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You all want to jump higher than the competition, and slam dunk a basketball. How many of you will go the extra distance to achieve this dream? If you are willing to work hard, then these tips will benefit you greatly.

Learning to jump higher is all about building the correct type of muscles. While many people believe in heavy weight lifting, I firmly believe from experience that heavy weight lifting is dangerous, and damaging to your vertical leap. The best type of weight lifting uses your own body weight, and is much safer. There are certain exercises you can do to build fast-twitch muscle fibers. Fast-twitch muscle fibers are the type of muscle that your body uses when you jump. Fast-twitch muscle fibers use elastic energy in your body to produce a spring in your legs.

Elastic energy is created when you dip down just before you jump, and can be stored in your muscles for a short while. This gives you the ability to jump. Now that you have the knowledge of the correct muscle type, you can begin to build fast-twitch muscles.

If you really want to be able to jump high, you must have a good workout routine. The workout should contain exercises that make your legs burn, and involve jumping. Some great exercises include box jumping, jump rope, lunges, backboard jumps, and the dot drill.

Box jumping is a great technique, and is rather easy to do. The exercise is to jump up on a box, using good form, and using your legs and arms. As soon as you jump onto the box, jump off, and immediately jump onto another box. You can also stair step, which is just stepping up and down on the box.

Jump roping is very useful, and helps your muscles grow incredibly well. This works as a great warm-up routine, because it gets your muscles ready for physical activity. When you jump rope, try using different muscles to jump, like your calves, and thighs.

Lunges are great because they work the muscles, and stretch them. In order to do lunges you must have good form, otherwise you can actually hurt the muscle. Lunges, along with other stretches are great to do before your workout. After a while of doing lunges, you may want to add small weights to increase the speed of your muscle growth.

Backboard jumps are the simplest jumping exercise. All you need is something to jump up to. A backboard on a basketball hoop works well because you can measure your vertical easier. To do this routine, all you do is jump as high as you can, jumping as soon as your feet touch the ground. Continue this exercise for as long as you can before your legs can't take it anymore.

The dot drill is an amazing way to increase your speed and vertical leap. To do the exercise, you must have a dot drill platform. There are usually five dots like on a dice, and you just jump on the dots. Of course there are different ways to jump the dots, but you get the basic idea.

All of these techniques will greatly help your vertical jump, and they are very fun. Remember to be safe and stretch before all of your exercises so you don't pull a muscle. Stick with it, and don't give up, and you'll achieve your goal. Most importantly, keep a good attitude and stay positive.

Learn more about this author, Andrew Baker.
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