Vertical Jump Measurement - 3 Common Methods Used in Measuring Vertical Jumps

With vertical jumps being a reason for pride and importance in the world of sports, there is no hesitation that athletes and coaches would at all times want to measure their vertical jump performance with exact certainty. There is a very stiff competition in this area which only makes measuring more complicated.

How ever, there about three different methods that are usually used to measure vertical jumps, which I gladly explain bellow!

1- A simple method of measuring an athletes' vertical jump is to make the athlete jump and reach up against a flat wall with a flat surface directly under his feet (you can use a gym floor, concert or any other flat surface), then you spot off the highest up he can reach flat-footed. This is usually called the standing reach. Now, instruct the athlete to take a number of jumps from a standstill, marking of the uppermost point which he can reach. Next and last thing for this method is to measure the distance between the two. The distance is the athletes' vertical jump.

2- The above method is not so proficient, and it can lead to different result at different times. There is a second method that is more scientific in nature since it uses a mathematical equation applied from a kinematics equation (h = g*t^2/8) to help calculate the athletes' vertical jump. With this method, a pressure pad can be used to measure or approximate the time an athletes takes to complete his jump, the using our kinematics equation above, a computer will calculate the athletes vertical jump depending on the time in the air. Nevertheless, the main drawback of the method is that an athlete can cheat by twisting his knees so as to extend his hang time (the time he is in the air).

3- Another competent method used nowadays to measure vertical jump is the infrared laser method. This method is quite simple and quite realistic and makes it difficult for the athlete to cheat. An infrared laser is placed at ground level then the height at which the athlete jumps and breaks the plane of the laser with his hands, is measured.

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Vertical Jump Measurement - 3 Common Methods Used in Measuring Vertical Jumps

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