Whether you’re a football receiver, basketball forward or lined up at the net in volleyball, jump height can be a tremendous competitive edge. There are a couple of ways to develop this ability, and a new study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research offers a novel 3-week program involving a rapid increase in drop jump training load.

Active college aged men completed 9 sessions of drop jumps. In each session the number of jumps, height of drop and squat depth increased, and so did the load with the use of weight vests. This increase was most dramatic in the fourth and seventh of nine sessions. Three days after completing the program, the average jump height was 8% higher. After 17 days, subjects could jump 12% higher on average.

True Strength Moment: Just nine sessions of plyometric training produced a significant increase in jump performance. What else can you do to gain an advantage in team sports competition? Read today’s Performance Blog at ABBperformance.com for another interesting suggestion.