Standing jump or approach jump: which one to measure, and why the numbers don't compare

An approach jump is always higher than a standing jump, and the two numbers can't be compared with each other. If you measure with an approach in March and from a standstill in June, the comparison says nothing about your progress: it only says you changed the test.

Why the approach adds centimeters

In the approach you turn horizontal speed into vertical drive. On the last step the plant brakes your body, the muscles and tendons of the extensor chain load up under stretch and give that energy back into the push.

It's the same stretch-shortening cycle, but with far more energy going in than a countermovement done from a standstill. That's why pretty much everyone jumps higher with an approach.

How much higher varies a lot from athlete to athlete, and that variability is useful information in itself: someone who gains little from the approach usually has a problem with last-step technique or ankle stiffness, not with strength.

What each of the two measures

Standing jump — the cleanest test for leg explosive strength, because it takes technique, coordination and timing out of the picture. This is the one you use to see whether your gym work is paying off.

Approach jump — the number that counts in a match, because nobody attacks or blocks from a standstill. But it's "dirty": how good you are at running the approach is baked into it, and that makes it less suited to judging strength on its own.

It's not that one is better than the other. They measure different things, so the choice depends on what you want to know.

Which one to measure, sport by sport

Indoor volleyball. Measure both. Standing to track strength through preseason, with an approach because that's the attacking movement. At the block, on the other hand, you jump from a standstill or off one side step, so the standing jump has direct value.

Beach volleyball. Sand cuts down what the approach gives you, because the ground absorbs elastic energy instead of returning it. If you play on sand, measure standing on the sand: it's the number closest to reality.

Basketball. Depends on the movement. The jump shot and the contested rebound often start from a standstill or close to it; the dunk on the break is all approach. If your goal is to dunk, your reference is the approach jump.

One foot or two feet

There's a third variable that muddies comparisons even more: a one-foot takeoff and a two-foot takeoff are two different jumps.

Off one foot the ground contact is extremely short and you need reactivity: the leg has to produce force in almost no time. Off two feet the contact is longer and what counts is the strength you have available. Plenty of athletes have a noticeable gap between the two, and it isn't a flaw: it's a profile.

The working rule: pick your reference jump based on the movement you actually do on court, and then never change it.

Measure both, once

It's worth doing at least once, because the gap between your numbers tells you where to work.

• You gain little from the approach → work on last-step technique and on elastic stiffness in the ankle and foot
• You gain a lot from the approach but your standing jump is low → you're elastic but you're short on base strength: weight room
• Good standing jump but the approach doesn't take off → you have the strength and can't express it fast: plyometrics and contrast training

With the JHP jump test you measure both in ten minutes, free: you upload a two-second video for each one and get the height in centimeters calculated from flight time. The video never leaves your phone.

➡️ Measure your jump, free

Then train what the comparison revealed

The JHP subscription includes 13 programs with day-by-day plans, video for every exercise and WhatsApp support, at €99/year:

• Short on base strength → JHP Gym Edition, 16 weeks in the weight room (€60)
• Short on reactivity → Jumping Monster, 14 days of intensive plyometrics (€40)
• Missing the link between the two → The French Contrast Method (€90)
• No gym available → Jump Higher Program, 10 weeks bodyweight (€60)

You might also like: how to film your jump so you can really measure it and the six tests for assessing your vertical jump.