From Wikipedia:  “Vertical leaping is the act of raising one’s center of gravity higher in the vertical plane solely with the use of one’s own muscles; it is a measure of how high an individual or athlete can elevate off the ground (jump) from a standstill.”

Vertical leaping ability is important in many sports, most especially basketball, football, volleyball, and track & field.  Many of the athletes in these sports regularly test their vertical leaping skills.  It will show how quick and explosive their bodies are.

Vertical Leaping measurements

The easiest way to measure your vertical leaping is to stand next to a wall, reach as high as you can, and measure the distance between the floor and the highest point.  This can be called your standing reach.  Next, jump next to the same wall and measure from the ground to the highest point reached.  Make several attempts and use the highest measurement.  Finally, subtract your standing reach measurement from your jumping measurement.  This gives you a vertical leaping measurement.  This can be measured more accurately with lasers, but most people don’t have those lying around.

At the annual NFL Combine, top college football players are tested in a number of ways.  Vertical leaping is one of those things.  The player stands flat-footed in front of a pole that has movable plastic flags.  The player then jumps from a standing position and tries to push away as many of those flags as possible.  See the picture below of the apparatus used.

What is Superb Vertical Leaping?

Vertical leaping is a common metric used to test athleticism.  So what is a good result?  A vertical leap of 40 inches or more is considered superb.  It would be the top tier of all leapers in the world.  Some professional athletes have recorded vertical leaps over 50 inches, with 52 inches being the current Guinness World Record.

Cheating to get higher vertical leaping measurements.

Yes, it can be done.  Most commonly, the athlete will not give a full reach from the standing position.  This measurement will be low, thus making the vertical leaping measurement higher than it should be.  It is often referred to as ‘shrugging shoulders.’

Some Misconceptions about Vertical Leaping

Vertical leaping is a measurement calculated from a running jump. WRONG!

THE TRUTH:  Vertical leaping is always measured from a standing jump.

Increasing one’s vertical leaping skills takes hours and hours of training. WRONG!

THE TRUTH:  Programs such as The Jump Manual are easy to follow and have guaranteed results with a minimum time commitment.