What Muscles Work In A Vertical Jump, And How To Work It Out For Any Exercise

What muscles work in a vertical jump

The glutes and quads, lengthening through the dip and then firing hard to drive the hips and knees open. The calves, finishing the job through the ankle right at the top, adding the last bit of height once the legs are already extending. The hamstrings, helping the glutes finish hip extension, and the hip flexors, helping arrest the dip and reverse it into a drive. And the core and the smaller muscles around the ankle and knee, bracing the trunk so the drive doesn't leak out sideways, then taking the same force back in on the way down.

That's the answer, and like the squat, the lunge, the deadlift, the press-up, the row, the shoulder press, the loaded carry, the suspended plank, the sprint and the medicine ball throw before it, it came from a method rather than a memorised list.

Nobody's taken a client yet, and that's fine

Somebody weighing up a career change into personal training can watch a vertical jump on a phone and file the whole thing under "explosive," which tells them almost nothing useful about what's actually happening between the dip and the ground. One of the things you learn on our CIMSPA-recognised personal training course is a method that turns that vague word into a specific list of muscles, each doing exactly the job it's built for, in the quarter-second between loading and leaving the floor.

Eleven exercises in, and the method still hasn't changed

A squat, a lunge, a deadlift, a press-up, a row, a shoulder press, a loaded carry, a suspended plank, a sprint and a medicine ball throw have all run through the same four steps:

1. Decide where the force is acting on the body
2. Identify which muscles work directly against that force (muscles that lengthen are easiest to see)
3. Identify which secondary muscles assist that movement
4. Identify which muscles would support that joint / movement

Run it on a vertical jump.

One, where is the force acting? Downward, through the feet and into the floor, as the body drops into the dip and then drives back up against it.

Two, what works directly against it? The glutes and the quads, lengthening under load through the dip and then contracting hard to open the hips and knees, and the calves, finishing the drive by pointing the ankles right at the top of the movement.

Three, what assists? The hamstrings, helping the glutes finish hip extension, and the hip flexors, helping arrest the dip at the bottom and whip the legs back through the reversal.

Four, what supports? The core, keeping the trunk stacked so the leg drive doesn't leak out sideways or through a rounding back, and the smaller muscles around the ankle and knee, controlling the landing by absorbing the same force in reverse.

Why that fourth answer is worth having

A trainer who only knows "jumps build power" has nothing specific to watch for when a client's landing looks loud or their knee drifts inward on the way down. A trainer who has run the four steps is watching the ankle and knee stabilisers specifically, which is usually where a jump starts looking sloppy long before the height itself drops off.

Point it at anything

A broad jump, where the same dip-and-drive happens but the force is sent forward instead of straight up. A box jump, where the landing muscles get an easier ride but the take-off asks exactly the same question of the glutes and calves. A jump onto one leg, where the ankle and knee stabilisers on that side are doing the whole landing job alone instead of sharing it. Any explosive, ground-based movement a client already does can be answered the same way, without a new list to learn.

PT Manager opens the moment you sign up with any FASTER course, and adding real clients unlocks the day you pass one. Read more about the Level 3 Personal Trainer Certificate this method comes from.

The FASTER Journal shares the next teaching point first. Sign up at /newsletter and it arrives the moment it's ready.