How To Measure Vertical Jump (With Or Without Equipment)

Being able to accurately determine your vertical jump is the first step to being able to track your progress as a vertical jump aspiring athlete.

The Sargent vertical jump test has been around for over 100 years but today we’re going to look at several of the best modern methods for determining vertical jump height.

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A vertical jump is typically measured by first attaining the height of the athlete’s standing reach, by having them reach up as high as possible while their feet are flat on the floor.

That distance is then subtracted from the highest point they were able to touch after a maximal effort jump.

The resulting measurement is the athlete’s vertical jump.

The rest of this article goes into greater detail about how to set up your own vertical jump test so that your results are accurate.

We’ll also discuss the advantages and drawbacks of several popular methods of measuring the vertical jump with various equipment so you can choose the method that makes the most sense for you.

How To Measure A Vertical Jump Without Equipment

You don’t need a ton of expensive equipment to get a fairly decent idea of what your vertical jump is.

Most of you should be able to test your vertical jump at home with this super simple method.

No, it’s not super accurate, but it’s a great place to start.

Tape Or Chalk Method

To measure a vertical jump at home, you’ll need a few basic items.

• Tape (masking tape is best), double sided tape if you have it, or chalk
• Tape measure
• A relatively high wall, you don’t want to be limited by the ceiling. You could also use a basketball backboard for this.
• A partner will make things a lot easier.

Here’s an image explaining how it works and below that are the detailed instructions to make sure you do it properly.

1. Record Standing Reach

Stand parallel to the wall with your side right up against it.

Reach up and extend with your arm closest to the wall so that your middle finger is touching the highest point you can reach on the wall while keeping your feet flat on the ground.

Have your partner mark the highest point you were able to touch (AKA your standing reach) on the wall.

They can use a pencil or marker or simply can hold an object level with that height.

Grab the tape measure and measure the distance from the floor to the standing reach height and record this down.

If you’re doing this alone, simply apply some chalk to the tips of your fingers to mark the wall and then you can measure the distance yourself.

Alternatively stick some tape to the wall in line with the tip of your middle finger.

2. Apply The Chalk/Tape

If you’re going for the chalk method, cover the tips of your fingers in chalk.

If you’re using tape, wrap some tape around itself til you have a ball or donut shaped piece of tape attached to the tip of your middle finger.

Make sure the sticky side is facing outwards.

3. Perform Your Maximum Effort Countermovement Jumps

Starting with both feet firmly on the ground, crouch down and explode upwards as high as you can, remembering to generate power with your arm swing.

At the peak of your jump, reach up and out and mark the wall with either the chalk or tape.

Reapply chalk or tape and repeat the process a few more times until you feel as though you’ve already jumped your highest.

4. How To Calculate Vertical Jump

Use the tape measure once again to measure from the floor to the highest point marked by the chalk or tape.

This measurement is the maximum jump reach.

Subtract the standing reach from the maximum jump reach and you’re left with your standing vertical jump.

Typically we use inches to denominate vertical jump height.

5. Repeat For Running Vertical Jump

If you’d like to measure your running vertical jump (AKA approach jump), repeat the process once more except this time allow yourself a running start to generate more power.

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I would strongly advise doing the running vertical jump test using a basketball backboard as it can be quite dangerous attempting a running vertical jump with a wall as your target.

After completing this last step, you should know your standing reach, standing vertical jump, and running vertical jump.

Advantages & Disadvantages Of The Tape/Chalk Method

This is definitely not my favorite method of measuring a vertical jump, but it may be a decent enough option for those of you who don’t have access to equipment.

Advantages

• Low cost.
• Almost no equipment needed.
• Accurate enough that it’ll give you an idea of where you’re at.

Disadvantages

• Requires a high enough wall that it cannot be performed inside a lot of rooms.
• Awkward and dangerous having to jump so close to the wall.
• Doubly dangerous and awkward when trying to ascertain running vertical jump.
• Not so accurate because of how you need to contort your arm/fingers in the air to mark the wall.
• Significantly inaccurate when using a wall for RVJ, not so bad if using a backboard.
• Annoying when tape doesn’t stick to your fingers/the wall.

How To Measure A Vertical Jump With Equipment

If you’re a serious athlete and want some reliable data to track your vertical jump progress with, then you’re likely going to have to use some equipment to get accurate results.

Vertical Jump Measurement Equipment

Below is a list of vertical jump measurement tools each of which will do a far better job than the tape/chalk method.

• Vertec
• Jump Mat
• Force Plate
• DIY Vertec

Not all of this equipment is needed for the vertical jump test but any one of these will do the job nicely.

Below we’ll dive deeper into how each of these work.

How To Measure Vertical Jump With A Vertec

The vertec is the cream of the crop when it comes to professional vertical jump testing because it’s very accurate and simple to use.

To get a full comparison of the different vertecs on the market, check out my full article discussing the best vertical jump testers.

1. Record Standing Reach

You can do this by lowering the device and then simply reaching up and touching as many of the vanes as possible.

Each vane is half an inch higher than the next, so you’ll be able to get your standing reach to within half an inch of accuracy.

On the pole is shown the height of the lowest vane, so it’s very easy to adjust up and down.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to adjust the vertec, you could press your arm and hand up against a wall and mark the highest point you were able to touch.

Then use a tape measure to record the standing reach.

2. Athlete Performs Countermovement Jumps

Starting with both feet firmly on the ground, crouch down and explode upwards as high as you can, remembering to generate power with your arm swing.

Swipe up at as many vanes as you can at the peak of your jump.

Do this gently.

If you slap at it aggressively, you’ll make a mess of the vanes and it’ll be hard to identify which ones you touched.

Have a partner use a rod or stick to push out of the way the vanes you were able to successfully make contact with.

Reattempt the jump 3-4 more times until you feel as though you’ve given it your best effort.

3. Calculate Your Vertical Jump

Simply subtract the standing reach from the maximum vertical jump reach and you’ll be left with your standing vertical jump height.

4. Repeat For Running Vertical Jump

Using a vertec is the best possible way to test your running vertical jump.

If you’d like to measure your running vertical jump (AKA approach jump), repeat the process once more except this time allow yourself a running start to generate more power.

After completing this last step, you should know your standing reach, standing vertical jump, and running vertical jump.

Here’s a video demonstration that gives a pretty good explanation if you found that at all confusing.

Advantages & Disadvantages Of The Vertec

If you have access to one of these devices, use it!

Advantages

• Very accurate to within half an inch.
• Allows plenty of room for max effort approach jumps.
• Quick and easy to setup and use.

Disadvantages

• These things aren’t particularly cheap. A budget vertec will set you back about $500 and a higher quality vertec will cost closer to the $850 mark.

How To Measure With A Vertical Jump Test Mat

One of the simpler methods for testing your vertical is to use an electronic vertical jump mat.

These devices calculate your vertical jump by analyzing your flight time.

1. Turn Device On

Start with the athlete off the mat while you turn the controller on.

2. Athlete Performs Countermovement Jumps

Starting with both feet firmly on the ground, crouch down and explode upwards as high as you can, remembering to generate power with your arm swing.

Make sure you land on the mat and try to land with your feet flat.

Avoid landing on the balls of your feet as this will distort the reading.

Here’s a perfect example of how to land on the mat.

Step 3 – Record Vertical Jump Data

The controller or app will then display what it thinks the vertical jump height was.

Many devices will automatically record this data for you and have quite advanced athlete management systems!

It’s that simple!

How Does A Vertical Jump Mat Work?

This device works by measuring your height, weight, time in the air, and amount of ground contact forces produced.

How Accurate Is A Vertical Jump Mat?

Most of these devices are surprisingly very accurate.

A 2015 study compared the accuracy of vertical jump mats with the vertec and found no significant differences in VJ height measurements.¹https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/fulltext/2015/04000/accuracy_of_a_vertical_jump_contact_mat_for.2.aspx

They did however find that vertical jump mats may underestimate heights in elite performers with jumps around the 28″ mark or higher…

So for elite athletes, this may cause some accuracy issues.

Advantages & Disadvantages Of The Vertical Jump Mat

I’m a huge fan of some of the newer vertical jump mats and highly recommend this option!

Advantages

• Solid accuracy.
• Quick and easy to use.
• Highly portable.

Disadvantages

• Fairly expensive! Most of these devices will cost close to the price of a vertec, but might be worth it for the added convenience and portability
• Can’t easily test running vertical jump on most of these devices
• Fairly expensive! Most of these devices will cost close to the price of a vertec, but might be worth it for the added convenience and portability.
• Can’t easily test running vertical jump on these devices.

How To Measure A Vertical Jump With A Force Plate

A force plate is a popular option for strength coaches as they can gather a variety of trackable data about their athletes such as total force output and rate of force development.

1. Athlete Stands On Force Plate

The coach or operator will reset the scale once the athlete is on the force plate and instruct the athlete to jump when ready.

2. Athlete Performs Countermovement Jumps

Starting with both feet firmly on the ground, crouch down and explode upwards as high as you can, remembering to generate power with your arm swing.

The operator will collect the data and instruct the athlete when they can perform second and third attempts.

3. Record & Analyze Vertical Jump Data

The device will produce a variety metrics describing ground reaction forces, hang time, rate of force development, as well as vertical jump height.

Some devices won’t directly display jump height however this can be derived from the force-time curve.

How Does A Force Plate Work?

A force plate gathers information about the athlete’s ground reaction forces.

It’s essentially a computerized scale which is able to track how much force your legs produce while jumping and how quickly you generate that force.

Usually a force plate is connected to a laptop running software which displays a graphical output of the force-time curve as well as several other metrics.

How Accurate Is A Force Plate?

Force plates are generally pretty accurate ways to generate vertical jump heights.

Compared with a vertical jump mat and with the vertec, the force plate will often slightly underestimate jump heights, but it still gets quite close to the accurate number.²https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/fulltext/2015/04000/accuracy_of_a_vertical_jump_contact_mat_for.2.aspx

They’re also very consistent, meaning even if the actual number isn’t completely accurate, if you use the same force plate calibrated in the same manner, over time you’ll be able to see a very clear picture of progress.

Advantages & Disadvantages Of The Force Plate

I used to use one of these regularly and it was my strength coach’s favorite toy.

Advantages

• Great for coaches who want to track long term progress of several athletes.
• Generates several other useful power output metrics which may be useful for coaches focusing on strength and power development.

Disadvantages

• Could be slightly more accurate.
• Expensive. You can expect to pay $3,000-$5000 for one of these!
• Usually requires a connection to a laptop with a software package, which usually requires a subscription fee.

How To Measure Vertical Jump With An App

Vertical jump measurement apps involve a process known as ‘frame counting’ which is where you are able to calculate vertical jump based on time spent in the air.

To do this method, you need to use a smartphone to video yourself jumping.

Once you have that footage, you can use several apps to determine time spent in the air.

Once you’ve determined the frame rate of your video and how many frames you spent in the air, you can calculate the height of the jump by using the gravitational constant.

I’ve included two videos below which go into much greater detail explaining this full process.

The first video explains how to manually perform the calculation using different frame rates.

The second video below explains how to use the iPhone app called “What’s My Vertical” which does the exact same thing except automatically.

If you don’t have an iPhone, watch the first video as it explains how you can do the calculation manually using any generic android frame counter app.

Advantages & Disadvantages Of The Frame Counting Method

Overall this is a pretty cool way to track progress, however the actual numbers you get may be a little bit off.

Advantages

• Cheap! You can do this completely for free or if you have an iPhone and want to use the What’s My Vertical app, it’s only $2.
• Reasonably accurate way to determine progress over time.
• Requires no equipment, only a smartphone.

Disadvantages

• This method will usually underestimate your vertical by a few inches. The reason is because there’s no clear point where you should start counting frames. Technically you should start counting frames when your feet are flat on the ground, as we measure standing reach with feet flat on the ground, but up until the point of toe-off, it doesn’t make sense to be using gravitational forces to calculate jump height, as we’re still on the ground. You can offset this somewhat by landing with straight legs but it still won’t be perfect.

Homemade Vertical Jump Testers

One of the most popular options is to go for a DIY vertical jump measurement tool.

It’s possible to create a makeshift vertec out of some pretty basic equipment you can find at any hardware store.

How To Make Your Own Vertical Leap Measurement Device

I’m no DIY expert but I did sift through a number of videos on YouTube explaining how to create your own homemade vertec.

The below video is super short and does an excellent job of explaining how you can create your own.

There’s many others like it, but I think this video is the easiest to follow.

Advantages & Disadvantages Of A DIY Vertical Jump Tester

This is honestly one of the best options for anyone who enjoys building things or working with their hands.

Advantages

• Extremely cheap! The above DIY vertec costs only about $22 to make! I saw some other videos where people were spending only $10 on their builds as well. That’s a whole lot cheaper than the $700 you’d pay for an actual vertec!
• Might be an enjoyable project if this sort of thing interests you.
• Could be really accurate if you do a good job of it!

Disadvantages

• Will take a while to put everything together.
• For people like me who suck at this kind of thing, it looks like a nightmare!
• Requires some power tools and equipment you might not have.

What Vertical Jump Test Equipment Is Best?

The answer to this question is going to vary greatly depending on who’s asking.

If you’re a 13 year old kid, maybe the chalk/tape or frame counting methods are going to be your best options.

However if you’re a head coach of a division one NCAA volleyball, basketball, or football team, you likely have access to a lot more capital and want more reliable data so you can closely track your athletes’ progress over time.

In the latter case, I’d recommend going for a vertec because it’s extremely accurate and won’t break the bank.

A vertical jump test mat would probably work just as well or if you have a dedicated strength coach, maybe even consider opting for a force plate.

The most popular method is simply to use a vertec and this is widely regarded as the gold standard when it comes to vertical jump testing.

Vertical Jump Test Norms

Now that you’ve measured your vertical jump, maybe you’re wondering whether your vertical is any good or not…

I’ve compiled a list of normative data for the vertical jump test and tabulated it below.

Unfortunately there doesn’t exist data for every age demographic but here’s what we’ve got to work with.

Average Vertical Jump By Age

We do have some data for the standing vertical jump test norms by age which I’ve displayed below.

While the data below did come from athletes, it’s unclear what their athletic background was or how much jumping experience they had.³https://www.brianmac.co.uk/sgtjump.htm

This data is to be taken with a grain of salt.

It was collected over several decades from several different sources which likely used slightly different testing parameters.

According to the above data, 15-16 year old boys jump higher than 16-19 year olds, which simply isn’t the case.

Below is data collected from world-class athletes back in 1996.

Again we don’t really know what sport these athletes played or just how elite they were.

Interesting numbers to take a look at, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the actual averages were quite different.

I’ve Tested My Vertical Over 100 Times – My Verdict?

Back when I was playing volleyball internationally, I tested my vertical jump every week.

I primarily used a vertec however did use a force plate numerous times also.

My recommendation is to use a vertec if you can.

It’s the gold standard for a reason.

Also note that if you’re tracking your vertical closely over time, don’t be too disheartened if you’re not gaining inches every week.

That’s not how vertical jump gains are made.

They come in spurts and usually require you to be at a peak in your training cycle and well rested at the same time.

Vertical Jump Measurement FAQ

I see quite a few of the same questions cropping up on the internet all the time so I decided to answer a few of the most common ones.