Improve Vertical Jump Performance in 10 Weeks

Lots of individual and team sports athletes would consider greater lower-body power a competitive advantage. What’s the best way to achieve that goal? A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research put a pair of training protocols to the test.

Ten female and 8 male Division II college swimmers were randomly assigned to a 10-week periodized program of hang high pulls or trap-bar jump squats. Both exercises produced significant improvements in rate of force development as well as vertical jump and countermovement jump performance.

Although there were no statistically significant differences between groups, loaded squat jumps produced slightly better improvements in squat jump height and peak power compared to hang pulls.