Basketball is a game full of physicalities. It is essential to have good stamina, a sturdy body, a high vertical jump, and a good basketball IQ. All I mentioned have different reasons why you need to improve in that category.
First is stamina so that you don’t get tired quickly. The second is a sturdy body. Having a sturdy body will give you an advantage in both defense and offense. The third is good basketball IQ, having a good basketball IQ is essential so that you can think fast even while under pressure. Lastly is the high vertical jump. What is the use of it? Why do we need to improve our vertical jump?
The vertical jump is essential, and every basketball player needs to improve their vertical jump. Your vertical jump is used for grabbing rebounds, blocking the shots, rising for jump shots, and throwing the ball with a monstrous dunk. If you need some exercises to improve your vertical jump, go through this link.
Before improving your vertical jump, you have to measure it first so that you can decide how intense your workout will be. Today I am going to teach you to measure your vertical jump. You will do this to check how intense your workout should be, and to check if you have improved.
Why Measure Your Vertical Jump?
Before we proceed to our main topic, let’s first know different reasons why you need to measure your vertical jump. Maybe you don’t know why you need this, or you just measure it without knowing the use of it.
The first important reason why you measure your vertical jump is to check what needs to be improved. After checking, decide if you are going for an intense workout or a light workout. If your vertical jump is not satisfactory, then it’s better to go for the intense workout. If you need to maintain your vertical jump, then go for light vertical jump workouts.
The second reason why you measure your vertical jump is to check if you have improved your vertical jump. There is a quote that says “ Never confuse movement with progress because you can run all the time and never get anywhere”. Yeah, you can do vertical exercises every day, but without knowing your goal, it is hard for you to check if you have progressed.
So first, you set a goal, how high you want your vertical jump to be? Check your vertical jump, then ask yourself, what kind of vertical jump workout should you apply for you to reach your desired vertical jump? Then after knowing what kind of vertical jump workout you need, do the work and move your ass. Next is to check if you have progressed, check if the exercise you are doing effects, and improves your vertical jump. Lastly, check if you have reached your goal, and if not, then continue to hustle.
Measuring your vertical jump is indeed an important thing to do. It helps you to measure your progress and to check if you have attained your goal. Measuring it will help you also to check if the vertical jump program you have bought is working. However, do not test your vertical jump frequently. If you do it often, you may not see a massive improvement, which could cause you to lose confidence and motivation. In simple words, apply more work than checking.
What You’ll Need To Measure Your Vertical Jump
If you have some money to spare, then buy a vertical jump tester. This tester is indeed much uncomplicated to measure your vertical jump. Sadly, it is quite expensive that not everybody can afford it. The good news is, we have a much better way to check your vertical jump without giving a hole in your pocket. You can do this at home, school, basketball court, or in any place you wanted. Let’s take first a look at what tools you need.
- Jump Area – a flat area that is next to a clear wall
- A tape measure or yardstick
- Chalk, masking tape, or paint – Chalk and paint can be a good marker, but if you don’t want to vandalize the wall, masking tape will be the best option.
Steps To Measure Your Vertical Jump
1. Stand Next To The Wall
Find a good jump area. Make sure the jump area is clean, with no dangerous debris, and no people near the wall to avoid hitting them. The jump area should have a wall next to it. Stand straight next to the wall. Make sure that your feet are flat on the ground, and your body is next to the wall.
2. Apply Chalk, Tape, Or Paint
Apply the chalk, tape, or paint on your middle finger. You will use this to mark the wall and to check your vertical jump.
3. Mark Highest Spot While Standing
Stand straight, keep your feet flat, and do not tiptoe. While standing flat and straight on the ground next to the wall, reach as high as you can and touch the wall with your fingertips. Make sure to leave a mark using chalk, tape, or paint that was on your middle finger.
4. Mark Highest Spot While Jumping
This step is the same as step 3. The only difference they have is that you need to jump right now. Cover your finger with chalk, paint, or masking tape. Jump as high as you can, and hit the wall while in the air. This should leave a mark on the top of the wall. After step three and step four, make sure you leave two marks on the wall. One that you did in step three, and the other one is at the top of the mark you made earlier on step three.
5. Measure, Measure, Measure
You are now going to measure using your yardstick or measuring tape. Measure the distance from the standing reach mark you have made in step two to the top of the jumping reach mark made in step three.
My suggestion is you use a yardstick instead of measuring tape because you can easily hold the yardstick against the wall. But if you decide to use a measuring tape, then it would be fine. Just make sure to use a chair, ladder, or a stool to hold one end of the measuring tape against the wall while measuring both marks.
6. Repeat Step Four
Sometimes you fail to give your best shot that you need unlimited tries. Try repeating steps four-five times, and use your highest one. Make sure to give your best on those five attempts because doing this often can make you tired, and your next attempts may not have a good result.
7. Record Your Measurement
It is essential to record your attempts to keep track of your progress. Write the best number you have made in a notebook or journal so you can check if you are improving and to check if you are attaining your goal.
Why Do We Use Our Hands In Measuring?
You may be wondering why we use our fingers instead of our feet. Using your feet to measure your vertical jump is possible, but it could be challenging. It would be hard to put a mark on the wall using our feet and measure it.
The second reason why we don’t use our feet is the position of your feet while jumping. When we jump, we don’t keep our feet in a flat position. Our feet are pointing towards the ground that makes it difficult to mark the wall. Measuring using our fingertips is the easiest way to measure vertical jump without spending dollars. This method also gives us the most accurate measurement numbers.
Final Words
I hope this method will help you to accurately measure your vertical jump. Measuring your vertical leap will help you to track your progress, and to check if you have achieved the goal you wanted. Remember to put more work than measuring your vertical leap. Measuring your vertical jump too often can lose your motivation and confidence.
What is your before and after vertical jump measurement? Feel free to tell us in the comments section below!
