Ways to Increase Speed, Strength, and Jumping Abilities

Becoming a dominant athlete takes time and work, it doesn’t come natural. Increasing your speed, strength and vertical jump will help one be able to compete with the top level of competition. Taking care of your body requires work but ultimately pays off and creates a huge impact in their game. In a sport like baseball, your focus has to be on muscle memory and emphasis on speed and strength. 

Something as simple as jumping rope is a spectacular exercise that focuses on speed, quickness and your jumping abilities. Jumping rope however has to be completed through multiple reps within a time frame because your body will increase its endurance throughout the process. Anywhere from 1-5 minutes is a good objective and within that time the jumping will be working on different muscles! If you were to ask me, a beginner jumping rope objective could be jumping non-stop for 40 seconds then add 20 seconds of time every week. Record how many jumps you can get to keep track of your progress. By 4 weeks, you should be able to get around 200-220 jumps in 2 minutes of non-stop jumping! For advanced jumpers, try one leg for an interval, then switch for the next. 

Another real simple exercise that can be done even in the household, is calf raises! Your leg muscles are vital to your sport performance. These muscles are what helps increase your speed and flexibility. Calf raises can be done in various locations using your own body weight. If done at a gym, or if one has the equipment, using dumbbells or hand weights work the muscles two times as much. The exercise itself is simple, find a step or a wall and with your feet flat on the floor and your hands to your side, raise both heels up to the max point while maintaining your front foot on the ground. Keep in mind that your knees are kept straight during the process. Doing this several times will create more muscles in your calves. A recommended workout amount is 30 calf raises, 3 separate times. 

The last exercise that could be done at home, at a park, or anywhere with a staircase. Running stairs is an exercise that most athletes are familiar with, as this exercise is used to increase one’s insurance, while being able to work on the leg muscles as well. Ideally, this exercise is done at home on your own staircase, or on a set of bleachers or a stepmill. This type of workout is definitely more intense than the others, as the steep incline and speed at which you are going creates your cardiovascular system and heart rate to race while also increasing your leg muscles. This workout definitely has the most benefits, but requires the most work. Start by running up the stairs, making sure each foot alternates on each step at a moderate to fast speed. Bring your knees up high and pump your arms side to side while doing the workout to increase the difficulty. Each time you start from the bottom, get to the top, then make your way back down is counted as a rep. Once 5-15 reps is completed, the burn will start to kick in.

All three exercises are excellent and easy ways to increase your abilities as an athlete and a competitor on the field or court. Each of these workouts will be able to increase your speed, strength and jumping abilities along with touching on your insurance.