For some stupid reason (OK, it was alcohol), I bet some friends of mine that I would be able to dunk a basketball by June 20, 2010. I felt pretty confident on this bet because last time I tried, I was able to just touch the rim on a regulation 10 foot goal without any doing any specific vertical jump training at all.
Problem is, last time I actually tried was 4 years ago and age is starting to rear its ugly head. I found out this week that my vertical jump is now a paltry 22".
I already exercise on a daily basis, but now I want to focus this time on increasing my vertical jump to the point that I can dunk. I have a 92" reach, so I need to get to minimum 33-34" vertical to dunk (I can palm the ball). That is a 12"+ difference, which is a huge difference, but is within reach of a dilligent, all-in effort.
I have just finished reading the Vertical Jump Bible, which seems to be one of the best, if not the best collection of knowledge on the vertical jump out there. Now I am ready to apply it.
Does anyone want to join me? I have found in the past that the best weapon in any workout program is a sadistic spotter. It also creates accountability and someone who provides encouraging support. Basically I will be that for you and you be that for me.
For weight training, I go to the ShiDa gym. One of the key things is to increase squat load and deadlift load significantly (ideally squat 2-3x body-weight which for me = 400-600lbs), so there will be weight room time. I would rather not waste money on another gym membership just for this, so if you have access to that gym, that would be ideal, but obv that might not work out, so I have some flexibility. The rest of the exercises, which are primarily plyometric, can be performed pretty much anywhere.
why couldnt you have posted this 6 months ago! im leaving tw within a month but wouldve loved to do this with you. is there an online version of the online jump bible you speak of?
squats wont do squat for you (hahaha that was punny) with regards to explosiveness. most of the spring in your jump is from a short bend at the knee not a deep squat. if you must do squats try quicker ones where you dip very little, or short drop jump squats with 25s 35s or plates on each side.
Also doing all that weight is only going to put size on your legs and this is counter productive to what you want to do (dunk). Heavy weight and deep bends are not good for jumping.
the best thing to do in the gym for explosiveness is power cleans, but most Taipei gyms (especially Taida) are not equipped to allow you to do this exercise.
stick to:
-short quick squats (dipping to 135’ or less)…do high reps and lighter weight.
-jump squats
-calf raises
-power cleans
I would get out of the gym completely, do a three day on one day off dose of HIIT:
you should also do basketball specific drills like backboard taps and ‘x-out’ where you take one dribble from the foul line (elbow), lay the ball in, one dribble back to the other side of the foul line (other elbow), one dribble back to the rim for a lay up etc… do this for 60 seconds per set trying to get the rim on every lay up.
this book is rigorous in its methodology and data (it’s 150+ dense pages of very sound, well referenced explanation and techniques). moreover, the vertical jump bible “VJB” results that others have reported are irrefutable, so i’ll stick with this.
the results after i am done with this will tell if i’m right or wrong, but i think you are wrong wrt to squats. vertical jump is simply an expression of power. power = force x speed. deep squats are definitely better because they recruit more muscles that are involved in the act of jumping. this has to be done at high load with attempted explosiveness rather than slow lifting. the book has a very good explanation of this, which i have backed checked. what i’ve learned (and back checked) is that good power lifters typically have ridiculous verticals upwards of 40"+, much of it from just their pure strength base.
then obviously blend this with speed training and plyometrics. the majority of the programs i’ve seen out there concentrate on just the plyometrics aspect, which i feel does not address the strength aspect as much as it should. moreover, those programs don’t seem to have any sort of rigor in the logic of how they were put together, so i trust them less.
i am already HIITing 5 days/wk with the workout incorporating plyometrics, pure cardio and general strength.
I’m not an expert in vertical jumping, but plyometric training assumes a good base of strength training already exists in the athlete. So I agree with you in doing heavy squating first if you don’t have that strength base.
ok, just finished calibration and did some experiments around technique. 22" at start of night. now repeatable 24" following jump technique principles in book and making adjustments to invoke more reactive (plyometric) strength and core strength. have not hit the weights or done any of the exercises yet. HIIT tomorrow, weight room friday. total height reach at top of jump = 116". so 4" from rim again and 8-10" from dunking. gonna be an interesting next 5 months.
My kids’ school has a 9’ rim. I dunk there regularly, and the kids think I’m fantastic. [/quote]
Yeah, but you’re 15 feet tall.[/quote]
And have the gift of sight beyond sight.
Don’t forget to practice jumping with the ball in hand. I could always easily elevate high enough to dunk in theory, but my palming of the ball was never the surest thing and threw off my jump.
Heh, palming of the ball.
Also, practice your approach to the basket. Righties usually approach from the left, but it’s whichever approach that works best for getting you highest.
[quote=“GeographicCure”]Don’t forget to practice jumping with the ball in hand. I could always easily elevate high enough to dunk in theory, but my palming of the ball was never the surest thing and threw off my jump.
Heh, palming of the ball.
Also, practice your approach to the basket. Righties usually approach from the left, but it’s whichever approach that works best for getting you highest.
Heh, getting you highest.
Good luck![/quote]
thanks! will def make sure to practice with a ball. i don’t actually need to improve my basketball, just dunk, so will probably not even practice dribbling the ball up unless i end up jamming first. another solution to awkward palming might be to aim to get high enough to two-hand jam dat sh1t.
update on this: i have been following the “vertical jump bible” er, religiously, for the last 3 months. my vertical has gone from 22" to 30" and i am now above the rim.
i need about 3 or 4 inches more to dunk, but progress is still moving so i am confident. i will make sure to take a video on that first dunk.
the thing that helped me the most was deep squatting heavy, then doing explosive deep squatting with half weight. that plus a pretty healthy dose of plyometrics including drop jumps, box jumps and step ups, etc etc.
anyone else wants to join in or try this in time for summer basketball, let me know.
Thanks for the update, mabagal, and congrats on the progress! That’s a big gain.
If you’ve come across any online resources you could forward, I’d be grateful for the tips. I don’t expect to get back my ability to truly elevate like the old days, but I’ve found that my reduced explosiveness has thrown off a lot of other skills that I hope to keep into my middle age (pull up jumpers, first step, etc.). Prolly wishful thinking, but I don’t want to go down without a fight.
geo, send me a pm or e-mail. this is definitely something new for me. i need to prolly ideally drop 15lbs kobe style to really help with elevation. at this point, the working weights are getting high enough that it might be easier to reduce the denominator of my power/weight ratio.
the kids at the gym keep looking at me weird when i do the plyo part of this exercise. maybe because i am stacking benches on top of each other and jumping off that, broad jumping down the sidelines, or jumping up to the rim 30 times in a row, they just look at me funny. lol.
I just caught the name of the product you’re using. The author Kelly Bagget is not a house-hold name but is well-known for getting results. I read his stuff all the time. Lots of good info on his site.
That’s him. I chose to use this system because of how much rigor went into making it. Seems to be working so far. Now if I can just stop the 3-latte a day habit.
hey guys, so i fell off the exercise wagon and lost the bet, but my buddy decided i could NEVER dunk and gave me another 6 months for a triple-down at straight odds.
so i took it, and now it’s for triple the stakes… going to go back into this. if anyone wants to join me and try to get their explosiveness to levels they never thought possible and weight down to where you were as a teenager, let me know.
the program will be vertical jump bible with interlaced beach body insanity. the goal is to lose about 10% body weight while increasing leg strength somewhere on the order of 50-100%
i work out at either xinyi sports center or the new dunhua sports center and can arrange my schedule to do this either early in the morning (6AM), early evening (6PM) or night (9PM). i prefer the mornings as they are less crowded, but whatever works.
