Eric Zaun
If you want to add a deadly offensive and defensive weapon to your arsenal of beach volleyball skills, you need to have the ability to jump high. While some are gifted with a superior ability to jump high, most have to work on and hone this skill. Luckily, this is easier than it seems with the help of exercises that are designed to improve your technique. There are vertical jump exercises that will not only improve your strength but will also help your stability and explosiveness out on the court.
If you want to have an impressive vertical jump and become a better hitter and blocker, check out these simple exercises that are designed to increase your leg strength so you can get the most out of your vertical jump.
Squat Jumps
1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Lower into a squat position. Make sure your knees do not go past your toes and stick out your butt.
3. Using as much force as you can, push up through your heels and jump straight up into the air.
4. Once you land, immediately lower into a squatting position. This is one repetition.
5. Repeat the exercise until you are done with all of your repetitions.
Depth Jumps
1. Stand on a one to two-foot bench or platform.
2. Hop down and land with both feet simultaneously.
3. Once your feet hit the ground, immediately squat down and then reverse direction into a jump.
4. Repeat the exercise until you are done with all of your repetitions.
Burpees
1. Stand up straight, then squat down low and place your hands down on the ground, outside of your feet.
2. Make sure your hands stay in place and then hop both feet back so you are in a push-up position.
3. Hop your feet back as quickly as you can, place them back under your body and then jump straight up.
4. Jump up as hard as you can, and then drop back down into the low squatting position as soon as your feet touch the ground.
5. Repeat the exercise until you are done with all of your repetitions.
Barbell Squat
1. Make sure that the weighted barbell is no more than 75% of the weight you can normally squat.
2. With your feet hip width, place the barbell across the top of your shoulders, with your chest and head facing forward.
3. Bend down into a low squatting position.
4. As you are standing up, accelerate the weighted bar as if you are trying to jump with it.
5. Repeat the exercise until you are done with all of your repetitions.
Razor Curl
1. Using a Roman chair, lie face down with your ankles braced or have a partner hold your ankles.
2. Keep your hands at your side, with your palms down.
3. Pull your body backwards, making sure you are contracting your hamstrings and keeping the arch in your back.
4. Pull back until your knees and hips are bent 90 degrees.
5. Flex your knees, and then return back to starting position.
6. Repeat the exercise until you are done with all of your repetitions.
