How do I add air time?

[unexpected]

I've made a gentleman's bet with my friends about dunking a basketball. I'm a tall guy, but my natural athleticism is average (at best).

I'm looking for specific programs that people have used to raise their vertical. I'm willing to try anything- sprints, plyometrics, squats, whatever.

I'm already in pretty good shape (this year's bet was running a marathon), and I can bench 255, squat 315, DL around 285. (I'm around 190)

I'm happy with my shape and endurance, but I would really like to use this as an excuse to get more "explosive".

redgrail, if you read this, I know you embarked on a plyo routine a while ago- how's that working out for you?

so, any takers? The internet's been pretty nebulous on this (a lot of advertisements masquerading as education). I'd love to hear some opinions from people who were able to get some serious hops.

 

[Milhouse]

Olympic lifts tend to dramatically increase my vertical leap. I never actually used the olifts to try to improve my vertical leaps, I just sort of discovered it as a side effect. It makes a lot of sense since the olifts require such extreme explosiveness. The snatch is the fastest movement in any sport.

 

[dusty]

What about, what were they called, Strength shoes?

 

[thekunk07]

do some jumping squats

 

[el es dee]

box jumps, depth jumps, lunges, single leg work, squats, etc. pretty much anything that works your legs. also just keep trying. its just as much skill as anything else

 

[Eason]

Box jumps, single legged bounds, depth jumps, combo jumps... always push yourself in height/endurance, but don't exceed over 100 impacts per day. (And don't do plyo's every day)

 

[topcatny]

Originally Posted by dusty

What about, what were they called, Strength shoes?

I used those back in high school and had some good results. I improved my vertical and my 40 yd dash time. I actually might still have mine somewhere.

I also did some exercises when I was rehabbing my knee after surgery in college that were helpful. I did a static wall squat for 1min, 1min30sec and 2min. Then I did climbing up 2 stairs 100 times on each leg. I also used a cybex machine and did some other rehab, but those 2 exercises helped me a lot. I rehabbed every day for 90 days or so and by the end I could dunk with 2 hands although it took longer for my knee to fully recover.

Sadly now on a really good day I might be able to dunk. But I am usually happy just to be able to grab the rim.

 

[cldpsu]

PF Flyers

 

[kever]

I use Olympic lifts, plyos, and sprints mostly. to be honest, when I first learned to dunk in gr. 10 it was more about learning how to jump. Are you a 1 foot or 2 foot jumper? I get about 4 or 5 inches higher off of 1 foot. I learned how to drive my knee as hard as I could at the right time, and just learned how to synchronize all of my drive and momentum to get me higher. If you're a 2 foot jumper, you might want to check out some youtube videos of guys who can get up and watch their approach and takeoff. try to mimic their movement. You'll get a lot out of lifting and training hard, but practice attacking the rim a few times a week.
Can you at least touch the rim right now? how high can you touch? How tall are you?

 

[unexpected]

kever, I'm 6'3 without shoes. I just measured my standing reach, and it came out to about 8'.

I can touch rim, but I can't grab onto it. My natural inclination is for a two footed jump, but I've never really tried off of one foot.

How far above the rim do I reasonably have to go to be able to dunk it? 6"? 10' - 8' + 6" = 2 1/2' or a 30 inch vertical. Is that doable without being a genetic freak?

thanks for the responses so far!

 

[unexpected]

arg, it duplicated my post. ignore this.

 

[DDSJohnny]

i think kever is onto something with the way you jump. i'm 6'0 even and can grab the rim (about 3 inches above), however, i'm a 2 legged jumper. i squat more than a lot of guys that can dunk (although i'm asian and i believe that works against me since i think yao's the only asian guy whose dunked the basketball in the history of man) and they all are 1 legged jumpers.

another big thing is being able to palm the ball. again, something that i can't do. if you can't palm the ball, you need at least 6-7 inches above the rim to be able to dunk because you kind of have to control it in the air with your hands and wrist (kinda like a claw move).

i'll keep a close eye on this thread and keep trying. thanks kever for the tip on 1 or 2 legged jumping. i'll have to practice w/ 1 leg.

 

[jpeirpont]

Originally Posted by unexpected

I've made a gentleman's bet with my friends about dunking a basketball. I'm a tall guy, but my natural athleticism is average (at best).

I'm looking for specific programs that people have used to raise their vertical. I'm willing to try anything- sprints, plyometrics, squats, whatever.

I'm already in pretty good shape (this year's bet was running a marathon), and I can bench 255, squat 315, DL around 285. (I'm around 190)

I'm happy with my shape and endurance, but I would really like to use this as an excuse to get more "explosive".

redgrail, if you read this, I know you embarked on a plyo routine a while ago- how's that working out for you?

so, any takers? The internet's been pretty nebulous on this (a lot of advertisements masquerading as education). I'd love to hear some opinions from people who were able to get some serious hops.
I'm not sure about how to increase your vertical. It is like you can already can dunk, you just aren't jumping correctly that was my problem for a while. I could dunk at 6'0 235 with an average or below average vertical, after I learned to bend my knees a bit more when going to rise . Look at some NBA videos and copy their techniques.

 

[RedLantern]

Originally Posted by unexpected

kever, I'm 6'3 without shoes. I just measured my standing reach, and it came out to about 8'.

I can touch rim, but I can't grab onto it. My natural inclination is for a two footed jump, but I've never really tried off of one foot.

How far above the rim do I reasonably have to go to be able to dunk it? 6"? 10' - 8' + 6" = 2 1/2' or a 30 inch vertical. Is that doable without being a genetic freak?

thanks for the responses so far!

You're going to need less vert than that because you'll get higher with a running start. 30in vert would definitely be nice though!

 

[thekunk07]

can you palm the ball? it's just as important as the hang. i can grab rim but can't palm a ball bigger than 28 oz.