How to Double Your

Vertical Jump for

Basketball – 12 Week
Course

Photo courtesy of Dirk Hansen

A good vertical jump is a valuable asset

for all of your players to possess. It will
help your team get more rebounds,
blocks, and steals. It will also let a few
(or many) players on your team dunk
the basketball, which can lead to
increasing your teams confidence,
enthusiasm, and can it make the game
a lot more fun!

If you are wondering if it is even

possible to increase your vertical jump,
you’ll be happy to know that with
proper training, it is definitely something
that can be improved.

I’ve developed this program over a

number of years and have seen great
improvements in the leaping ability of
those who have followed it. I call it the
Coach Mac Vertical Jump Program. Not
a very creative name, is it?

I designed this program to be

completely equipment free and also
without the need for a large space. This
program can be completed by anyone
as long as you have a 2 x 2 meters of
free space. Which we all do. So there
can be no excuses for not completing
the program.

Disclaimer: Obviously, I am not a doctor.

If you or your players feel any pain in
any of your joints during the program
stop immediately and consult a doctor.
You don’t want to make any previous
injuries any worse.

Update for 2021!

Best Vertical Jump Program in the

World

[thrive_text_block color=”orange”
headline=””]I have found what I believe
to be the current best vertical jump
program in the world, and it’s Vert
Shock by Adam Folker.
[/thrive_text_block]

While there are a ton of success stories

of players using my program and
making massive gains (check the
comments if you don’t believe me), I’m
also realistic about the extent of my
knowledge on vertical jump training.

Adam Folker is a former NCAA

Division I basketball athlete and
professional basketball player. He
connected with Justin ‘Jus Fly’
Darlington who currently holds the
title as the World’s #1 Highest Dunker
to create the best vertical jump
program ever.

If you’re interested, check out his

program below. I highly recommend it.

Vert Shock by Adam Folker

If you’re not interested in it that’s fine!

You’ll still make a ton of gains using my
workout. And I’d love you to use it! I
made a promise to myself that I’d share
the best information and products I
know about and I’m keeping that
promise.

How to Measure Your Vertical

Jump

As the saying goes, ‘You can’t improve

what you can’t measure’.

The first step on your journey to

increasing your vertical jump is to get a
starting point of where your currently at
so that you can track your progress.

Here’s how to do it;

Things you’ll need: Another friend to

help you, a ladder, and either a
permanent marker or chalk.

1. Find a wall or pole tall enough that

when you jump you cannot touch the
top.

2. Stand next to the pole or wall and

extend your arm as high as you can
above your head. This is your standing
reach. Have your friend mark your
standing reach with either a piece of
chalk or a permanent marker.

3. Now from a standing start, jump and

touch as high up the wall or pole as you
possibly can. You’ll need your friend to
watch and see where you touch so that
there’s no confusion. Get your friend to
climb the ladder and mark where you
were able to reach on the wall.

4. Measure the distance between your

standing reach and your jumping reach.
This is your current vertical jump.

Important Information on the

Coach Mac Vertical Jump
Program

Warming Up

By reading my previous article on

stretching, you’ll learn that it is
important to warm-up your muscles
first before stretching or performing any
strenuous physical activity. I
recommend jumping rope for a couple
of minutes to warm-up and increase the
blood flow to your muscles.

Phases

The program is broken up into three

different phases consisting of four
weeks each. This is because as you
continue through the program your
muscles will adapt to the intensity of
the workout, therefore we need to keep
increasing the workload in order to
continue increasing your vertical jump.

Frequency

Perform the routine every second day to

give your body a days rest in-between
workouts. This means that on week one
you’ll be training 4 times a week, week
two you’ll be training 3 times per week,
and on week three you’ll be training 4
times per week. That ends up being 11
workouts per phase for a total of 33
workouts in the program. Also, during
this program you will be taking one
week off between each phase to let
your body completely recover. You need
to give your muscles time to fully repair
in order to grow stronger and more
explosive.

Rest Intervals

One minute rest in-between all sets. If

you can, try to keep a stop watch with
you when you’re doing these workouts.
If you don’t have one my players have
found it convenient to use the stop
watches located on their mobile
phones.

Record Your Progress

Keep track of how much progress

you’ve made at the end of each rest
week. It’s going to be hard for your
players, but stress that if they really
want to see results it’s best that they
wait until the end of the rest week. We
know how hard it is for players to be
patient!

Exercises:

If you have any trouble understanding

my descriptions of the exercises,
YouTube them to watch a video of the
exercise being performed.

Jumping Rope – A skipping rope is the

only piece of equipment involved in the
program. If you don’t have one a piece
of rope will do just fine. If you don’t have
a piece of rope either jumping up and
down on the spot without much
bending in the knees will achieve a
similar result. Jumping rope involves
holding a rope with both hands and
swinging it around your body
continuously.

4-Corners – Involves you imagining 4

dots in a square shape about 15 – 20
inches apart. To complete 4-corners you
hop around the square in a clockwise
direction landing on each dot for the
required number of repetitions. 4 jumps
and completing the square equals one
repetition.

Single-Leg 4-Corners – Exactly the

same as 4-Corners except performed
on one leg.

Slow-Motion Squats – Involves

standing with your feet shoulder width
apart. From this position slowly lower
down until you are in a deep squat
making sure your heels are flat on the
ground. Hold for 2 seconds before
slowly rising back to the starting
position. The descent and rise should
each take 4 seconds to complete.
Throughout the entire exercise make
sure to keep your head up and your
back straight.

Tuck Jumps – Tuck jumps involve

descending into a comfortable squat
and then jumping as high as possible
and bringing your knees to your chest.

High-Reach Jumps – Are similar to tuck

jumps, but instead of brining your knees
to your chest, you just reach as high as
you can. This is done best under a
basketball ring or near a wall so that
you can tell how much lower your reach
becomes as you fatigue. Try to reach
the same height through all repetitions.
if you don’t have anything to measure
against, that’s fine. Just jump as high as
you can each repetition.

Lateral Jumps – Lateral jumps are

performed best with over a line or a
stick. They involve standing parallel to
the line on one side and then quickly
jumping sideways back-and-forth over
the line. Over and back equals one
repetition.

Single-Leg Lateral Jumps – Exactly the

same as lateral jumps except
performed on one leg.

Alternating Lunge Jumps – From a

normal standing position, take one step
forward with your right foot and one
step backwards with your left foot. This
is your starting position. From this
position, jump as high as you can in the
air and switch leg positions.

Straight Leg Calf Jumps – Without

bending your knees, jump up and down
in the same spot. You won’t get very
high off the ground and it will be the
ankle doing all the movement which will
work the calf muscle.

Toe Raises – Stand regularly, then raise

up onto the tips of your toes. Lower
back down. Don’t rock up and down, do
it slowly (not too slowly) but steadily.
This is improved by using stairs if you
have access to them. Alright, enough
talk. Here’s the program you’ve all been
waiting for.

Coach Mac Vertical Jump

Program

Phase 1 – Weeks 1 – 3

1. Jumping Rope – 2 minutes.

2. Stretching

3. Jumping Rope – 2 minutes.

4. Slow Motion Squats – 3 sets of 10

repetitions.

5. Lateral Jumps – 3 sets of 20

repetitions.

6. Alternating Jump Lunges – 3 sets of

10 repetitions.

7. Tuck Jumps – 3 sets of 8 repetitions.

8. Toe Raises – 3 sets of 20 repetitions.

Week 4 – Rest.

Phase 2 – Weeks 5 – 7

1. Jumping Rope – 2 minutes.

2. Stretching

3. Jumping Rope – 3 minutes.

4. Slow Motion Squats – 3 sets of 10

repetitions.

5. 4-Corners – 3 sets of 12 repetitions.

6. Single-Leg Lateral Jumps – 3 sets of

15 repetitions.

7. Alternating Jump Lunges – 3 sets of

15 repetitions.

8. High Reach Jumps – 3 sets of 8

repetitions.

9. Straight-Leg Calf Jumps – 3 sets of

30 repetitions.

Week 8 – Rest.

Phase 3 – Weeks 9 – 11

1. Jumping Rope – 2 minutes.

2. Stretching

3. Jumping Rope – 4 minutes.

4. Slow Motions Squats – 3 sets of 10

repetitions.

5. Single-Leg 4-Corners – 3 sets of 10

repetitions.

6. Single-Leg Lateral Jumps – 3 sets of

20 repetitions.

7. Alternating Jump Lunges – 3 sets of

20 repetitions.

8. Tuck Jumps – 3 sets of 8 repetitions.

9. Straight-Leg Calf Jumps – 3 sets of

40 repetitions.

Week 12 – Rest.

[thrive_text_block color=”orange”
headline=””]I have found what I believe
to be the current best vertical jump
program in the world, and it’s Vert
Shock by Adam Folker and Justin ‘Jus
Fly’ Darlington.[/thrive_text_block]

Important Update! – I have been

receiving a few emails/comments on
players tracking their jump during the
course of their program. Please
understand that what you are doing
when completing a jump program is
breaking down the muscle. You aren’t
going to see improvements mid-week
because the muscle hasn’t healed
properly. That’s why I suggest only
checking how much you’ve improved at
the end of each rest week. Rest is just
as important as the routine.

That’s it! It’s as simple as that.

I’ve seen players make massive gains

using this exact program so don’t
hesitate giving it to your players to help
them improve.

They’ll love it too. Who doesn’t want to

dunk a basketball?

Let me know how the program works

for your players. I’d love to hear some of
the results.

– Coach Mac
"

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TAGS
how to dunk, how to jump higher, increase
ver tical for basketball, increase your ver tical
leap, youth basketball

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Best Newest Oldest

Jimmy Petruzella … − ⚑
8 years ago

question...

the orthopedic surgeon told me that i have "weak

hip abductors." do i have to strengthen those to
improve my vertical?

146 2 Reply ⥅

Add 15 Inches to Vertical Jump… ⚑ −

6 years ago edited

The hip abductor muscles are the only muscles

to maintain side-to-side balance. So keeping
them good and strong is critical to prevent
injuries and optimize your jumping mechanics.

0 1 Reply ⥅

Coach Mac > −

… Jimmy Petruzella ⚑
8 years ago

Hey Jimmy,
I'm sure that would play a role! I recommend
you YouTube exercises and incorporate them
into the routine!

0 2 Reply ⥅

Brennan Bowles − ⚑
B
>
… Coach Mac
5 years ago

Coach, this workout is legitimate? And can I

incorporate running and weight lifting as far
as my upper body too? Thanks

1 0 Reply ⥅

Coach Mac > −

… Brennan Bowles⚑
5 years ago

Hey Brennan,
It can be hard on the body. Each case is
different so you have to judge your own body
and see if you can handle it!

0 0 Reply ⥅

Marknawaqa − ⚑
M 9 years ago

Hey coach does this program help with jumping

off one foot
 71 0 Reply ⥅

Coach Mac >

… Marknawaqa − ⚑
9 years ago

Hey Marknawaqa,
Yes it will deQnitely help jumping off one foot!

1 0 Reply ⥅

Deshaun Coard − ⚑
7 years ago

Would doing this exercise 2x a day be smart or

no?

67 0 Reply ⥅

Coach Mac >

… Deshaun Coard − ⚑
7 years ago

Hey Deshaun,
DeQnitely not!

0 1 Reply ⥅

Stergios Grigoriou Jr. − ⚑

9 years ago

hello coach!! :) i can work really hard as long as i

am concentrated... any tips for motivation ?

67 0 Reply ⥅

Coach Mac > −

… Stergios Grigoriou ⚑
Jr.
9 years ago

Hey Stergios,
Just think about soaring above the ring and
throwing the ball down through the hoop one
day. That's all you need ;)

1 0 Reply ⥅

smsaadjamil >
… Coach Mac− ⚑
9 years ago

Umm coach how should one increase his or

her height

0 1 Reply ⥅

Coach Mac >

… smsaadjamil − ⚑
9 years ago

I have nooooo idea haha if you ever Qnd out

the answer to that question please come
back and tell me!

1 0 Reply ⥅

smsaadjamil >
… Coach Mac− ⚑
9 years ago

Ohh sure :)

0 0 Reply ⥅

David Gentle − ⚑
D 8 years ago

Hey coach, I'm not sure if you will reply, but i just
got done with week 1 and I'm now resting for a
week. I will still be running during that week
because i need to get in shape for the upcoming
soccer season. When i do phase 2 and 3 i will be
playing soccer on Mon-Tue and Thurs-Fri for an
hour each day, and playing 1-2 soccer games each
week.
I guess my question is... will I still get the same
results even if I'm playing soccer during my rest
weeks?

65 0 Reply ⥅

Coach Mac >

… David Gentle − ⚑
8 years ago

Hey David,
The results won't be the same because your
legs aren't getting as much rest... but you will
still see results.
It's not often that a youth player can take many
weeks off their schedule. So we make do!

1 0 Reply ⥅

12345 − ⚑
1 9 years ago

Would there be any negative results if I do this

workout only 2 times a week? but still do all 33
workouts eventually.

64 0 Reply ⥅

Coach Mac >

… 12345 − ⚑
9 years ago

Hey there,
I don't think you would achieve the same
results, but it's deQnitely better than not doing it
at all!

0 0 Reply ⥅

Who knows − ⚑
W
>
… Coach Mac
6 years ago

What would happen if I did it daily and rested

on the weekend

0 0 Reply ⥅

Coach Mac >

… Who knows − ⚑
5 years ago

I wouldn't recommend it.

You need time to recover between workouts.

0 1 Reply ⥅

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