how do you learn to jump higher?

If you just want to jump higher, then you want habitual jump training. Try the Air Alert programs, they're used by NBA players, so must be worth a try

Air Alert

Olympic weightlifting, no question.

Oly lifting uses all the major muscle gropus of the body. Oly lifting trains the rate of force you can generate by working your fast twitch fibres. The amount of fast twitch fibres in the body driectly contributes to how well a person can do a vertical jump. Oly Lifting cultivates said fibers.

Read this article: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/henkin14.htm

I couldn't find Chad Ikei's original. But would recommend it too anyone if they can locate it. Would draw your attention to the following as well in the article:

Shane Hamman, 2000 Olympic Team Member and current National Super heavyweight Champion, another big man weighing in @ 163 kg (358 lbs) but only at a height of 5'9" tall, can jump onto boxes @ a height over 42" high. Of course Shane was also known for his squatting ability of over 1000 lbs. (Snatch 195 kg, Clean and Jerk 230 kg)."


He was also a 2004 Oly team member. So if you want to help your jumps, I would say to go Olympic!

Do a search for "plyometric exercises". This is what you're looking for. This specific type of exercise will help you to jump higher.

Have you heard of blocking? It is the method of transfering horizontal momentum into vertical momentum. It is mostly used in tumbling, but works for anything that needs to get your center of gravity super high. I know people who have poor vertical leaps but can get serious air with blocking. Check out the blocking tutorial at www.dogentricks.com. Ofcourse, this only works in a situation that allows for a running start. Hight for a standing vert would come from weight training and pratice.

You could try....

1.Fighting on a trampoline.
2.Fighting in a zero gravity environment.
3.Attach strong elasticated ropes to the ceiling and then onto your belt. (But that may result in violent headaches).

Way to think out of the box.

There is a program that you can use that can double your vertical jump. The program is guaranteed to give you at least 6 inches of vertical jump in 60 days. I have heard from some who have used it that they were able to increase their jump to 40 inches and more. You can click the link for more info.

www.theverticalproject.com

You don't need to buy any of this stuff. Jumping, while a function of strength is more a function of speed. Muscles have 2 types of fibers, slow and fast twitch. You cannot change the ratio fo what you were born with but for jumping you need to target the fast twitch fibers. This is done thru Plyometriv training. WARNING - Do not over train this way.

You want to jump higher then jump. Plyometrics are a good training tool.

jump squats
stretching
sprinting

pretty much anything that involves jumping.

To measure your progress. Get a rope and tie it between two stands just enough for you to jump over. Try jumping over it over and over again till you can't make it over anymore (be careful of falling flat on your face). Or find a high wall to jump up on to. Eventually when this gets easier and easier set the rope higher or find a higher wall.

it also helps to lose weight if this is a factor. I beleive you can increase the strength in your muscles many time without increase the size.