The easiest and most effective home exercise to jump higher and run faster
It can seem pretty daunting getting started with a strength and conditioning program, either as an athlete or as a team sports coach, just trying to help your athletes improve.
There is the equipment.
There is the programming.
Knowing how many sets and reps to do, what exercises, and in what order.
And then there's making sure your form's on point.
This is one of the best exercises to jump higher
If you want to run faster (easier/lighter/further), jump higher or just improve your general athleticism, calf raises are one of the simplest ways to get started, and the only thing you need is gravity!
One of the easiest things you can do, that also has one of the highest returns on investment, is a simple standing calf raise.
Do calf raises help you jump higher?
Absolutely.
Your Calf-Achilles complex is the body's inbuilt sprint. So building a stronger and more powerful set of calves are going to help increase your vertical jump tremendously.
When we jump, your calf is the last part of the kinetic chain to push into the ground and propel you into the air, when we sprint it's both the first and the last point of contact with the ground. That means it's going to turn that stretch shorting cycle around (sometimes called the plyometric effect), propelling us into that next stride as quick as possible.
Given how important a short contact time is for both jumping and sprinting, having a strong calf, and therefore, a reactive Calf-Achilles complex is a massive win for athletes, and it's so easy to improve.
How to do calf raises
All you need is a flat surface and maybe a wall to balance on. Start with double leg, maybe three sets of 15 and build your way up to about 30 reps (easiest way to progress is add five reps every second workout). Once you're at 30 reps, you can start incorporating some single leg work as well (we like a double x30, single x10, single x10 progression for once you reach 3x30 double leg, then you can build the single leg sets by adding 2-3 reps per session). The gold standard for calf strength is 30 single leg reps of perfect controlled form each leg.
Slow and smooth, avoid bouncing so the calf has to do the majority of the work.
As far as form's concerned, there's only really two things to worry about:
Number one, make sure you're going all the way up on your big toe, and number two, no bouncing. Make sure you pause at the top and pause at the bottom for a strong contraction.
You can add calf raises to the end of your training program, ideally at the end of a workout, or you can just do them on their own, at home, maybe three times a week.
If you have access to it, a step is certainly going to help to get a little bit extra range of motion, but it's by no means necessary, it just allows a little more range of motion and is a little more challenging.
How many calf raises should i do to jump higher?
Calf raises are an effective and simple exercise to strengthen your calf muscles and improve your jumping ability, the number of calf raises alone is not the key to increasing your vertical jump, what's more important is to start small and gradually build up to apply progressive overload - getting stronger without overloading too fast.
Aim to start with double leg calf raises 2-3 times per week, with 3-4 sets of 12-15 repetitions. Building by 1-2 reps per workout until you reach ~30 repetitions then strst the process again with single leg raises.
At this point using a weight to continue progressing is a great idea. (all this is outlined and included in the Core Advantage Boring Jump Program linked at the bottom of this article)
Calf raises slow or fast?
To start I recommend working with slow controlled repetitions to increase the time under tension, but as you progress you might transition to a slow down, explosive up type tempo in order to recruit your more explosive muscle fibres. For intermediate and above strength levels, fast reps are generally better than slow reps for developing strength.
Improve your vertical jump - The Boring Jump Program
We love helping athletes jump higher, and we are really good at it. Athletes who join our gym in Melbourne, Australia usually add 6-10cm (2-4 inches) to their jump in the first 8-weeks of training. If you can't get to Melbourne to train with us, the next best option is to check out our online Boring Jump Program, a progressive home training plan to boost your vertical leap.
It's the fundamentals of building an incredible vertical jump. It's boring, and it's easy but with an average increased of 6-9cm (2-3inches) in the first 6-weeks the results will speak for themselves...