to-side agility and sudden stopping and starting, which is part of every basketball game.

Start with a box steady on the ground, line up next to it with your left side facing the fox. Keep your posture strong, with your chest up and core tight with slightly bent knees. Next you need to forcibly jump from the ground onto the full surface of the box. One there you can either step down or light jump back to the original position. Be sure to switch sides to properly train your entire body, and if you feel comfortable with your progression you can slowly increase the height of the box.

Jump Squats

Jump squats harness the explosive power of jumping that is required on the court. The action of a jump squat activates the fast-twitch fibres of many major muscle groups in the lower body such as quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, hip flexors, and calves. If you are aiming to increase jumping agility and improving your vertical leap, strengthening these muscles is crucial.

Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart. With your chest up and knees bent, sit back as though you are about to sit on a chair. Once your thighs are parallel, push through your heels in an explosive jump straight into the air, landing softly and then immediately start the next one.

Jump Rope 

In similar fashion to jump squats, jumping rope strengthens the muscles you need to execute a vertical leap. All you need for this exercise is an appropriately sized jump rope and enough space above your head that the rope will not catch on or hit anything. Only 10 minutes a day can make a huge difference, but make sure to not skip between feet, you need to jump and land with your feet as though you were simply leaping vertically without a rope.

Training Aids

As well as incorporating these jumping exercises into your training, consider adding equipment and aids to propel yourself further for real results and watch yourself leap for the ball like never before.