Can you dunk a basketball?

[GenSci26]

I can dunk a basketball at 6ft 210lbs. But when I gained 20lbs (was 220) this summer, my running jump was definitely impaired. I was still able to dunk from vert but that's all, not to mention the one legged take off... Hurt my knee!
I think the best training to improve jumping is plyometrics, if you already have a decent strength base. Two summer ago I improved 5-6 inches in 10 weeks with just 2 plyo seesions a week. It's true that coordination (form) plays a huge role too.

 

[babbabuee]

I'm only 5'8.5 and I can dunk on a 7ft high rim, does that count?

 

[genarr3]

Vertical leap. I understand this is one of the tests made in the Soviet block's sports machine to determine whether a child had a future in olympic lifting.

 

[Mavy]

Thats intersting Genarr.

I can get rim, and I am 5'11. I have to have full speed and momentum though. Dont know what my vertical jump is. My good friend could jump much higher than most people and he was 5'9.... wicked ball player, it came from training for it.

To get the big air in BB, its all about momentum. Have you ever seen someone do a dunk in slow motion? Its quite impressive, you really see the phyics behind it.

Because jumping is an explosive movement, you have to develop both strenghth aand power!

Squats for the strength,
Power cleans, plyometrics and weight box jumps for power.

These will get you jumping higher. Another great help is the good old fashioned jump rope believe it or not. Spend 10-15 minutes a day using it and your vertical jump will improve.

 

[Mavy]

Whats really impressive is the verical jump in the olymics where they have to clear the bar. Imagine getting your whole body over those bars, when most people would have a hard time jumping and touching it with their hands. Very impressive! Again momentum is key with these athletes as well.

 

[Mavy]

at my height and reach that gives me about a 26" vertical leap (120-[6'2.5"+19.5"]). not too impressive in know, but i think i can improve on that given time and training. but then i am 43 in a few weeks and weigh 250lbs.B]

43butpumpin eh? I think that its safe to say that you are in far better condition than 90% of people in that age range.

I work with lots of people in that age range (dare is say "that old" hehe), and most of them take an elevator to go 1 floor down so they dont get winded. I would say your doing damn good. I pray that I am going to be in good shape like that when I hit the 40s. I think that fitness is with me for life now.

 

[Optimus B]

not anymore

when i was playing lots of volleyball (2yrs ago), i could dunk with one hand. now i can just barely grab a basketball rim with both hands.

 

[Dial_tone]

I could grab the rim with maybe one finger knuckle but that's about it. If you're serious about improving your vert Olympic lifting is your ticket home.

"Nicu Vlad of Romania, world record holder and two time Olympic medallist, came to the United States back in 1990, with now current US National and Olympic Team Coach Dragomir Cioroslan for a training camp. It was here at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, that this 100kg (220lbs) weightlifter recorded a 42" vertical jump. Not to mention he was in weightlifting shoes, which weigh a lot more than tennis shoes and no formal warm-up (Snatch 200kg, Clean and Jerk 232.5kg).

Wesley Barnett of Team USA, 3-time Olympian and silver medallist at the 1997 World Championships, has legs (especially hamstrings) and ass like a thoroughbred on him that most bodybuilders would like to have. He has recorded vertical jumps of over 39" at a height of 6'1" and 105kg (231lbs). I've even witnessed him dunking a basketball while jumping over my head, and I do mean literally jumping over my head which of course only stands a mere 5'2" but he straddle jumped directly over my head and dunked (Snatch 175 kg, Clean and Jerk 220 kg).

Mark Henry, 1996 Olympic Team Member, now known as 'Sexual Chocolate' on the WWF scene, had quite a vertical jump. At 6'3" tall he could dunk a basketball, not to mention that he could squat over 1,000lbs and dead lift over 900lbs. Now dunking a basketball at 6'3" doesn't sound that hard, but take in to account that he weighed at that time 175kg (385lbs). Now that's impressive for a big guy (Snatch 180 kg, Clean and Jerk 220 kg).

Shane Hamman, 2000 Olympic Team Member and current National Super Heavyweight Champion, another big man weighing in at 163kg (358lbs) but only at a height of 5'9" tall, can jump onto boxes over 42" high. Of course Shane was also known for his squatting ability of over 1,000lbs (Snatch 195 kg, Clean and Jerk 230 kg)."

 

[MattRecc]

in high school at 6'0 and about 155lbs i could dunk, had about a 34in vertical leap maybe more, i was also a high jumper

 

[40butpumpin]

interesting stuff..

Dial_tone, thanks for posting this stuff on Nicu Vlad, Wesley Barnett, Mark Henry (could dunk a b'ball at 385lbs!!!!), and Shane Hamman. My God, if you ponder what these guys could do, it's staggering to say the least. but all these guys had big vertical leaps. i've seen this information before though, and i often use it as a motivation to me.