[Fitness] How can I jump higher?

[MikeWaters]

My total fitness goal for this summer is to jump higher. Not cycling, not windsurfing. Jumping. My possibly unattainable goal is to dunk. I figure it's my last chance.

Things going against me: small hands, two-footed jumper. 5' 10".

When I was in better shape, I could grab the rim with both hands pretty easily. I could hit the rim probably a couple inches below the wrist (one hand).

So I figure I would need perhaps another 3 inches beyond that.

I'm playing basketball about 3 times per week, so I'm getting in better shape.

What are some things I can do to improve. i.e. what sort of weights, workout, etc.

[fusnik11]

By jump soles.

They work really well.

[MikeWaters]

By jump soles.

They work really well.

where?

[Archaea]

I don't know at your age how much it will help but I remember working on leaping for swim starts and added 8 inches by squat lifting, leg presses, lunges and frequent sprints.

You are sprinter. The best I could do was to touch the rim.

[Fish]

You need some flubber. That's your only hope.

[MikeWaters]

You need some flubber. That's your only hope.

how many times have I had to school your sorry band-playing ass before you learn your place?

:)

[Fish]

Whatever. That single 1:1 victory you had on me was a total fluke. Kind of like the Miami win over Dallas. One time thing. Never will happen again.

[bluegoose]

Plyometrics have been shown to be effective at increasing vertical height. Box jumping is one simple example of this.

Other than that, sport specific training is where its at. If you want to lift weights, focus on lower reps and more power during the lift phase. Squats, leg press and toe raises are the key muscle groups to focus on.

[MikeWaters]

Whatever. That single 1:1 victory you had on me was a total fluke. Kind of like the Miami win over Dallas. One time thing. Never will happen again.

Fish, it ain't even close, our basketball abilities. Anytime, anywhere.

I feel bad for people like you. Love basketball, but zero skillz. But I admire you for getting on the court anyway. Just do your ward buddies a favor and stick to defense and rebounding.

[bluegoose]

I gave up on trying to dunk or at least look foolish grabbing the rim about 2 years ago. Maybe 10 pounds and 10 years ago. Maybe.

[Fish]

Defense... nah, I don't play D, except for blocking all your weenie attempts to play above the rim. I like to save all my energy to dunk on the likes of you.

[Fish]

speaking of dunking...

http://fishdoggie.com/pix/2005/valencia/greg-dunking.jpg

two hands, holmes.

[SteelBlue]

I just don't have any good vertical leap. There was a time in my life when I weighed only 175 pounds but could max 400 lbs in the squat (this was 18 years of age). Never did better than dunking a tennis ball even though I was nearly 6' 2". Some of us just aint got hops.

[Archaea]

my first buddy I met at BYU was only 6 foot, but he could two hand behind the back and many other things. he had hops.

I just have whiteman disease.

Even with a 28 inch vertical leap, or in my case, hop, it was not enough. Small hands didn't help.

[MikeWaters]

speaking of dunking...

http://fishdoggie.com/pix/2005/valencia/greg-dunking.jpg

two hands, holmes.

next time someone asks, "I've always wanted to see a white boy, with his gut showing, dunk on an 8 foot goal", I will deliver the goods. Thanks.

[Surfah]

Do a google search for Air Alert 2. It's a serious plyometric program that has results. Be warned, when each exercise is done properly and with the right intensity it is grueling. I hadn't puked since high school football exercising and twice during the course of this 12 week program I lost my lunch. After 4 weeks I noticed about 2-3 inch vertical gain.

My goal was to gain back what I had lost from HS as a volleyball player. And if I could lose some weight off my fat ass I am sure I'd be dunking. 6'1, 275 here and I still can get rim.

Fish are you from Valencia?

[il Padrino Ute]

Ankle weights. Buy 'em and play in 'em. Also, do leg presses at the gym.

Before my knees decided they no longer liked me, I could dunk. I'm 5'9" but have always had a good vertical leap (33" before the knee surgeries). I got my most height by being a two-footed jumper, but I could do it off one foot as well, I just had to do the two-handed dunk either way because I have smaller hands.

[MikeWaters]

Used the leg press machine today. Not encouraging that I can without too much effort do the max weight (490lb). Need a machine for an athlete of my calibre. :)

Also there are no plyometric jumping boxes.

I did do a drill where I jump and touch the backboard 10 times in a row. Did 2 sets of those.

[Archaea]

Used the leg press machine today. Not encouraging that I can without too much effort do the max weight (490lb). Need a machine for an athlete of my calibre. :)

Also there are no plyometric jumping boxes.

I did do a drill where I jump and touch the backboard 10 times in a row. Did 2 sets of those.

Do one legged presses.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Mike, I have your answer. All you need to do is order Pat Robertson's protein shake and pretty soon you will be dunking with little effort. Hell, you could probably do tomahawk, 360-degree, from-the-three-point-line slam dunks if you want. Pat has been drinking them for a while and he claims he can now leg-press 2000 lbs. Never mind that this is ~700 lbs. more than the world record or that he is 72 years old, or that it would burst the capillaries in the eyes of a normal human. Pat swears it is true. I read a funny article about this in Time recently. Here is another one:

http://cbs.sportsline.com/spin/story/9454343

[creekster]

Mike, I have your answer. All you need to do is order Pat Robertson's protein shake and pretty soon you will be dunking with little effort. Hell, you could probably do tomahawk, 360-degree, from-the-three-point-line slam dunks if you want. Pat has been drinking them for a while and he claims he can now leg-press 2000 lbs. Never mind that this is ~700 lbs. more than the world record or that he is 72 years old, or that it would burst the capillaries in the eyes of a normal human. Pat swears it is true. I read a funny article about this in Time recently. Here is another one:

http://cbs.sportsline.com/spin/story/9454343

Did you think Pat meant that he did it all at once? It is a cumulative total. 10 lbs. a day, that's all it takes.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Did you think Pat meant that he did it all at once? It is a cumulative total. 10 lbs. a day, that's all it takes.

Nope. One time. Photos and video to prove it.

http://www.cbn.com/communitypublic/shake.aspx

[creekster]

Nope. One time. Photos and video to prove it.

http://www.cbn.com/communitypublic/shake.aspx

As much as I would like to watch that entire scintillating video I can't tear myself away long enough from Hoya coug and All-American's disucssion about the object of Hebrew verbs that may be incorrectly translated to do so. I do note however, that the link to the video states that it shows him only pressing 1,000 lbs. Must have been a warm-up.

It's my impression that ole pat has popped more than a few vessels in the past (let's see . . . ad hominem negative?) and so is unlikely to be bothered by a few more giving way when he demolishes the Florida State leg press record by more than 5 MikeWaters.