Vertical Jump Programs...

[The Shocker]

Anyone here have tried any vertical jump program?

The reason I'm asking this is, well... As I said before(in P90X thread), I'm a small guy (5'6") but somehow I happened to make a betting with my friends. I just said that if I wanted it badly, I could dunk. Yes I'm aware how absurd it is, but I did it anyway. We got a deal based on me dunking in six month to one year.

Anyway I did some very scientific researches(obviously on the internet) and find out that at least it's not impossible. I mean, me dunking.

Then I went for digging up my current athletic situation. Here is the report I ended up with.

1) Height : 5'6" barefoot, 5'7" with shoes.

2) Weight : 145 lbs with 17% body fat.

3) Wingspan : 5'7"

4) Standing Reach : 7'2" barefoot, 7'3" with shoes.

5) Hands : Literally small, I can hold the size 7 Bball barely for 3 seconds with one hand.

6) Sport Experience : None. Some mornings, when I coudn't wake up, I run about 2 miles to catch up the class. I tried P90X plyometrics and 30 mins through it, I vomited all over the stairs to the WC. I can do 20-25 push ups and 2-3 pull ups. My younger brother can beat me up easily but I can beat my gf at arm wrestling.

7) Flexibility : I have rather a flexible body, probably one of the few advantages of being short.

8) Other : A tooth with decay, thinning hair.

A few days ago, I went to the college court and tried to dunk. At my first attempt, I couldn't dunk. At my second attempt, I thought I dunked and it was like a 360, but they(my friends) said that I just did hit my head badly to the trunk of the rim after I fell on the ground. I don't remember the rest of that day.

Yesterday, I went to the court again, this time with a measuring tape to measure my vertical jumps. I implemented the routine wall-type vertical jumping tests for about half an hour, here is my report on it.

1) Best standing VJ : 22 inches, the reach is 9'1".
2) Best VJ with a single step : Same as 1.
3) Max running VJ with one foot : 24 inches, the reach is 9'3".
4) Max running VJ with two feet : 23 inches, the reach is 9'2".

Now, based on my researches, they say one could dunk if he/she can reach to 10'6". This means I need 33 inches to touch the rim and 39 inches to dunk. I believe if I ever can touch the rim once, I can dunk, because then I will become a believer. Rigth now I don't believe myself, at all. And this means, all I need is 9 more frigging inches to touch the rim.

One positive thing that makes me happy like a girl is that the guys on the court regularly, are saying that I'm a natural jumper and I have the potential to improve it.

Now, back to the original topic and my question... I need a program to improve my VJ at least 9 inches. Do you think it's possible? Have you ever tried such a program? Could you give any advices to improve my VJ? Any advices, references and experiences will be welcomed. Help me guys.

One final thing : I'm 92 born.

Let me get this straight. Your best max reach in any scenario is 9'3", you need to to get to 10'6" to be able to dunk (according to you), and you somehow think this is feasible? If no one's said it yet, let me. Don't waste your time and efforts. This will be a bigger act in futility than our war on drugs.

 

[ema]

I have the worst knees on here and I can still jump higher than anyone on here. The best jump program there is is called genetics.

Shut up! No, wait, what's your vertical jump? Was it always high? Mine is 24 inches(lol), I've never done any kind of sport before the last two weeks, and after that last two weeks I lost 2 inches of my vj. I think it's because of the tiredness.

 

[ema]

Nothing special. Just my first attempt before I got going on the program. Actually got a bit higher then I expected. If I can reach this high I am probably closer to about 10'2" on my max vert. So that might actually make my max vert around 30" still. Am I wrong on this? Standing reach of 7'8".

I'm going to try to do one of these every week or two to measure my progress.

Anyway, just thought I would share.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9IdbpR71aE

Oh man, you're way too ahead of me, congratulations, I bet you will dunk way sooner than you think.

 

[Archie Moses]

Shut up! No, wait, what's your vertical jump? Was it always high? Mine is 24 inches(lol), I've never done any kind of sport before the last two weeks, and after that last two weeks I lost 2 inches of my vj. I think it's because of the tiredness.

I'm two weeks out of surgery on both of my knees and my vert is still better than 24 inches. hehepeepeecaca

 

[ema]

I'm two weeks out of surgery on both of my knees and my vert is still better than 24 inches. hehepeepeecaca

OK, now shut up!

 

[DarkMount]

I have the worst knees on here and I can still jump higher than anyone on here. The best jump program there is is called genetics.

I'm not worried about the genetics. Like I said earlier in the thread, my vert was at 37.5" back in high school. I had little to no vert training back then. Was a jumper all my life. The problem know is I was a lazy fat *** for a while. So I am just trying to loose weight to get it back, but this time I'm going t train vert specific after I lose the weight. I'm really pushing for a 40" plus.

If you don't mind, may I ask what yours was pre-injury? Like I said, I love this stuff, so just curious.

 

[Archie Moses]

If you don't mind, may I ask what yours was pre-injury? Like I said, I love this stuff, so just curious.

It was high enough to put my nuts in Trout's mouth when I dunked on him. With that said, it was one of my weaker posters. Dantheman could tell you about a guy I dunked on and was never seen again. No lie.

 

[DarkMount]

Oh man, you're way too ahead of me, congratulations, I bet you will dunk way sooner than you think.

Thanks man, I was actually surprised I got as high as I did. This was one take too, didn't keep doing it till I got a good one. So I'm pretty happy with it.

Today my friend was throwing me alley oops and I'm pretty close to getting them that way. I have huge hands though, so I can palm a ball. So sometimes that's easier then having him throw them up to me, cause he kept missing. I hope I can get dunking in the next month or so

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Thanks man, I was actually surprised I got as high as I did. This was one take too, didn't keep doing it till I got a good one. So I'm pretty happy with it.

Today my friend was throwing me alley oops and I'm pretty close to getting them that way. I have huge hands though, so I can palm a ball. So sometimes that's easier then having him throw them up to me, cause he kept missing. I hope I can get dunking in the next month or so

Nice, I was able to hang on the rim today. I've gotten a little closer. I think my biggest problem is flexibility. I just hate stretching because my body is so inflexible, but I'm slowly getting better at it and I can tell it's making a big difference.

 

[Hartsock]

I have the worst knees on here and I can still jump higher than anyone on here. The best jump program there is is called genetics.

I challenge you to a dual

 

[Ron Mexico]

I'm two weeks out of surgery on both of my knees and my vert is still better than 24 inches. hehepeepeecaca

Let me guess you had a little knee scope. That is not real knee surgery. Try having your ACL and MCL snap in half and having your hamstring cut up to make a new ACL and MCL only to have those snap in half.

I used to dunk when I was in high school I lost a little athleticism and could easily touch the rim and barely dunk at full sprint down the court on a good day then after knee surgery I could not touch the net for a couple years, mostly due to hamstrings being weak. Now days at 30 I can touch the rim but that is a feat.

Plus you are 6'6 and can touch the net on your tippy toes right? That is like saying its impressive that Kanter dunked from a step past the free throw line even though he only got 3" off the ground.

In all seriousness I have seen you dunk in person and am very jealous.

 

[Archie Moses]

Let me guess you had a little knee scope. That is not real knee surgery. Try having your ACL and MCL snap in half and having your hamstring cut up to make a new ACL and MCL only to have those snap in half.

I used to dunk when I was in high school I lost a little athleticism and could easily touch the rim and barely dunk at full sprint down the court on a good day then after knee surgery I could not touch the net for a couple years, mostly due to hamstrings being weak. Now days at 30 I can touch the rim but that is a feat.

Plus you are 6'6 and can touch the net on your tippy toes right? That is like saying its impressive that Kanter dunked from a step past the free throw line even though he only got 3" off the ground.

In all seriousness I have seen you dunk in person and am very jealous.

Wow. So many things wrong with this post.

Last year I tore my ACL, MCL, meniscus, and had a hamstring graph. Two weeks ago I got both knees scoped and the meniscus in both repaired.

I'm 6'4"1/2 without shoes on.

Oh, I was able to dunk 3 months after ACL sugery.

hehepeepeecaca

 

[Ron Mexico]

Wow. So many things wrong with this post.

Last year I tore my ACL, MCL, meniscus, and had a hamstring graph. Two weeks ago I got both knees scoped and the meniscus in both repaired.

I'm 6'4"1/2 without shoes on.


Oh, I was able to dunk 3 months after ACL sugery.

hehepeepeecaca

Well I was just guessing on the knee. But I would venture to guess that a large percentage on this board have had the same surgery since it is common.

So I was right on the height. 6'4"1/2 is the same with shoes on as 6'6"

Anyone that height should dunk who is reasonable athletic.

3 months is fast to be dunking that is about when I felt better and starting doing stuff before tearing again.

 

[larryselbows]

I'm six feet tall



















and hung like an Archie Moses.

 

[The Shocker]

Let me guess you had a little knee scope. That is not real knee surgery. Try having your ACL and MCL snap in half and having your hamstring cut up to make a new ACL and MCL only to have those snap in half.

I used to dunk when I was in high school I lost a little athleticism and could easily touch the rim and barely dunk at full sprint down the court on a good day then after knee surgery I could not touch the net for a couple years, mostly due to hamstrings being weak. Now days at 30 I can touch the rim but that is a feat.

Plus you are 6'6 and can touch the net on your tippy toes right? That is like saying its impressive that Kanter dunked from a step past the free throw line even though he only got 3" off the ground.

In all seriousness I have seen you dunk in person and am very jealous.

What does his height have to do with his vert? Besides absolutely nothing.

 

[ema]

Update

I’m already doing some exercises and trying to learn my body and its reactions to the workouts while I continue to research the vertical jump subject. It’s quite interesting for me to see that almost all kind of non-endurance type exercises are helpful in a way to improve the vertical jumping ability. So there are plenty of exercise types that I can during my next 6 to 12 months period. Some of these exercises are: Plyometrics; all kind of Lower Body Exercises and a lot of Weight Exercises such as Squats, Weighted Squats, Deadlifts, Leg Curls; Jumping Exercises; Stretching and Yoga Exercises; Speed and Sprint Exercises; and even classical Body Weight Exercises with Cardio and Core Exercises.

So I’m preparing a “Basic Exercise Program” which I’ll be doing the next six months(or actually all the time). It includes all type of exercises that help to improve vertical jump. My main focus is to make all the body parts being worked but at the same time rested well between the workouts. With the time I will only increase the intensity of the program, as I improve my condition on the areas which I’ll be training specifically to improve, in the mean time.

So apart from the “Basic Exercise Program”, I will do specific exercises to work focused on my overall goals. With the help of this “two way” practising style, I hope I will achieve my goals.

My Goals for the First Two Months:
1) Improving Jumping Technique
2) Lowering the Body Fat to 5-8% from 15-20%.
3) Gaining general body and core strength.
4) Improving Cardio
5) Improving Flexibility

My Goals for the Next Two Months:
1) Gaining Lower Body Strength
2) Improving Speed and Quickness
3) Improving Explosiveness
4) Improving my dribbling skills.

My Goals for the Last Two Months:
1) Maximazing General Body Strength
2) Maximazing Lover Body Strength
3) Maximazing Explosiveness
4) Strengthening my hands and fingers(to palm the basketball)

 

[ema]

BTW, for my future exercises, I made a “Weighted Vest” with an old denim vest which has a lot of large pockets. I stole some clean construction sand from the campus, I sifted it with a large colander that I stole from the campus kitchen, then I made sand packages with nested double kitchen bags just to fit into the pockets of the vest. At the end of the process, it shaped better than I thought it would be and was also very comfortable. So it costed 0$(thanks to my thievery) and a few hours to make a 20-25 lbs Weighted Vest while the ones on the internet are very very expensive. Unfortunately I had to dismantle(demount?) it, because I’m taking the road tonight to my home. But I will remake it as soon as I arrive at my village, fortunately it won’t be hard to find nice sand there.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Update

I’m already doing some exercises and trying to learn my body and its reactions to the workouts while I continue to research the vertical jump subject. It’s quite interesting for me to see that almost all kind of non-endurance type exercises are helpful in a way to improve the vertical jumping ability. So there are plenty of exercise types that I can during my next 6 to 12 months period. Some of these exercises are: Plyometrics; all kind of Lower Body Exercises and a lot of Weight Exercises such as Squats, Weighted Squats, Deadlifts, Leg Curls; Jumping Exercises; Stretching and Yoga Exercises; Speed and Sprint Exercises; and even classical Body Weight Exercises with Cardio and Core Exercises.

So I’m preparing a “Basic Exercise Program” which I’ll be doing the next six months(or actually all the time). It includes all type of exercises that help to improve vertical jump. My main focus is to make all the body parts being worked but at the same time rested well between the workouts. With the time I will only increase the intensity of the program, as I improve my condition on the areas which I’ll be training specifically to improve, in the mean time.

So apart from the “Basic Exercise Program”, I will do specific exercises to work focused on my overall goals. With the help of this “two way” practising style, I hope I will achieve my goals.

My Goals for the First Two Months:
1) Improving Jumping Technique
2) Lowering the Body Fat to 5-8% from 15-20%.
3) Gaining general body and core strength.
4) Improving Cardio
5) Improving Flexibility

My Goals for the Next Two Months:
1) Gaining Lower Body Strength
2) Improving Speed and Quickness
3) Improving Explosiveness
4) Improving my dribbling skills.

My Goals for the Last Two Months:
1) Maximazing General Body Strength
2) Maximazing Lover Body Strength
3) Maximazing Explosiveness
4) Strengthening my hands and fingers(to palm the basketball)

One thing to note is that long term endurance training will hurt your explosiveness gains. I would try to stay away from long jogs, instead go for interval sprinting, which is where you sprint for a certain amount of time, then walk for 10-20 seconds, then sprint again, and repeat until you can't do it anymore.

 

[ema]

One thing to note is that long term endurance training will hurt your explosiveness gains. I would try to stay away from long jogs, instead go for interval sprinting, which is where you sprint for a certain amount of time, then walk for 10-20 seconds, then sprint again, and repeat until you can't do it anymore.

Thanks for expressing that. If you asked me a few weeks ago, I would say that the marathon runners can jump higher than weigth lifters, because they are lighter. But now I know it’s the contrary. This sentence from “Vertical Jump Bible”.

If you think training for endurance is all well and dandy realize the average marathon runner has a vertical leap of about 12 inches!!

And there are many(almost all of them) weight lifters, sprinters, throwers, shot putters etc with 30+ inches VJ, even though they’re heavy and big guys and not specifically training for it.

The endurance more than of a basketball player‘s is a killer for explosiveness. It’s the same reason why “Air Alert” series are awful for vertical jump except for very very raw guys sport wise. It includes ridiculously high repetitions of jumping exercises. It only makes you capable of jumping more without tiring not jumping higher.

 

[BluesRocker]

My advice is to avoid the gimmicks such as ankle weights and those shoe attachments that make you walk tippy toed.

Spend most of your time practicing jumping.

Spend your other time working on your thighs with weights and, running and jump roping. Calfs are not as important for jumping as made to believe. Look at great jumpers such as Jordan and Lebron. Small calfs.

If you want to peak, then work on every part of your body. Everything is connected so your body will function better if all the parts are strong. But don't build a huge upper body.

Get your weight down and your body fat percentage down.

Also jump rope a lot. Get good at it.


My work out routine in high school was run a mile, go practice jumping, go leg press, go back to practice jumping, go jump rope, go practice jumping again. I would do that every other day, and also reduced my leg presses to once a week after a while. I would try to get my thighs as warm and full of blood as a could to get maximum height. I later messed with losing weight and noticed a big difference in how high I got. My peak at 190 lbs 6'0", standing reach 7'10', I could dunk easily with two hands. My vert was 38". I could dunk at 15 and peaked about 23. My sophmore year I went from barely touching the rim to barely dunking. The rest of the time was a struggle to gain a few more inches and dunking a little more easily.

It was hard to keep from getting bigger though. I put on more muscle and got up to 220. I could still get up on the rim with two hands but could only dunk one handed. So I lost some vert max from having too much weight for my body type. My ideal weight is 190-200. My only reget was that I wanted to much muscle on my upper body. I think that if I would have been lighter up top I probably could have got higher. So maybe I should have took it down to 180 if I wanted maximum height. But it's a little give and take. Having more muscle will help in other areas.

It's pretty simple really. Create strength in the legs + be light weight + technique

Now I have bad knees and can only grab one handed anymore.

Enjoy young legs to the fullest while they last.