What type of jumper am I?

Everybody is physically different. Due to natural genetics and upbringing, everyone has a different anatomical composition. Understanding weaknesses is where your vertical jump can increase its most. If an athlete has very small legs but is pretty quick, doing footwork exercises would not bring about as much benefit as strengthening the lower body. There are usually two distinct types of vertical jumpers.

Strength athletes

These people rely on their squatting ability to generate the power for their vertical jump. They usually can squat at least 1.5 times their body weight and jump off of 2 feet. Once an athlete can squat 2 times their body weight, there strength is usually satisfactory enough that they would serve more benefit by working their reactive ability. Strength athletes almost always feel more comfortable jumping off of two feet rather than one.

Reactive athletes

A reactive athlete usually utilizes a strong CNS, good quickness, and high speeds of movement to generate their vertical jump. To make up for the fact that they do not have the same strength as other athletes, they dip into their jump much quicker to generate more force. Often times these athletes jump off of one foot because utilizing their squatting ability is not necessary.