If you want to dunk like Nate Robinson but don’t have a high enough vertical jump yet, you’ll want to find some good vertical jump exercises, also known as plyometrics, to help you jump higher. But before you try any of these upright routines, there are a few precautions you should take to make sure you don’t injure yourself. If you’re just trying different jumping exercises on your own, there’s a good chance you’ll injure yourself, and I’m saying that from personal experience.

So how can you make sure you don’t pull or tear your leg muscles? There really is one main thing you should do before every plyometric workout you do, and it will not only help prevent injury, but it will also allow you to jump higher with greater ease.

And that would be… Stretch!

It may not seem like just stretching will help you hit the hoop, but it’s actually one of the most important parts of any good exercise routine. And any solid vertical jumping program should come with a good warm up/stretching routine.

What stretches should you do?

If you’re just going to focus on plyometrics, you’ll want to focus on stretching your hamstrings, calves, keeping your ankles flexible, and quadriceps. If you add any upper body movement to your exercises, you should definitely stretch any other muscles you use, such as triceps, chest, etc.

Of course, there’s a lot more you’ll need to learn if you want to add 6 inches or more to your vertical, but stretching is the foundation of everything, so make sure you don’t neglect it!