Vertical jump test: how to measure your jump, norms by age and power

The test

A countermovement jump: a quick dip and straight up, best of three. Canada's national survey measured it on a force plate, with an arm swing allowed and one or two practice jumps first.

Source 1

Canada's national percentiles

3,753 people aged 8 to 69, measured in 2016 and 2017. The median jump was 49.4 cm for men and 31.8 cm for women aged 20 to 24, and 28.5 cm and 21.1 cm at 65 to 69.

Source 1

The method changes the number

Against a lab force plate, one jump mat read 11.7 cm low and another 16 cm high, and wall or Vertec heights shouldn't be swapped with app heights. Pick one method and keep to it.

Sources 4, 5, 6

Apps are close to the lab

A phone app that times your flight agreed with a force plate to within about 1 cm, and across 21 studies didn't differ from lab methods.

Sources 2, 3

Power is an estimate

The Sayers equation turns your height and weight into peak power, with a typical error of 355 W for one person.

Source 7

Training raises it

Across 26 studies, jump training raised the countermovement jump by about 9%, roughly 2 to 6 cm.

Source 8

Boys and men

The 5th, 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th and 95th percentiles, in cm:

• 8 to 9: 21.4, 22.9, 24.9, 26.5, 27.9, 29.2, 30.7, 32.3, 34.3, 37.2, 39.8
• 10 to 11: 24.9, 26.9, 29.5, 31.5, 33.2, 34.8, 36.5, 38.4, 40.6, 43.8, 45.0
• 12 to 13: 27.9, 30.5, 33.6, 35.9, 38.0, 39.9, 41.8, 43.9, 46.3, 49.8, 52.7
• 14 to 15: 30.2, 33.3, 37.0, 39.6, 41.9, 44.0, 46.1, 48.3, 51.0, 54.6, 57.6
• 16 to 17: 31.8, 35.2, 39.3, 42.2, 44.7, 46.9, 49.2, 51.5, 54.3, 58.1, 61.1
• 18 to 19: 32.6, 36.3, 40.7, 43.8, 46.3, 48.7, 51.0, 53.5, 56.3, 60.1, 63.2
• 20 to 24: 32.6, 36.6, 41.2, 44.3, 47.0, 49.4, 51.7, 54.1, 56.9, 60.7, 63.8
• 25 to 29: 31.5, 35.5, 40.0, 43.1, 45.7, 48.0, 50.3, 52.6, 55.3, 59.0, 61.9
• 30 to 34: 30.1, 33.9, 38.2, 41.1, 43.6, 45.8, 47.9, 50.2, 52.8, 56.3, 59.1
• 35 to 39: 28.8, 32.3, 36.3, 39.1, 41.4, 43.5, 45.5, 47.7, 50.2, 53.5, 56.2
• 40 to 44: 27.5, 30.7, 34.4, 37.0, 39.1, 41.1, 43.1, 45.1, 47.5, 50.7, 53.3
• 45 to 49: 26.2, 29.1, 32.5, 34.9, 36.9, 38.8, 40.6, 42.6, 44.9, 48.0, 50.5
• 50 to 54: 24.8, 27.4, 30.6, 32.8, 34.7, 36.4, 38.2, 40.0, 42.2, 45.1, 47.6
• 55 to 59: 23.4, 25.7, 28.5, 30.6, 32.3, 33.9, 35.6, 37.3, 39.3, 42.2, 44.5
• 60 to 64: 21.7, 23.8, 26.4, 28.2, 29.8, 31.3, 32.8, 34.4, 36.3, 39.0, 41.2
• 65 to 69: 19.9, 21.7, 24.0, 25.7, 27.1, 28.5, 29.8, 31.3, 33.1, 35.5, 37.6

Source 1

Girls and women

The 5th, 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th and 95th percentiles, in cm:

• 8 to 9: 20.6, 22.2, 24.2, 25.6, 26.8, 27.9, 29.0, 30.2, 31.5, 33.4, 35.0
• 10 to 11: 24.1, 26.0, 28.3, 30.0, 31.4, 32.8, 34.1, 35.5, 37.2, 39.5, 41.4
• 12 to 13: 25.5, 27.6, 30.0, 31.9, 33.4, 34.9, 36.3, 37.9, 39.7, 42.3, 44.4
• 14 to 15: 25.3, 27.3, 29.9, 31.7, 33.3, 34.7, 36.2, 37.8, 39.7, 42.3, 44.5
• 16 to 17: 24.5, 26.5, 28.9, 30.7, 32.3, 33.7, 35.2, 36.8, 38.7, 41.3, 43.5
• 18 to 19: 23.6, 25.6, 28.0, 29.8, 31.3, 32.8, 34.2, 35.8, 37.6, 40.2, 42.4
• 20 to 24: 22.8, 24.7, 27.1, 28.9, 30.4, 31.8, 33.3, 34.8, 36.7, 39.3, 41.4
• 25 to 29: 22.2, 24.1, 26.5, 28.3, 29.9, 31.3, 32.8, 34.3, 36.2, 38.8, 41.0
• 30 to 34: 21.7, 23.6, 26.1, 27.9, 29.4, 30.9, 32.3, 33.9, 35.8, 38.5, 40.7
• 35 to 39: 21.0, 22.9, 25.4, 27.2, 28.7, 30.2, 31.6, 33.2, 35.1, 37.8, 40.0
• 40 to 44: 20.1, 22.0, 24.4, 26.1, 27.7, 29.1, 30.5, 32.1, 34.0, 36.6, 38.7
• 45 to 49: 19.0, 20.8, 23.1, 24.8, 26.3, 27.7, 29.1, 30.6, 32.4, 34.9, 37.0
• 50 to 54: 17.7, 19.5, 21.7, 23.3, 24.7, 26.1, 27.4, 28.8, 30.5, 32.9, 34.9
• 55 to 59: 16.4, 18.1, 20.2, 21.8, 23.1, 24.4, 25.6, 27.0, 28.6, 30.9, 32.7
• 60 to 64: 15.2, 16.8, 18.8, 20.2, 21.5, 22.7, 23.9, 25.2, 26.7, 28.8, 30.6
• 65 to 69: 14.1, 15.6, 17.4, 18.8, 20.0, 21.1, 22.2, 23.4, 24.9, 26.9, 28.5

Source 1

Who was measured

In cycle 5 of the Canadian Health Measures Survey, in 2016 and 2017, 3,753 people aged 8 to 69 did the jump test, about half of them female; the survey offered it from 6 to 79, but too few younger and older people took part. Each did three valid single countermovement jumps (up to five tries) on a Leonardo Mechanograph force plate, after one or two practice jumps, with an arm swing allowed, and the highest counted. Survey weights make the results represent Canada's population.

Source 1

The survey's own cautions

Statistics Canada says these norms "should be compared only with data generated from the Leonardo Mechanograph Force Plate", because other methods such as the Vertec read differently. Screening people before testing "may have biased this study's results by screening out unfit individuals", so the values may be higher than for the whole population. The scorer therefore gives percentiles for app and force-plate heights, a percentile with a stronger caution for jump mats, and none for jump-and-reach (editorial).

Source 1

One odd cell

For boys aged 10 to 11, the 90th and 95th percentiles (43.8 and 45.0 cm) sit only 1.2 cm apart, where neighbouring rows are 2.6 to 3.1 cm apart (our arithmetic). It's printed as published.

Source 1

Why this table

It's national and recent, covers both sexes and every age from 8 to 69, prints its method, and we could read it in full. Canada's other fitness percentiles already give our sit-and-reach norms (editorial).

Source 1

Other reference data, not scored

Hands on the waist: in 715 children and young adults aged 9 to 21 in Metro Vancouver, the median jump was 0.26 m for girls and 0.25 m for boys at 9, rising to 0.33 m for girls from 15 and 0.46 m for young men aged 18 to 21.

Older adults: in 332 US adults aged 27 to 96 (average age 65), jump height averaged 0.20 m in women and 0.27 m in men, and in 704 German adults, jumping power per kilo fell by 40 to 50% between their 20s and their 80s.

Professional rugby league players, hands on hips and averaging three jumps, managed 34.1 cm (forwards) and 36.4 cm (backs): below the survey's medians for men because of the method, not the players (our reading).

Sources 9, 10, 11, 12

Worked examples (our arithmetic)

As the scorer works them out:

• A man of 25 who jumps 45.0 cm on an app and weighs 80 kg is between the 30th (43.1) and 40th (45.7) percentile for men aged 25 to 29: around the middle. Sayers gives 4,300.5 W, shown as 4,300 W, or 53.8 W per kg.
• A woman of 42 with a flight time of 0.50 seconds jumped 30.7 cm (1.22625 × 0.5 × 0.5 = 0.3066 m): between the 60th (30.5) and 70th (32.1) percentile for women aged 40 to 44. At 65 kg, Sayers gives 2,752.99 W, shown as 2,750 W, and 42.4 W per kg from the unrounded figure.
• A girl of 14 who jumps 30.0 cm is between the 20th (29.9) and 30th (31.7) percentile for girls aged 14 to 15. There's no power estimate under 18.
• A man of 58 whose wall marks are 228 and 262 cm jumped 34.0 cm. Jump-and-reach gets no percentile, but at 90 kg Sayers gives 4,085.8 W, shown as 4,090 W (45.4 W per kg).
• A man of 35 who jumps 52.0 cm is between the 80th (50.2) and 90th (53.5) percentile for men aged 35 to 39: higher than most. At 85 kg, about 4,950 W (58.3 W per kg).
• 20 inches is 50.8 cm, and a flight time of 600 ms is 44.1 cm.

Sources 1, 7, 3

How much a jump can move

Countermovement and squat jumps were the most reliable of seven jump tests in 93 students, with within-person variation of 2.4 to 4.6%. Between days, the best of three devices in 79 students had a standard error of 1.3 to 2.4 cm, and the Vertec changed most across trials, so practise until your jumps level off. Volleyball players' and rugby league players' repeat jumps agreed closely too. For tracking change, the average of several jumps was more sensitive than the best. A change of about 2 cm or less may be day-to-day difference (editorial).

Sources 13, 14, 15, 16, 12, 17

Leg power, and it falls with ageStrong evidence

Jumping power per kilo fell by 40 to 50% from people's 20s to their 80s in 704 German adults, more than their force did (about 20%). In the national norms, men's median falls from 49.4 cm at 20 to 24 to 28.5 cm at 65 to 69, and women's from 31.8 to 21.1 cm. Jump measures tracked age more closely than grip or chair-rise tests in 332 US adults. These describe groups; they don't predict your health.

Sources 11, 1, 10

No health outcome studiesEmerging evidence

We found no study linking jump height with health outcomes in the general population. One group suggests jumping power reference values could help spot people at risk of sarcopenia (age-related loss of muscle), but that hasn't been tested. We make no health claim (editorial).

Source 11

The method changes the numberStrong evidence

Against a lab force plate, one contact mat read 11.7 cm low and a Vertec 2.4 cm low, while a belt mat and a portable force plate were within 1 cm. Another mat read 50 cm where the force plate read 34 cm. Vertec and app heights shouldn't be swapped, and how you measure your standing reach changes a jump-and-reach score. Methods that time the flight or use take-off speed measure from take-off, so they read lower than methods that start from standing flat-footed.

Sources 4, 5, 19, 6, 20, 18

Apps agree with force platesStrong evidence

My Jump agreed with a force plate to within about 1 cm (an intraclass correlation of 0.997 in 20 men), and across 21 studies, flight-time apps didn't differ from lab methods. Landing with bent knees lengthens the flight time and makes the height read high.

Sources 2, 3

Arms add heightStrong evidence

A hard arm swing added 8.6 cm in 20 men, and children jumping with hands on their waist scored 13 to 19% lower than children allowed to swing.

Sources 21, 9

Training raises itStrong evidence

Across 26 studies, jump training raised the countermovement jump by 8.7% (7.5% with an arm swing), roughly 2 to 6 cm.

Source 8

Jump training in older adultsEmerging evidence

In 12 trials in older adults, supervised jump training didn't lead to more injuries or problems. At home, anyone unsteady should use safer tests.

Source 22

SportEmerging evidence

Better volleyball teams and more skilled basketball players tend to jump higher, in observational studies.

Sources 23, 24

Phone apps

My Jump works out your height from your flight time on slow-motion video: height in metres = 1.22625 × the flight time in seconds, squared, which is gravity times the flight time squared, divided by 8 (our arithmetic). Film side-on, mark take-off and landing frame by frame, and land with straight legs.

Sources 2, 3

Force plates

Force plates work out height from your take-off speed (the speed squared, divided by 19.62) or from your flight time. Canada's norms came from a Leonardo force plate and its software.

Sources 18, 1

Jump mats

Mats time your flight too, but they vary by maker: one read 11.7 cm below a force plate, a belt mat 0.1 cm, and another mat about 16 cm above. Check yours against a force plate if you can.

Sources 4, 5

A wall or a Vertec (jump and reach)

The gap between your standing reach and your highest touch. It reads differently from flight-time and force-plate methods, by several centimetres in a direction that depends on how your reach is taken, so the scorer shows your height and power but no percentile. Practise until your jumps level off.

Sources 20, 6, 19, 4, 14

Countermovement or squat jump

A countermovement jump starts with a quick dip; a squat jump starts from a held half squat. Canada's norms used a countermovement jump with an arm swing, while some youth and sport norms use hands on hips. Both jumps repeat well.

Sources 1, 9, 12, 13

Sayers 1999, the scorer's equation

Peak power (W) = 60.7 × jump height (cm) + 45.3 × body mass (kg) - 2055. It came from squat jumps by 108 college-age men and women, athletes and not, on a force platform, with a typical error of 355 W, and countermovement jumps put into it read about 2.7% high. The authors recommend it over the older Harman and Lewis equations, and say separate equations for men and women are unnecessary. Which height measure it was built on isn't in the summary we could read.

Source 7

Why we don't use Harman's equation

Copies of Harman's 1991 equation disagree on the sign of its constant: one paper prints + 1822 and another - 1822, and we couldn't open the original. With + 1822, college women jumping 43.8 cm at 73.4 kg come out at about 98 W per kilo, roughly double what force plates measure, and a study of women's jumping power reports Harman estimates that fit only the minus form (our arithmetic).

Sources 25, 26, 27

Where the estimate breaks down

The authors of a study of 77 junior basketball players call equations like these biologically unsound beyond the range of the people they came from, and found that an allometric model (one that scales with body size), and body mass multiplied by jump height, predicted peak power better. Sayers gives a negative power for a 30 kg child jumping 10 cm (our arithmetic), so the scorer shows power only for adults with jumps of 10 to 100 cm and weights of 40 to 150 kg (editorial).

Source 28

No percentile for power

Canada's survey also measured jumping power on its force plate, but an estimate can't be compared with measured power, so the scorer gives no percentile for power (editorial).

Source 1

A current knee, ankle, Achilles, hip or back injury, or pain

Maximal jumps and landings load them, so test once they've settled (editorial). Our jumper's knee, Achilles tendinopathy and ankle sprain guides cover what to do meanwhile.

Pregnancy

Our box jump guide advises not starting box jumps in pregnancy, and the PAR-Q+ (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone) asks you to talk to a health care practitioner first.

Source 29

After giving birth

Our postpartum guide brings jumping back from about 12 weeks, after its hop checks.

Leaking urine when you land

It's common and treatable: build up pelvic floor exercises and lower-impact work first, as our pelvic floor guide explains.

Osteoporosis with a past spinal fracture, or a high fracture risk

Our osteoporosis guide keeps impact to brisk walking after a spinal fracture and avoids landing from a height. The chair stand or grip strength test suits you better.

Unsteady on your feet, or a fall in the past year

A maximal jump and landing at home risks a fall (editorial). The 30-second chair stand and the timed up and go are safer tests of your legs.

After a hip or knee replacement

Check which movements your surgical team allows before you jump.

A "yes" on the PAR-Q+

If you answer yes to any question on the PAR-Q+, check with your GP or a qualified exercise professional before any maximal effort.

Source 29

Children

Use the children's rows, with an adult watching (editorial). Children's jump heights rise fastest in the teens, especially in boys.

Source 1

Call 999 now (911 in the US)

Stop and call 999 for:

• Chest pain or discomfort that doesn't go away, pain that spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or chest pain with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or shortness of breath.
• Someone who faints while exercising.
• Palpitations that don't go away, or that come with chest pain, shortness of breath, or feeling faint or fainting.
• After a bad landing: you heard a crack, the joint or limb has changed shape or points at an odd angle, it's numb, tingling or has pins and needles, or the skin looks blue or grey or feels cold (or go to A&E).

Sources 30, 31, 32, 33

Get help from NHS 111 the same day

• An injury that's very painful, or one you can't put weight on or walk more than a few steps on.
• A snap or pop at the back of the ankle, or you can't walk on your tiptoes: possibly a torn Achilles tendon or a broken bone.
• A knee that's very painful, won't move or take your weight, is badly swollen or has changed shape, or locks, gives way or painfully clicks.

Sources 33, 34, 35, 36, 37

See a GP

• Knee pain that doesn't improve within a few weeks.
• Heel pain that hasn't improved after 2 weeks of treating it at home, or is getting worse or keeps coming back.
• An injured joint whose symptoms don't improve within a few weeks.

Sources 37, 34, 35

Take a break from jumping

If pain below your kneecap is worse the next morning, or you leak urine when you land, take a break and see our jumper's knee and pelvic floor guides.

"A jump is a jump, however you measure it"Strong evidence

Against a lab force plate, a contact mat read 11.7 cm low and a Vertec 2.4 cm low, another mat read 16 cm high, and Vertec and app heights shouldn't be swapped.

Sources 4, 5, 6

"Online jump charts tell you what's average"Strong evidence

Many don't say who was measured or how. Canada's national figures come with their population and method, and Statistics Canada warns they fit only the same kind of force-plate jump.

Source 1

"Your arms don't matter"Strong evidence

An arm swing added 8.6 cm in 20 men, and children jumping with hands on their waist scored 13 to 19% lower than children jumping with free arms.

Sources 21, 9

"A power calculator measures your power"Strong evidence

It estimates it, with a typical error of 355 W for the Sayers equation, and copies of Harman's equation even disagree on a sign.

Sources 7, 25, 26

"You can add 10 inches in a month"Strong evidence

Trials average 8.7% on the countermovement jump, about 2 to 6 cm, over weeks of training.

Source 8

"Jumping is too risky after 60"Emerging evidence

Supervised jump training in 12 trials in older adults didn't lead to more injuries or problems. At home, anyone unsteady should use the safer tests in who it isn't for.

Source 22