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Improve your flexibility. The athletes who can make the most powerful jumps are the ones with total body flexibility. Think about it. If you’re jumping over a hurdle, it helps to be able to swing your leading leg wherever you want it to go, so that you can maximize the momentum of your jump. If you can bring your leg a little higher than the person next to you, you’ve got an advantage. Also, The best jumpers have 3:2 strength ratio between their quadriceps and hamstrings, respectively. If you’re not flexible, you tend to develop an imbalance of strength that will limit your ability to jump. Stretch regularly so you can increase and maintain flexibility in your ankles, knees, and hips.
Strengthen your inner abs. Just because they don’t make a six-pack doesn’t mean you should neglect your inner abs (the transverse abdominal wall). They play a key role in every power movement, including jumping.
Strengthen your dorsi-flexors. These muscles are used to decrease the angle between your foot and your leg (when you bring your toes closer to your shins). When you’re jumping, you actually need to opposite motion (plantarflexion, the same motion as when you push down on the pedal when driving) to push off of the ground. So why strengthen your dorsi-flexors? Because each set of muscles is only as strong as its opposing set. Your ability to push your foot down will be limited by your ability to pull your foot up, because the dorsi-flexors act as stabilizers. One way to exercise your dorsi-flexors is to walk around on your heels, without letting the balls of your feet touch the ground, until you feel a good burn.
Work out your toes. You might think that the only people who need to work out their toes are ballet dancers, but the fact is that your toes add to the pushing power of your feet. In a proper jump, they’re the last part of your body to leave the ground, and a little extra push from your toes can improve the power of your jump. To strengthen your toes muscles, curl and uncurl your toes repeatedly, or push up onto your tip toes and hold for at least 10 seconds.
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