Most athletes, especially those engaged in active sports, are always looking for ways to increase the height of their vertical jump. But before you can even hope to improve your vertical leap, it helps to learn more about what it is so you can develop the best ways of increasing the height of your jump. Vertical jump is basically the ability to raise your center of gravity higher than the floor and in the vertical plane, using your own muscles alone. Simply put, it is a measure of how high you can jump or elevate off the ground from a standing position.