can u dunk? best explosive exercises...

[Taylor]

I'm 20, white 6'0 and i can't dunk yet :(

i can get rim, i can get hung, but i can't dunk

i've recently started doing dead lifts again and I feel that those are really helping me....are there any exercises that are better? Would a power clean be better?

if you would recommend me doing power cleans should i do those on a
leg/back/bicep day or a
chest/shoulder/tri day

[Shibby]

To train sports specific, you have to be specific. Try getting a weighted vest if you can, if not just hold some dumbells, do a standing jump onto a step up of some sorts. continue to raise it until it's too high, raise the weight and start over. This helps in the muscle memory recrutment, and to activate the muscles to make you jump harder.

[Taylor]

i remember I was doing the box jump thing...i think it's "plyometrics", i think that's the term for that type of exercise, but i was doing that box jump and my foot missed the box and my shins just got destroyed, lol

both my shins instantly went numb, some of the worst pain i've felt

[BBAddict]

Hack squats and basically jumping squats with dumbells. My cousin coaches NCAA basketball and those are two he has used successfully with his athletes. Also lots of jumping!

[Stonecold54]

DO NOT LIFT WEIGHTS EXPLOSIVELY THINKING THAT THAT WILL "MAKE" YOU EXPLOSIVE....its just not true. You know I could dunk when I was in college...you know why...because I practiced my technique almost everyday and I had a high strength in my leg ratio compared to my bodyweight...but I NEVER did any type of "explosive" lifts. If you want to be good at something...then practice that something...lifting weights explosively only gets you good at lifting weights explosively (As well as hurt).

*Edit...also realize that some people aren't built/meant to dunk a basketball. It really doesn't prove much anyway...I would rather hit a 3-pointer.

[Shibby]

Jumping higher isn't just about dunking (even though that't the name of the topic) you can also play a way better game of deffense. Get a clearer shot on a pull up jumper, and there is an intimidation factor and sense of respect you get on the court. Espeacially if you look like someone who can't dunk.

SC, I know your stance on explosive movements, but some are willing to take a chance to greatly improve on a sport they love. It's similar you choosing the possible side effects of gear to get better in lifting.

[Stonecold54]

Originally posted by Shibby
Jumping higher isn't just about dunking (even though that't the name of the topic) you can also play a way better game of deffense. Get a clearer shot on a pull up jumper, and there is an intimidation factor and sense of respect you get on the court. Espeacially if you look like someone who can't dunk.

SC, I know your stance on explosive movements, but some are willing to take a chance to greatly improve on a sport they love. It's similar you choosing the possible side effects of gear to get better in lifting.

my stance is basically in both cases the resulting improvment from both explosive lifting and smooth/no monentum lifting will be an amount of strength gains...however one is safe and the other is not...and my other point of contention is that there is no such thing as a transfer of jumping skill from explosive momvements...specific is specific...if you are even off a bit in the normal gait of something than it will not transfer properly resulting in messed up neurilogical firing patterns that will make it harder to achieve the desired goal.

[Slashmonay]

There this guy i talk to in my gym....he competes in track jumping over those hurdle things....Whenever i see him train he is jumping. he goes to the squat rack, throws 135 on his back, squats till hes in the bucket, and then jumos as high as he can. h also does jumping squats with barbells, and he sets up a platform and jumps onto it and off of it with dumbells. try it, this guy is a professional.

[Stonecold54]

Originally posted by Slashmonay
There this guy i talk to in my gym....he competes in track jumping over those hurdle things....Whenever i see him train he is jumping. he goes to the squat rack, throws 135 on his back, squats till hes in the bucket, and then jumos as high as he can. h also does jumping squats with barbells, and he sets up a platform and jumps onto it and off of it with dumbells. try it, this guy is a professional.

not to be a dick but... so what...most professional athletes have success DESPITE their training, not because of it...who would you rather listen to for actual advice based on evidence and theory...a bodybuilder who put on mass if he just looks at weights...or a not so big bodybuilder who had to explore the relationships of the priniciples of exercise to gain what they gained? Besides the ungodly risk of just hurting himself by falling while doing these "exercises" just think about it for a minute and ask yourself WHY it would be better to do that than just lift in a safe manner to increase strength and size and then practice your given sport to aquire the necessary neuroligical firing patterns to become better?

[JUICE]

ive seen tall ass dudes who look like if they can kill any one in the court, not even reach the rim. Im like whoa, but ive seen little dudes like 5'8'' here at home city, dunk the shit out of the rim.

When i was in high school, ive always was 5'11'' in height, ive tried everything to try to increase my chances of doing better dunk. All i was able to do was a one handed dunk. For me it took practice and practice. Also the way i jumped had to do alot with it. When i tried jumping with 2 feet i could only touch the rim but when i jumped running and with one foot, i dunked the mutha fker. What i would also do it put a piece of tape about 10 1/2 feet to 11feet and try to touch it. I would use ankle weights, never used a vest though, but eventually i reach it and when i ran and jumped, i was doing better dunks. Also my calves and legs werent that great either, they were sticks. I guess ive just had it in me.

[Taylor]

i've always heard jumping with those ankle weights tear up your knees

another forum recommended plyometrics, it sounds more or less like what stonecold is getting at...I perform those during baseball season but the particular things i do is more for speed them jumping ability

and

*Edit...also realize that some people aren't built/meant to dunk a basketball. It really doesn't prove much anyway...I would rather hit a 3-pointer.

that's pretty much my game, i run off screens all day long, and I can hit just about any open shot, part of my game i need to improve the most is driving and getting to the line

nobody i play can dunk so being able to dunk isn't a necessity or anything, its not something i NEED in my game, but it's something that i WANT

plyometrics seem like the best idea?
should i do those on
leg days
chest days or
rest/running days?

[JUICE]

just find and see what works for u bro. I dont know much about all this stuff but i know what worked for me a while back. Now im too heavy and havent been doing cardio, but still got my game:)

[Taylor]

well if i could dunk with one hand, i'd be happy with that

i don't expect to be pullin of wilkins and jordan dunks

[Slashmonay]

More explosive lifting will activeate fast twitch fibers...the white fibers will react more to speed movements. jumping with weights is a way to use explosive lifting. if you cant do it without falling over, dont do it. other people can. i know a lot of mofos who are into training like its their life and know all they can about it, and they use explosive lifting from time to time to stimulate more fibers

[Stonecold54]

Originally posted by Slashmonay
More explosive lifting will activeate fast twitch fibers...the white fibers will react more to speed movements. jumping with weights is a way to use explosive lifting. if you cant do it without falling over, dont do it. other people can. i know a lot of mofos who are into training like its their life and know all they can about it, and they use explosive lifting from time to time to stimulate more fibers

explain to me how they are stimulating more muscle fibers by using less fibers? to explain a slow controlled movement with no bouncing reflex motion or momentum will use muscle to lift the weight...on the other hand when someone uses something else to get a weight from point A to B then they are not using muscle hence the fibers are not activated....also fast and slow twitch fibers are named for their fatigue rates...the difference in firing time is not that much...and when you use a muscle the fibers are always activated in the same sequence and pattern so there is no point in "trying" to activate one or the other...also what if they person doesn't HAVE any fast twitch fibers? what are they using then, their slow twitch? Those "mofos" are just doing what has been taught to them by a generation of strength coaches who have not ONE clue as to how to lift a weight properly or the manner to improve at a given sport.