The following program is a "beast" of a training regimen aimed at improving the vertical jump even amongst the most remedial athlete amongst us. This program consists of four progressive blocks of training that can substitute as leg days for you bodybuilder types or can be sequenced in for lower body drills for the athletes out there.

Block I: 4 weeks

Day 1: Absolute strength day
A. Pause Squat: pause each rep in the bottom for a 3 count and explode upwards 3x3 at 80%-85%
B. Snatch grip power pull: Start from ground and pull bar to chest height use 90-100% of snatch max
C. Hip thruster: 3x 6-8 as heavy as possible

Day 2: Power and contrast day
A. Jump squat form pins set at 3 inches above parallel: work for 10x1 with 20 seconds RI between each rep. use 20-30% max load. DO NOT resist eccentric significantly
B1. High hang Power Snatch: Done in continuous fashion, dropping into one rep after the other. Sets of 3 with 50-60% max snatch.
B2. Med ball swing and toss for height. Three max effort reps with a med ball or other projectile object that weighs 20% of top HHPS. Discontinue tosses after a 5% drop off in height is realized
C. Drop Glute ham raise: Rapidly drop eccentrically then quickly reverse the direction explosively upward. 8 rep sets for 2-3 sets

Block II: 2 weeks Plyo-prep

Day 1: repeat as day 2 as well
A. Altitude drops with additional band resistance: assume a position standing on top of a box at 1.5 times the distance of you current best VJ. Wear a tight belt that has elastic resistance devices attached at the sides of the belt and anchored to the ground. Simply, drop down to the ground and quickly and quietly "receive" the ground with your feet with the body in a parallel or slightly higher squat position. Discontinue drill when stopping becomes slow and unbalanced.
B. Soft surface take-off box jump: Whilst standing on a soft surface no more that 2 inches sinking depth, lower yourself quickly and jump explosively on to a box at 90% of max box jump height for 10-15 total jumps.
C. Burpee Bounds: Drop into a burpee like you did in gym class and rapidly jump out of the low squat position as far forward as you can for 5 continuous jumps. 3-4 sets are sufficient.

Block III: 4 weeks

Day 1: Strength/power contrast
A. Box Squat with weight releasers v. slight band tension: Assume a back squat where the bar has 50% max load, 30% max loaded on the weight releasers, and a light amount of band tension. Squat to a parallel box where the releasers are set to detach from bar an inch before you sit on the box. Pause briefly and squat up as fast as possible. Do cluster sets for 5x1 for 2 or 3 rounds.
B1. Suspended Good morning: Start the drill from chains or pins where the bar is at 3 inches above navel. Load with 60-70% of max squat and do sets of three reps. Alternate drill with B2.
B2. Box Jump: as in Block II except we will jump from a normal hard surface and aim to get 12-18 total in sets 4-5 jumps onto a 90-95% max height.
C. Posterior chain complex: 1-leg back ext. 8 reps, GHR 10 reps, and Kettlebell swing 20 reps.

Day 2: Explosive day
A. Power clean or snatch form high blocks: Execute the high catch power clean or snatch from blocks or pins that rest the bar at mid thigh. You will learn to create a high RFD (rate of force development) from this critical transition area. Sets of 1-2 reps at 70-80% max intensity
B1. 3 eccentric stop squat: Use 65-75% load here and stop at three inches above parallel, parallel, and slightly below parallel on the way down before exploding back up into standing position. No more than sets of 3 are necessary.
B2. Extreme altitude drop: Jump as high as possible off a box and quickly absorb landing on the ground. 5 total per set not exceeding 15 landings.
C. Med ball toss and chase: A little conditioning here but that's ok. Swing toss the med ball forward (for max distance) then sprint after it and toss it backward, over the head (for max distance) and continue for 3-5 trips. Three trips are all that is needed.

Block IV: 2 weeks (VJ Specialization)

Day 1: again do for day 2 as well
A. Vertical Jump or Box Jump: Jump to a maximum height for the day. Then continue jumping until 90% of day's max height is unattainable.
B. Accentuated Eccentric/ depth Box or Vertical Jump: If you used a regular vertical jump for drill A then switch to box jump for drill B. (Vis Versa for choosing the box jump as you're "A" drill). With additional weight in the hands via dumbell drop off a surface about 2 to 4 feet in height, and upon landing on the ground in a semi-squat position release the dumbbells quickly and jump onto box of as high as possible in the air. Aim for 95% of day's max jump or above for 5-7 jumps.

After a brief 10 day rest test your vertical and get closer to the stratosphere!