How to measure your vertical jump at home
All you need is a wall, some tape, and five minutes. Measure your standing and running vertical, then use the gap between them to figure out what's actually limiting your jump.
The test
- Mark your standing reach. Stand side-on to a wall with your feet flat. Reach as high as you can with the arm nearest the wall, and mark your fingertips.
- Standing vertical. From a standstill, dip, swing your arms, and jump. Touch the wall as high as you can. Take three tries and keep the best.
- Running vertical. Take a 3 to 4 step approach and jump off one foot, like a layup. Again, take three tries and keep the best.
- Subtract. Your vertical is your jump touch minus your standing reach.
Warm up first, and test when you're fresh. Testing tired is the most common reason a re-test looks worse than it should.
What your numbers mean
Your raw vertical number matters less than the ratio between your running and standing jumps. In Kelly Baggett's Vertical Jump Bible, this is the Reactive Resource assessment. It tells you whether to spend the next few months getting stronger or getting more reactive.
| Running jump vs. standing | Profile | Training priority |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 10% higher | Strength-dominant | Depth jumps (start at 12–18"), bounding, single-leg hops, short sprints |
| 10–20% higher | Balanced | Periodize between strength and reactive phases, plus complex/contrast training |
| More than 20% higher | Plyometric-dominant | Heavy squats (85–95%), slow eccentrics, and less plyo volume for a while |
Pair it with a strength check. If your squat is under 1.5× bodyweight, strength is almost always your biggest opportunity, whatever your reactive profile.
Re-test every 4 to 6 weeks
Use the same wall, the same warm-up, and the same time of day. Small, consistent gains of half an inch to an inch per block add up. Want to know how far you are from the rim? Try the dunk calculator.
Run all 4 assessments in the app
Vertical Jump Bible 2.0 walks you through the leg strength, reactive resource, mobility, and Super Freak assessments. It then puts you in the right program from the book's 24, tracks every set, and charts your vertical over time.
Download on the App Store