- A workout that improves jumping power is great for stability, strength, and cardio, says personal trainer Chrissy Signor.
- To jump higher, she said, you need to build a strong lower body first.
- Signore says exercises like the dumbbell squat and plyo-reverse lunge jump train can help build lower-body power and explosiveness.
I never played competitively, but basketball has always been a way to relax and stay active.
These days, I’m trying to improve my jump shot and layup, both of which require athletic jumps, which I’ve never really experienced.
I reached out to personal trainer Chrissy Signore after reading an article on men’s health that says beginners shouldn’t use box jumps to jump higher. She said you need lower body strength to build explosive strength. It’s also an excellent method, she said.
Signore told Insider that exercises like dumbbell squats and plyo reverse lunge jump variations can help build lower-body strength and explosive power.
Strengthen your lower body with dumbbell squat press and dumbbell jump squat press
Signore, founder of fitness program Correlation, says having a strong, stable lower body that works in sync with your upper body is an essential part of jumping. She said the dumbbell squat press is a good starting exercise for building upper body explosive power as well as lower body strength.
To perform the dumbbell squat press, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, your knees slightly bent, and a weight in each hand on your shoulders. Make sure your back is straight and your core is tight as you slowly sink your weight into your heels as if you were sitting in a chair. Then, tighten your glutes as you rise from the squat and use momentum to push the weight over your head, said Signor.
“Not just working on that downward momentum, but working on starting a power up, taking that energy off your toes and propelling it upwards,” she said.
This exercise primarily helps strengthen the glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, and shoulders. These are all related to jumping.
Signore says the dumbbell jump squat overhead press is an exercise that can be practiced slowly along with the squat press, adding a jump as you rise from the squat and requiring an overhead press in the air. A slightly less difficult version allows you to take out the press, but still has more explosive power.
If you want to build strength in your lower body first, do dumbbell squats without presses, Signor said. Gain a little more weight and keep your arms at your sides.
Build agility and explosive power with the Plyo Reverse Lunge Jump
Signor says the plyo-reverse lunge jump helps you develop power and agility by working multiple muscles in your lower body at the same time.
She said she starts the exercise by stepping one leg back and dropping down so both knees are at a 90-degree angle. She said land with your knees up and return to the starting position. Perform this exercise on both feet, she said.
Be sure to bend your knees when you first land and distribute your weight evenly on both feet to prevent injury.
Let’s move the whole body with linear jump
Signore said he recommends linear jumps instead of box jumps and tuck jumps where the upper body doesn’t move like in a basketball game.
When you bring your arms back, sink all the energy into your heels and use a swinging motion to lift all that energy up from your feet and through your body, she said.
She told us to start small and work our way up the exercise with fewer jumps than we could initially, slowly working our way up to maximum height. Said it helps. When she finds the limit, she marks it on the wall, which she repeats five times before she’s done, she said.
