Muscles Used in Vertical Jump

All basketball players and trainers give a lot of importance to the muscles used in vertical jump training. This is because muscles from the entire body form an integral part of the jumping process. The stronger a person’s muscles, the better and higher the jump achieved.

Basketball players who are interested in training and working out for a better vertical leap must focus on the muscles fibers. In order to fully understand these muscles, it is crucial to understand the muscle groups that are involved in the jumping process.

Muscle tissue forms around 40 to 50% of your body weight. There are three kinds of muscle: skeletal, smooth and cardiac, of which the major kind is skeletal. Skeletal muscles, which basically help us to move around, can be further divided into two sub groups; slow-twitch and fast-twitch.

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It is common belief that black people generally have a larger number of fast twitch muscles compared to other racial types. The number of fast twitch muscles cannot be increased as it remains the same throughout a person’s life but something else can be done to get more benefit from them. That is, the size or bulk of fast twitch muscle fiber can be increased by repetitive training and exercise.

The following are the basic requirements for a person to be able to dunk easily:

  • Height of at least 6 feet
  • Strong calves, thighs and hips
  • A lean figure with less than 10% net body fat
  • Ability to palm the ball

People who do not meet these requirements may still be able to dunk, but not as beautifully as professional players usually do.

Knowing one’s personal type of jump is next thing needed to determine the muscles involved in a vertical jump. Decide whether it is the leaping or simple high jumping muscles that you wish to enhance. Leaping is coasting towards the ring in the air while simply standing under the basket and making a strong jam defines high jumping.

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You can easily see the difference between the muscle groups for both types of jumps. While high jumpers need strong thigh and calf muscles, leapers need strong abdominal, upper body and hips.  Once you know your personal jumping style, you know the right muscles to work on. Make sure you work the right muscles for each type of the jump. Keep the following information for reference while working specific muscle groups for a particular type of jump.

For Jumping:

  • 15% Arms
  • 20% Calves
  • 65% Quadriceps

For Leaping:
Right handed players usually take off with the left leg while the right leg supports. Major muscles required for this are:

  • 10% Hips
  • 10% Arms
  • 15% Calves
  • 15% Hamstrings
  • 50% Quadriceps

Check here for some sample vertical jump exercises and vertical leap workouts.

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