Plyometric exercises = Power
And when you take a look at players like Amare Stoudemire, Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter to name a few, these guys have power. Power equals a combination of strength and quickness. So these plyometric exercises will help you get that power.
That is important for every serious basketball player. But it is also important even if you are football player, volleyball player or just about any other sport that requires having a high vertical leap and fast legs.
Here’s a tip:
You must warm up before doing any of these exercises. Take that seriously and if you don’t, read that sentence again:) Seriously, do it.
I can’t emphasize how important that is.
Warming up includes doing 5 minutes on a treadmill, stretching your body, doing some head circles, arms and legs circles and so on.
These are very effective exercises because they attack your vital leg muscles for jumping. The muscles that you want to be attacked like thighs and calves.
Here are some of the most effective plyometric exercises for increasing your vertical leap.
Box jumps
Find a stable chair, box or a bench or whatever is suitable for this exercise. Then jump onto the box and immediately back down to the previous position. Then repeat. This completes one rep. Do 15-20. Do 5 sets of 15-20 reps and rest for a minute between sets. If that’s too much for you then work at your own pace but do try to get to the recommended reps.
Depth Jumps
Jump from the box then immediately blast off. Repeat that process to complete one rep. Do 10 reps and 3 sets. Rest for a minute between sets.
Knee Tuck Jumps
This one is hard but is really effective. I’ve done myself 50 reps and 5 sets with 2 minutes breaks between sets. But that was back when I was in shape. And maybe I overtrained. Okay I definitely overtrained:) Try to do 20 reps and 3 sets with 2 or if you need more than 3 minutes of rest between sets. Again, if this is too difficult for you, work at your own pace.
Squat Jumps
Stand in a squat position for 2 seconds and explosively jump up as high as you can and repeat that process 10 times to complete a set of 10 reps. Do 2 sets with 1 minute break between the two sets.
Squat Hops
The picture is, I think pretty much self-explanatory. Do 5 reps and then blast off on the sixth rep. This completes one set. Do 5 sets with 1 or 2 minutes break, depending on your stamina.
Do the exercises in the order given here. Don’t be forced to finish them all if you sense that you are not “there yet”. Slow down, don’t overtrain. Start small, then gradually build up your muscles.
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