Must-Read: Jump Higher

While we spend a decent amount of time on this site going through how to make your body healthier and more toned, our focus has always been of the more visually-impressive variety. We’ve spent plenty of time trying to get you bigger biceps, or a chiseled six-pack. And those are all fine and good. Who doesn’t want to look good on the beach? But you know what else looks cool? Jumping out of a goddamn pool like Jarron Gilbert:

Or jumping over a car, like Joey Gathright:

Or putting together a 62-inch vertical leap like Steve Langton from the USA Bobsled team:

See, the legs muscles that cause someone to jump to insane heights like the clips above aren’t of the bulging variety that catch the eye of any on-looker like a ripping-through-the-sleeve bicep, so they’re generally neglected. But we’re going to try to change that today by highlighting this great article from Men’s Health that goes through a variety of tips for how to get that impressive vertical jumping ability.

Among their tips:

Avoid Going Too Low

Begin with squat pulses to perfect the countermovement phase, the initial downward movement, of any jump, recommends Jack. Stand tall on the balls of your feet and your arms straight over your head. Your feet should be hip-width apart. In one swift motion, forcefully swing your arms down and back as you dip down by bending your hips and knees. Hold this position for 3 seconds, and then reset and repeat.

“Don’t go into a full squat when you dip down,” says Jack. “In fact, you only need to go down about 6 inches to create tension in your muscles. You want to get in and out of the position as quickly as possible during a jump, so you don’t want your thighs more than 45 degrees from vertical.”

Check out the above link for more tips, and soon you’ll be leaping over cars in no time. Well, maybe not that. But maybe a Power Wheels car!