Vertical Jump Testing and Plyometrics

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   To test your vertical jump:
1.  Complete a thorough warm-up.
2.  Stand directly beside a wall, with your body perpendicular to the wall, ideally with some chalk or ink or something like that on your fingers or else a sharp-eyed friend to watch exactly where your fingers hit the wall.
3. On two flat feet, reach up as high as you can with your arm adjacent to the wall and mark the highest point you can reach.
4.  Without moving either of your feet, crouch down however far you want (you can experiement on your attempts) and immediately explode up, reaching as high as you can with your arm next to the wall and marking the wall at the highest point.
5.  Measure the distance between your two marks.
Please note that some basketball programs measure the vertical jump with one static foot and allowing the other foot the move however much the athlete wants.  This will usually result in a significantly higher jump, but it is not comparable to the jump off two feet.  
Testing your standing long jump is often easier.  The best way is to go to a long jump pit and jump off the footboard into the sand, but you can also do it on grass or wrestling mats etc.
One thing that you should consider when testing your vertical or standing long jump is that because they are such fast, explosive movements, your results can be significantly affected by the amount and type of your recent activity.  For example, two days after a heavy squat workout is definitely NOT the time to test your jumps.  So the best time to test your jumps is after several days of rest from your last hard leg workout, and perhaps the day after a very short, moderately intense lifting or throwing workout, which alleviates any staleness.
Unless your knees or back are really bad, testing your jumps in this manner periodically shouldn't hurt much at all.  Including plyometrics in your program is a different matter, depending on any injuries, your weight, flexibility/mobility, and the specific exercises used.  
Jumping or sprinting explosively up stairs 2-3 at a time is relatively easy on one's body, jumps up onto a high box are very low impact if done properly, bounding on mats or grass (essentially sprinting using a very explosive and exaggerated flat-footed take off) is not too bad, while two-footed "bunny hops" on the ground or over hurdles are the most demanding.  

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Pingleton Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Postaholic Highland Games' virtually straight legs Joined: 11/28/06 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 2747	Post Options Post Reply Quote Pingleton Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Vertical Jump Testing and Plyometrics Posted: 1/11/08 at 5:50am
	To test your vertical jump: 1. Complete a thorough warm-up. 2. Stand directly beside a wall, with your body perpendicular to the wall, ideally with some chalk or ink or something like that on your fingers or else a sharp-eyed friend to watch exactly where your fingers hit the wall. 3. On two flat feet, reach up as high as you can with your arm adjacent to the wall and mark the highest point you can reach. 4. Without moving either of your feet, crouch down however far you want (you can experiement on your attempts) and immediately explode up, reaching as high as you can with your arm next to the wall and marking the wall at the highest point. 5. Measure the distance between your two marks. Please note that some basketball programs measure the vertical jump with one static foot and allowing the other foot the move however much the athlete wants. This will usually result in a significantly higher jump, but it is not comparable to the jump off two feet. Testing your standing long jump is often easier. The best way is to go to a long jump pit and jump off the footboard into the sand, but you can also do it on grass or wrestling mats etc. One thing that you should consider when testing your vertical or standing long jump is that because they are such fast, explosive movements, your results can be significantly affected by the amount and type of your recent activity. For example, two days after a heavy squat workout is definitely NOT the time to test your jumps. So the best time to test your jumps is after several days of rest from your last hard leg workout, and perhaps the day after a very short, moderately intense lifting or throwing workout, which alleviates any staleness. Unless your knees or back are really bad, testing your jumps in this manner periodically shouldn't hurt much at all. Including plyometrics in your program is a different matter, depending on any injuries, your weight, flexibility/mobility, and the specific exercises used. Jumping or sprinting explosively up stairs 2-3 at a time is relatively easy on one's body, jumps up onto a high box are very low impact if done properly, bounding on mats or grass (essentially sprinting using a very explosive and exaggerated flat-footed take off) is not too bad, while two-footed "bunny hops" on the ground or over hurdles are the most demanding.