How to Jump Higher in Volleyball: The Complete Vertical Jump Guide (Mechanics, Exercises & the 10 Commandments)
If you’re reading this story, it’s more than likely you want to know how to increase your vertical jump for volleyball. The internet and the gym bro's on Instagram can make this a confusing topic to cover but worry not. We've got you covered.
This is our complete guide to jumping higher for beach volleyball — or sand volleyball, as the game is called across much of the country. We’ve merged our best vertical jump training guides, jump mechanics breakdowns, and leg workout articles into this single pillar, so everything you need to increase your vertical is on this one page.
In this blog, we're going to go over:
- How many times does a beach volleyball player jump per match?
- The sweet spot for sets and reps to improve your vertical jump
- The two metrics you must improve to increase your vertical jump
- How long should you rest between sets for vertical jump training? (it's longer than you think)
- How many times should you jump for vertical jump training?
- How many times a week should you train for vertical jump?
- How much weight should I use for vertical jump training?
- The best workout program to increase your vertical jump
How many times does a beach volleyball player jump per match?
In a webinar Better at Beach hosted not too long ago, Master Coach Mark Burik asked the audience how many times they thought a beach volleyball player jumps in a match. Guesses ran the gamut of figures, from 100 almost to 1,000 jumps in a single beach volleyball match. The answer may surprise you. It surprised us.
A beach volleyball player only jumps 40 to 60 times per match at the FIVB world tour level.
That is, of course, an average. It's an inexact number because it will invariably change from one player to the next. Phil Dalhausser, for example, will not jump 60 times per match; he’ll rise only to block and jump serve, and on the rare occasion the opposing team is committing beach volleyball suicide and serving him the ball. Taylor Crabb may jump even less; he does not block, does not typically jump serve, and is served almost as infrequently as Dalhausser.
So, what does this tell us?
Our training must reflect the manner in which we play. Programs like our 60-day Max Vertical Program have to take into account, how many times volleyball players jump, when they jump and how they jump. You cannot take any leg program off the internet and expect to increase your vertical jump.
We have to train to prepare for the way we play.
“When you’re jumping in a volleyball match, you’re not actually max jumping,” Better at Beach founder Mark Burik said. “The majority of your jumps are not your max jumps. They’re somewhere between 70 and 90 percent of your max. We take that information and bring it into our training as well.
“When you’re training, remember that you’re not always, always jumping. You’re not always going to be jumping, so you’re going to want to measure your jumps out.”
Which sport has the highest vertical jump?
Another trivia question for you: Which sport has, on average, the highest vertical jump?
We know your guesses: Basketball, Olympic-level high jumpers, football, a few on our webinar even guessed soccer (soccer?).
You’re wrong. All of you. The answer took us off guard as well. The sport with the highest vertical jump could be argued isn’t even a sport at all, but a show of machismo and brute strength: Olympic lifters.
Yes, those guys and gals you see maybe once every four years at the Olympics, with the bulging biceps, puffed out chests, traps that appear as if someone stuffed small watermelons into their shoulders, muscle sinews that seem as if they’re made of leather belts – they’re the ones with the highest vertical jumps.
How?
Because they’re masters of their crafts, gigantic, muscle-bound scientists who know the secret sauce to explosive movements.
“They’re the most explosive athletes because they’re moving the most weight as fast as possible,” Burik said. “We can get close to those benefits. We have to build up to handle max strength at max effort.”
Olympic lifters know the formula to train explosive movements. They build max strength, using 85 to 100 percent of their one-rep max, when in the strength phase of their program. Then they deload, using 0-20 percent of their one-rep max for jumping exercises.
The result?
They're the most explosive athletes on the planet.
How many reps and sets should I use for vertical jump training?
Our training program to increase your vertical jump in beach volleyball isn’t all that different from what you’ll find in an Olympic lifter’s program. It features a high number of sets (3-6) with a low number of reps (1-6) and an amount of rest that will leave you antsy and maybe even a bit self-conscious.
If you want a sample of our programs, give our completely free three workouts for an increased vertical jump a try.
You know that guy at the gym, who seems to be doing one set every five minutes, spending more time on Instagram and TikTok than his actual workout? Yeah, that’s going to be you, if you want to increase your vertical jump in beach volleyball as quickly as possible. Our program features up to six sets per exercise, with one to five reps each, with lots and lots and lots of rest between (3-5 minutes).
“If you’re like me, you’re probably thinking that you’re never doing enough, that you could always do more, that you can’t take an off day,” Burik said. “Some people hate the look and feel of sitting at the gym, just standing there, some people hate that. But if you’re a volleyball player, you need to get used to that."
We’re training max effort and max strength. Max strength is crucial to volleyball, and speed is crucial to volleyball. When you’re training for maximum strength and maximum speed, your work to rest ratio should be around 1:6-12.
If you jump as hard as you can for five seconds, you should rest for a minute and 10 seconds, a minute and 20 seconds. Think about a volleyball point: Our max effort comes on an approach, then we don’t get to another max effort until the next time we receive."
How long should I rest between sets for vertical jump training?
Here's the ironic little secret: The less you do, the more your gains. Don’t take this too far, of course. If you just go to 24 Hour Fitness and look at the people lifting, you won’t become the highest jumper on the beach by virtue of osmosis.
But it is critical to keep in mind what we’re training for; we’re working for max strength and explosiveness, not aesthetics. If your goal is to look fantastic and get ripped, then you’re welcome to do drop sets and super sets and high-rep sets in minimal rest circuits that are common among your Average Joe at the gym, because they're there simply to stave off the dreaded dad bod.
But Average Joe’s goals are not our goals.
Our goals are to increase our vertical jump in beach volleyball, so we’re bouncing balls, swatting shots, and winning matches.
And if that’s our goal, the frequency and volume with which we lift is going to be different than your lift if you’re simply trying to look good. Our goal is function, not appearance. So, between sets, we're going to rest -- a lot. Three to five minutes is a good number to shoot for. Do some breathing exercises. Do some mobility. Listen to a podcast. Whatever you do, let your body recover, so your next set can be an explosive one.
“Every foot contact that you have that is a max jump – a depth jump, a power clean, a hang clean – we’re going to start counting those, and if you look at the program you’ve written for yourself, and you see five sets of 10 squats for day one, you only have 50 jumps left for the entire week if you’re talking about serious vertical jump training,” Burik said. “If you do 60 box jumps for some reason in one workout, you only have 40 left in the week.
“When you train, your body listens to the way you train. So if you train yourself to jump at 70 percent, it’s never going to know what it’s like to jump 100 percent. One hundred is going to be your ceiling for maximum effort.”
How many times a week should you train for vertical jump?
In a study done on the effectiveness of the depth jump – when you drop off a box or bench, land, and immediately leap onto another box or bench – there was a low frequency group, moderate frequency group, and high frequency group. The low frequency group performed depth jumps one day per week; moderate two days; high four days.
What they found was a staggering increase in vertical leap from the low to moderate groups – and absolutely no increase in vertical jump from moderate to high.
What can we take from this?
That volume is important, if we properly control it.
The 60-day Max Vertical Program controls it, and has the science to back it up, as does our free option, with three free workouts to increase your vertical jump in beach volleyball.
“If you keep doing more than is necessary, you’re going to start hurting yourself,” Burik said. “You’re going to get overtrained, you’re going to take a beating, you’re going to burn yourself out. We’re looking somewhere between one to three max efforts per week.”
Should you train for vertical jump in-season or only during the off-season?
If you’re looking for the silver bullet, the one regimented schedule that you can put on repeat and do over and over and over again, 51 weeks in a row, to increase your vertical in beach volleyball, well, this isn’t the place.
There is no place for that.
It’s fairy dust, as real as Mordor or Narnia or Hogwarts.
In reality, the way we train varies on when we compete, which tournaments we want to peak for, and how long our season is. There is, however, a certain rhythm to the way we train, an order in which to increase our strength and explosiveness so we’re flying around the sand for, say, the Manhattan Beach Open.
The typical beach volleyball schedule – unless you’re in college – will begin with competitions in April or May. This makes January, February and March what we’ll call our max strength and power phases of increasing our vertical for beach volleyball. Here the volume of reps is low, the number of sets is high, and we’re “seeing how much weight I can push,” Burik said. “We’re creating a little bit of space in our bodies and muscles to allow us to push heavier weights and that’s when we start training for our season, getting ready to jump.”
We’re getting strong. We’re maxing out our deadlifts, our cleans, our squats. Then April and May roll around, and there’s a slight shift. We’re still developing max strength and power, though now the focus is more on power. We’re decreasing the weight a bit to move the weight faster, more explosively. We’re training our bodies to push large amounts of weight as quickly as we can.
“If you can move a bunch of weight, and you can move it as fast as possible, guess what? You'll have lift-off” Burik said. “Once you’re able to generate fast, speed, now we’re rocking. It’s everything.”
Now we’re rocking. We’re rolling. Now it’s June, tournament season, the meat of our schedule. Now we’re focused on nothing but power and speed. Because we’re training on the sand more, competing more, we’ve dropped our weight lifting regimen to once, maybe twice per week.
“That’s when we want performance on the court,” Burik said. “Performance on the court is what counts for most of us. You don’t want to be exhausted when you’re going into a match. Everything is tailored to perform at their best during the biggest tournaments.
“Once you’ve acquired the strength then we can convert it to speed and that’s going to convert to a vertical for performance. You have to pick whatever your goal is, which is hard for a lot of people because they have 20 tournaments this summer. You want to win all of them – we all do – but you have to decide, you have to pick.”
And then, at the end of August, the Manhattan Beach rolls around. Because you’ve increased your vertical in beach volleyball, because you’ve developed max power and speed, because you’re hitting higher and harder, because you’re blocking bigger and more effectively, you win the Manhattan Beach Open. You get your name cemented on the Pier. You spray champagne and celebrate like the champion you are.
Guess what?
Then we get to do it again.
We’re back to power. Back to lifting heavy. Back to getting Better at Beach, in the weight room. Back to increasing our vertical in beach volleyball, so next year we’re even higher, even faster, even more explosive.
“Athleticism is earned AND you can learn it,” Burik said. “You can learn how to do it, and you can learn to train the right way for your sport. I promise you there is a very, very wrong way to train for volleyball, to train for vertical jump, to train for explosiveness and there are ways you can absolutely destroy and hinder that. I want to make sure you don’t allow that to happen.
I want to help you unleash your athleticism so that you can win more. I want to make sure you win more points because let’s face it, winning is fun. There is no better feeling than real athletic power. It feels so good to have your legs under you, being in an athletic position, and being able to go from 0-60 in two seconds. Having that type of power gives you so much confidence because you start KNOWING you can get to every ball.”
How do you jump higher out of the sand? Jump mechanics and the four-step approach
Direct answer: Jumping higher in sand starts with your approach mechanics, not the weight room. Use a four-step approach, going “small and slow to fast and big,” and pay attention to foot positioning and ground contact on your last two steps — that’s where beach players convert speed into vertical.
APPROACH MECHANICS FOR SPIKING IN VOLLEYBALL
Gain your max vertical and start jumping higher, hitting harder, and moving faster.
The Four Step Approach and Jump Mechanics
Before diving into the mechanics you need to jump higher in volleyball, you should know where you start your approach. Brandon explains this key point in our video
Already know your timing and looking for a few things to give you that edge and get you that max vertical in beach volleyball?
Let’s talk about the mechanics for jumping higher!
Chad covers jump mechanics and more in this video while conducting a private lesson at one of our exclusive training camps in St Pete, Florida.
The size and speed of your steps are crucial to perfecting your jumping mechanics.
“Small and slow to fast and big”
THE FOUR STEP APPROACH AND JUMP MECHANICS
Your approach is the most important part of your attack in beach volleyball.
We recommend that everybody use a four-step approach because it is going to give you enough time, patience and power to make whatever swing you are trying to make. With that four-step approach, you are going to want to use as much distance between you and the net as you can. Click and save this image for future reference when doing your drills for our Attacking Master Course or just for when you are feeling like your timing is off during your games.
Remember, mastering the fundamentals is key!
We are giving you all the tools for your mental toolbox to help make you the best beach volleyball player you can be.
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The next thing that we need to think about is the timing of our footwork. As you go through your approach from your first step to your fourth step, it should go from “slow and small to fast and big.”
One issue that we see is people having ONE, consistent speed from their first step to their last step. If you have that, then your ability to adjust needs some attention. Make sure you are starting off slow and you are finishing very fast or explosive. That's going to allow you to get up in the air as high as possible, allowing you to effectively hit whatever shot you want.
Jump training and the proper exercises will help give your body a “leg up” on the competition. Mark has put these tried and true methods together for you and can be found in our
“The 10 Commandments of the Vertical Jump:
The Best Exercises, Reps, Sets and Rest for Jumping Athletes”
Now, you are going to be thinking about the distance of your steps, which is going to go "small and slow, to fast and bigger and then biggest." When you are approaching to hit a volleyball, the “biggest and explosive” steps are going to be your last two steps (the step-close) right before you go on the attack.
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After passing the ball, you should gather yourself and not rush to the net. Once the setter touches the ball, that is when our FIRST step of the approach initiates. You will then slowly put your right foot (for right handed hitters) down on the ground. This should feel like you're walking down the street with one of your friends after brunch and you're just enjoying the day.
AVOID THESE MISTAKES FOR VERTICAL JUMPS IN BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Your first two steps are going to feel very, very calm. To reiterate - you will go from “slow and small to fast and big”. After you make your pass, you remain calm and assess the situation. You will see the setter touch the ball. This is where you are starting to put down your right step, your left step, and then your last two steps allowing you to make a strong attack. If you are a left handed hitter, your steps will be left step, right step, and then your step close.
We have given you the proper steps to mastering your approach with the information above. However, if you are still wondering how to get the maximum effort out of your steps and become the most explosive out of the sand, you will need to think about how your feet are positioned as well as how they are contacting the ground with each of your steps. This is just as important as the speed in which you approach maintaining power and giving you the ability to achieve the max vertical you dream about.
Mark describes the differences between indoor volleyball and beach volleyball approaches, and how to get your foot positioning and ground contact set up to bounce balls with those spicy spikes! All the details are in this YouTube Video
“Beach Volleyball Vertical - The SECRET to Jumping Higher”
Your jump and your spike are inseparable — once your mechanics are dialed in, work through our full step-by-step spiking technique guide and spiking tips and hitting drills.
What are the 10 Commandments of the vertical jump?
Direct answer: Our 10 Commandments of vertical jump training are: assessment, metrics, balance, mobility, core, glute activation, jump practice, max strength, speed, and recovery. Master these ten in order and you have the exact framework our pro and AVP athletes use to add inches to their vertical. Here they all are in detail.
1. Assessment: Know yourself, so you can grow yourself
Before we get into the reps and sets and any actual lifting and workouts, we must begin with an assessment.
“Knowing what type of jumper you are, knowing where you are, is huge,” Burik said. “If you’re in a program, and it doesn’t start you off with a movement assessment, telling you where you’re mobile, telling you where you’re tight, telling you what type of jumper you are – maybe we could imagine we’re tight in certain areas, but we don’t know.”
If you’re sick, for example, you’d tell your doctor your symptoms. He or she would then diagnose you with a specific medicine and specific activities you should do and avoid. That’s assessment.
Increasing your vertical jump for volleyball is no different. We must first assess, to understand, as Burik said, “what type of jumper you are.”
As part of that assessment, we must understand the Second Commandment of the Vertical Jump: What Metrics are important for you to know, and how to improve.
2. Metrics: What they are, and why you need them
In volleyball, there are a number of different types of jumps. There is our approach jump, which we use mostly in serve receive and transition when we’re attacking. There’s a block jump, in which we do not have the luxury of an approach to build up speed and explosiveness. There’s also a broad jump, measuring how far we can jump.
Before we begin our program to increase our vertical in volleyball, we must first measure all of these jumps, so we can get an accurate assessment – the First Commandment – of what type of jumper we are, and how much we are improving as we go.
In the weight room, we will test our one-rep max for both the back squat and deadlift, two of the most crucial lifts to increase your vertical in volleyball.
And, finally, we will measure our speed and agility. To do this, put two cones roughly 15 feet apart. After hitting your stopwatch, time how long it takes, using only shuffle footwork, to touch each cone 10 times.
Now that we have our metrics, and are properly assessed, we can move on to Commandment Three.
3. Balance: The key to longevity in volleyball
You might feel balanced. You might feel as if both of your legs are doing an equal amount of work. You might feel as if your strength and explosiveness are perfectly balanced. This is unlikely, especially in a sport such as volleyball, where hundreds upon thousands of movements require the use of muscles both big and small.
“So many people have muscles that are inhibited, who haven’t had a program that allowed them to get balanced,” Burik said. “If one of your hips is working harder than the other, it’s going to lead to injury.
“If every time you need to jump or move athletically and you’re also kind of falling, you’re not going to be able to use all your power, you’re not going to be able to use your maximal jump, it’s going to dissipate all your energy.”
Have you heard of the term “jumpers knee”? Chances are, you have, and there’s a reason it’s not called “jumpers knees.” It’s singular: Only one knee is particularly inflamed to the point of getting a diagnosis. Why is this?
Imbalance.
One leg is doing more work than the other. This could be due to anything from ankle mobility to hip mobility to lower back mobility to an imbalance in our strength. In order to reduce our risk of injury, we must ensure that we train in a balanced manner, keeping our weight distribution equal throughout our kinetic chain.
How can we ensure this?
In a word: Mobility.
4. Mobility: Athleticism and strength in every position
“In order to be athletic, you have to be mobile. Some people call this flexibility, but we call it mobility,” Burik said. “Can you be athletic and strong in a lot of different positions?”
Static stretching is a tremendous test of flexibility, and has its value. But how often are we going to be simply sitting down, stretching our hamstrings on a volleyball court? Not often.
How often are we going to be in a deep lunge, reaching for a ball, before popping up to hit it immediately after?
Almost every play.
That’s the difference between flexibility and mobility.
“Imagine how much better you could be if you could get into a deep squat or a deep lunge and pass in between your legs and under your knees and all those awkward positions we get into in sport and in volleyball,” Burik said. “We need to be able to get into those awkward positions and still be strong and efficient.”
Mobility is the Fourth Commandment of the Vertical Jump -- these stretches and exercises will teach you how to become more mobile -- but it might be the first commandment of how to become an excellent volleyball player. Mobility will not only help us jump higher, but it’ll help us swing harder, allowing us to rotate our chest and spine as we go to hit the ball. Mobility is what will keep you injury free, allowing you to play an entire season without injury.
Especially when that mobility is combined with the Fifth Commandment of the Vertical Jump: Core.
5. Core: It's not just for good-looking abs
The definition for your core is a vague one. Most, when thinking of core, imagine six-pack abs and a rippling lower back. This isn’t wrong; just limited.
“Your core,” Burik explained, “is everything underneath your chest all the way to your thighs.”
Rather than imagine your core as an enormous group of muscles, perhaps it will help to think of its purpose: Stability. We use our core in literally everything we do: walking, talking, shuffling through the checkout line at Trader Joe’s, jumping to hit a ball, changing direction to dig a high line -- as we show in the video below -- spiking a volleyball, literally everything.
It’s what keeps our body stable, able to make explosive movements, or any movements at all, really.
“When I was taking off for digs, when I was running, I noticed that my body had this lag that I didn’t want it to have,” Burik said of his years as a professional beach volleyball player when he had a weaker core. “I would lead and my chest would get left behind and then it would catch up. Now my legs are trying to pull my chest instead of driving my chest. Your legs are better at pushing than they are pulling. I was slow. As soon as I started embracing core work, then I finally felt fast. You can learn to be fast. This is one of the things that was holding me back from getting so many digs. I am always in the top three on the AVP in digs. Always. A big part of that is core.”
6. Glute activation: We can't jump high if our butt's asleep
If you have been to an AVP beach volleyball tournament, or have watched a professional beach volleyball player in any capacity, you will no doubt have seen a version of the same warm up routine from all of them: They’ll put bands around their legs and begin to do small movements.
There’s a reason 99 percent of beach volleyball players do this: Those bands activate the glute muscles.
Those glute muscles are the keys to unlocking your vertical jump.
“Certain muscles can be inhibited. They fall asleep,” Burik said. “Other muscles override them. Your glute muscles should be the strongest in your body, and are absolutely imperative to strength and speed. Making sure our glutes know when it was time to fire is crucial. Glute activation tells your glutes it’s time to fire.”
You know what doesn’t tell your glutes it’s time to fire? Sitting. You know what we do all day, every day?
Sit.
Having a thorough warm-up routine that gets your glute muscles activated and firing is a critical commandment of the vertical jump. We can’t expect to increase our vertical in volleyball if the biggest muscle isn’t firing.
And, for that matter, we can’t expect to increase our vertical in volleyball if we’re not doing arguably the most important activity: Jumping!
7. Jump jump jump...to improve your vertical jump
The human body and brain is a remarkable thing. It truly is. We can program it to do virtually anything we want: Run a marathon? Sure. Swim 10 miles? Why not? Lift an obscene amount of weight? Absolutely.
We can only do these impressive feats, however, if we tell our body what we’re doing, and how to do it.
“This is crucial,” Burik said. “How are you going to jump higher if you don’t tell your body what to do? You need to jump on a regular basis.”
Which is why the Seventh Commandment of the Vertical Jump is, simply: Jump, jump, jump.
But jump the right way.
“Does a jump roper have a high vertical jump? They can. But normally they don’t,” Burik said. “They’ve trained themselves to jump two inches. Your body is awesome. It will build the muscles and pathways you tell it to. So if you’re not jumping on at least three of your workouts per week, you’re not going to be able to jump higher, period.”
You must jump high. You must jump explosively. You must jump like you would in a match.
You must jump, jump, jump.
8. Max strength: The building block of the vertical leap
Have you ever watched Sean Rosenthal play volleyball? If you’ve been a fan of the sport for any of the previous 20 years, then you’ve seen Superman fly. As you’ve watched him bounce the Vegas Line, or soar over some of the biggest blocks in the world, have you noticed the dude’s quads?
They’re huge!
And incredibly, almost indescribably, strong. It’s by no accident that Rosenthal is one of the most impressive leapers of the previous two decades; he has some of the strongest legs you’ll ever see. His legs have virtually maxed out their strength, the Eighth Commandment of the Vertical Jump.
“This is huge,” Burik said. “Your ability to move with force and move your body well will get you skying. If you’re not scheduling sets with high weights for yourself, you won’t be able to maximize whatever you got. You have to develop max strength.”
There is a simple formula to develop the maximal strength needed to increase your vertical for volleyball. Your workouts should be done in three to six sets, between one and six repetitions each. These sets should be done using 80-95 percent of your one-rep max, which we measured with the Second Commandment of the Vertical Jump.
As we build our maximum strength, we’ll simultaneously be improving upon the Ninth Commandment of the Vertical Jump: Speed.
9. Speed: To jump high, you must jump fast
There is little that’s complicated about this commandment. It’s as simple as it gets:
“If you can move a bunch of weight, and you can move it as fast as possible, guess what?” Burik said. “All that energy is going into the ground and it’s taking off. Once you’re able to generate fast speed, all of a sudden, yes, we’re rocking.”
Equally important to how much weight we’re lifting is how fast we’re able to lift it. If we can deadlift 500 pounds, that’s great – but if it takes us 20 seconds to get all that weight up, it’s not doing us much good. Remember: Our brains are smart. If we’re teaching it to lift and move slow, we’re going to move slow. If we’re teaching it to move heavy weights fast, we’re going to be able to move fast.
We’re going to be chasing down high lines and skying over the blockers with no issue. The deadliest combination to increase your vertical in volleyball is max strength and max speed.
But all of this – the assessing and measuring, building strength and speed, developing core and mobility – would all be entirely useless without the Tenth Commandment of the Vertical Jump: Recovery.
10. Recovery: The secret to increasing your vertical
Do you know what’s happening while you’re working out? You’re actually tearing your muscles in microscopic ways. You’re breaking your body down, and every time it recovers, it recovers incrementally stronger, so it’s more difficult to break down the next time. Which is why we have to increase our weights to continually break those muscles down.
But if we’re not giving our body time to recover, our muscles are simply breaking down more and more, which leads to injury, burnout, and frustration. Recovery is imperative, in everything we do. There’s a reason that texts as old as the Bible call for an entire day of rest. Even God took a day off, folks.
So can you.
If it helps, look at your rest days as work. You must rest, or you’re actually moving backwards, getting further from your goal to increase your vertical in volleyball. Put in the work in the gym, then put in the rest that will make it all worth it.
What are the best exercises to increase your vertical jump for beach (sand) volleyball?
Direct answer: The best exercises to jump higher are squats, plyometrics (box jumps, jump squats, depth jumps), lunges, and calf raises, combined with technique work and stretching for mobility. Here’s how each one earns its spot.
Want to go deeper on the strength side? See our dedicated guides: Lower Body Strength Exercises to Jump Higher, Lower Body Explosiveness and Glute Activation Workouts.
1. Squats: The King of Jump Exercises
Squats are one of the most effective exercises for increasing vertical jump. They target the quads, glutes, and hamstrings, which are the muscles that you use to jump. Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing forward. Then, squat down until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Finally, explode upward as high as you can, reaching for the sky. Repeat for 3 sets of 10-15 reps.
Try this pistol squat variation below!
2. Plyometrics: Add Explosive Power to Your Jumps
Plyometric exercises are a great way to add explosive power to your jumps. These exercises involve jumping and bounding movements that help improve your strength, power, and agility. One effective plyometric exercise is box jumps. Stand in front of a sturdy box or bench, and jump onto it, landing in a squat position. Then, jump back down and repeat for 3 sets of 10 reps.
Here is a detailed visualization of how to properly do a box jump. Also check out our blog "How to Jump Higher: Tips and Techniques"
3. Lunges: Strengthen Your Leg Muscles
Lunges are another great exercise for increasing vertical jump. They target the quads, hamstrings, and glutes, which are the key muscles involved in jumping. Start by standing with your feet hip-width apart, and take a big step forward with one leg. Then, bend your front knee until it's directly over your ankle, and lower your back knee toward the ground. Push back up to the starting position and repeat with the other leg. Do 3 sets of 10 reps on each leg.
Better at Beach offers an immersive online volleyball course with exercises for increasing vertical jump. Check out this quick overview!!
4. Calf Raises: Don't Forget Your Calves
Don't forget to work your calf muscles if you want to increase your vertical jump. Strong calves will help you generate more power when you jump. Stand on the edge of a step with your heels hanging off, and lower your heels down as far as you can. Then, rise up onto your toes and hold for a second before lowering back down. Repeat for 3 sets of 20 reps.
Never Skip Leg Day!
Improve Your Technique
Improving your technique can also help you jump higher in beach volleyball. Focus on proper form when jumping, including keeping your arms back and swinging them forward as you jump. Additionally, work on your approach and timing, making sure to plant your foot and jump off both feet at the same time.
Stretching and Mobility
Stretching and mobility work can also play a role in increasing your vertical jump. Tight muscles can limit your range of motion and reduce your power output. Make sure to incorporate dynamic stretching and foam rolling into your warm-up routine before jumping into your training session. Additionally, work on your ankle and hip mobility with exercises such as ankle circles and hip flexor stretches.
What’s the best workout program to increase your vertical jump?
Direct answer: If you want a proven, structured plan instead of piecing workouts together, our 60-Day Max Vertical Jump program ($97) is the exact progression we use with our athletes — assessment, strength, plyometrics, speed, and recovery, laid out day by day for every age and level.
>> Start the 60-Day Max Vertical Jump program here
Want a free sample first? Join our email list and try Our 3 Best Workouts for Vertical Jump.
How do I get coaching on my jump technique and the rest of your game?
Reading is a start, but jumping (and playing) better comes fastest with coaching and lessons. Our complete skills courses and follow-along training are all inside the Better at Beach membership — the $1 seven-day trial gets you all of it for a week, then it’s $49/month or $497/year.
If you want in-person lessons, our 3-day beach volleyball camps ($599) are essentially multi-day classes with a coach-to-camper ratio no higher than 1:10 — and the players who improve fastest combine the membership with a camp: coaching before, during, and after.
