Plyometric workout to jump higher: 5 exercises and how to fit them into your week

A plyometric workout for the jump is a handful of jumps done well, with short ground contacts and full recovery between sets. Five exercises is enough. What counts isn't how many jumps you do, but how fast you bounce and how fresh you are while doing it. A session like this takes 20 to 30 minutes, and you fit it in once or twice a week.

Below you'll find the workout on video and, right after, the breakdown of each exercise with volumes and cues for knowing when to stop.

What plyometrics is, in two lines

Plyometrics trains the stretch-shortening cycle: muscle and tendon load up on the way down and give energy back on the way up. The faster the switch between the two phases, the more energy you get back. It's why a countermovement jump is higher than a jump started from a static squat.

From that comes the main rule: if you stay on the ground too long, the elastic energy leaks away and you're doing a different exercise. Contacts have to be short and quiet.

Before you start: the warm-up

Plyometrics cold is the most direct way to inflame a tendon. Ten minutes is enough: easy running or rope, ankle and hip mobility, a few skips, and two or three short sets of hops on the spot to wake the foot up.

The 5 exercises in the workout

1. Pogo jumps

Hops on the spot with knees almost straight, working only through the ankle. They're the foundation of foot stiffness. Go for minimum noise and the shortest contact you can manage. 3 sets of 15-20 contacts.

2. Countermovement jump

Fast drop, immediate reversal, maximal jump with the arms. It's the movement closest to the jump you use in a game. 4 sets of 4-5 jumps, with full recovery: if the fourth jump is lower than the first, the set is over.

3. Box jumps

Jump onto a box and step down, don't jump down. The point is to work the drive without loading the landing. Pick a height you can reach without pulling your knees way up to your chest: if you have to tuck to get there, the box is too tall. 3-4 sets of 4-5 reps.

4. Single-leg hops

Bounds on one leg, forward or lateral, controlling the landing. They're there to find and close the gap between your strong leg and your weak leg, which in volleyball and beach volleyball is almost always there. 3 sets of 5 per side.

5. Depth jumps (only if you're ready)

Step down off a low box, land and jump straight back up. It's the most demanding exercise on the list: bring it in only once you're landing quietly off boxes and already have a strength base. Start from 20-30 cm. 3 sets of 3.

How often to do it

One or two sessions a week, always at the start of training when you're fresh. If you're in season and jumping a lot in the gym during technical sessions, one is enough: what counts is your weekly jump total, not just the ones you label "jump training".

Leave at least 48 hours between two plyometric sessions. And if your patellar tendon is bothering you, stop and work on strength first: plyometrics on top of an already irritated tendon makes things worse.

The most common mistakes

• Too many reps. Sets of 20 jumps train endurance, not explosiveness.
• Short rests. If you don't recover, the jumps drop and you're training fatigue.
• Loud landings. The thud is the signal you're absorbing badly: lower the height.
• Doing it at the end of training. Tired, you change the movement and load up your joints.

Measure first, train, then measure again

Plyometrics is one of the stimuli that responds fastest, but also one where it's easiest to fool yourself. "I feel more explosive" is not a data point.

Take your number before you start with the free jump test: you upload a two-second video, get the height in centimeters from flight time, and the video never leaves your device. Redo the test after four weeks, same conditions.

If you want a ready-made plan

• Jumping Monster — 14 days of intensive plyometrics, 116 exercises. €40.
• Jump Higher Program — 10 weeks of bodyweight jump training. €60.
• JHP Vertical Upgrade — 36 sessions across 12 weeks. €67.
• Knee Power — knee strengthening and managing jumper's knee. €40.

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