Your jumping ability

Once you’ve taken the jump test, you’ll get a score based on the height of your jump. This score is a good indication of two separate things – power or ‘explosive force’ and maximum level of strength.

Explosive force

A greater explosive force means you do better at 90 degree squats and can perform faster at the 10m dash.

Strength

The stronger your leg muscles, the higher you can jump. Leg strength depends on muscle diameter and also muscle composition – with a greater number of ‘fast twitch’ muscle fibres delivering greater strength. These qualities are genetic in the first instance, but you can improve them with training. This is particularly the case with your muscle fibres, whose synchronisation within the muscle as well as coordination with your other muscle groups can be significantly trained.

Men vs women

Men are able to improve their strength more than women simply because they have more anabolic hormones.