How can I jump higher?

Jumping higher comes from producing more force in less time. Build a base of lower-body strength with squats and hip hinges, add explosive work such as countermovement jumps and trap bar jumps, then layer in reactive work like pogos and drop jumps. Technique and arm swing matter more than most people expect.

Jumping higher comes down to producing more force in less time. Build a base of lower-body strength with squats and hip hinges, add explosive work such as countermovement jumps and trap bar jumps, then layer in reactive work like pogos and drop jumps. Technique and arm swing matter more than most people expect.

The three ingredients

Strength: The force you can produce at all. Built with back squats, hip thrusts, and Romanian deadlifts.
Rate of force development: How fast that force arrives. Built with countermovement jumps, trap bar jumps, and broad jumps.
Elastic and reactive qualities: Using the stretch-shortening cycle efficiently. Built with pogo hops, ankle hops, and later depth jumps.

Where to start

If you cannot squat around 1.5 times bodyweight, strength is usually the limiting factor and should get most of the attention. If you are already strong but jump poorly, the gap is in rate of force development and reactive ability, and that is where the explosive work pays off.

Technique that adds centimetres immediately

A strong, timed arm swing contributes a meaningful share of jump height and is the fastest available improvement for most people. A countermovement that is deep enough to load but fast enough to stay elastic matters too; sinking slowly into a deep squat position removes the elastic contribution entirely. Practise the takeoff as a skill, not just as a fitness test.

A weekly structure

Two lower-body strength sessions and one or two short jump sessions works well. Keep jump volume low: 20 to 40 quality contacts, performed fresh, at the start of a session. Stop the moment height starts falling, because fatigued jumping trains the wrong thing.

Do not neglect landing

Being able to absorb force is a prerequisite for producing it repeatedly. Practise quiet, controlled landings before adding depth jumps or high-volume plyometrics, as covered in Landing Mechanics and Force Absorption.