So you want to jump higher and dunk better right? What is the FASTEST way to get better. This is a question athletes will often ask in a world of wanting things as fast as possible. Consider the following two options:
Option A:
- Get your backsquat up to 1.5-2x bodyweight
- Do plyometrics: bounding, depth jumps and the like
- Stretch daily, do functional analysis on posture and gait, determine posterior chain vs. anterior chain strength and design a program combating these weaknesses.
Option B:
- Get in a competitive environment and practice your jumping and dunking until your legs are sore. Repeat every few days.
Guess which option the ‘top level’ dunkers you see on youtube, etc.. use?
here’s a hint…….it’s not A.
Ok, ok, ok…….so I understand your potential backlash and perhaps misunderstanding. I also realize that the youtube jumpers such as teamflightbrothers are genetic freaks and will be awesome no matter what type of training they do (which for them is just playing basketball and dunking). However, I am not saying here, that if you want to realize your ultimate athletic potential that you can get away with just practicing say, dunking, if throwing down nasty dunks is your goal. I am saying though, that you will never become the dunker/jumper you can potentially be if you get so caught up in weights/plyos/etc… that you forget the raw art form of the primary sport movement. This holds true more, the more dynamic the movement. Here is a continuum of sport movements which have increasing importance of practicing the actual sport movement.
Continuum of Sport Movements
Least important to practice
Squat Jump
Standing Vertical Jump
Acceleration<10 meters
Running Vertical Jump (2 legs)
Running Vertical Jump (1 leg)
Top End Speed (flying 10 meter)
Top End Speed Endurance (300yd shuttle or 400m dash)
Most important to practice
Fluid Athletic Movements
Take a look at some of the greatest athletes in sport: sprinters, jumpers, dunkers, even distance runners. What do they all have in common? They make their activity look fluid….effortless. Yet what do we do when we neglect our primary sport movement in favor of other movements. We get back to our sport specific movement and “muscle it” or “force it”. Because we neglect it, it is less natural. We no longer use the SPECIFIC muscular and neural firing patterns for that activity and substitute it with other firing patterns.
Ok, so the number one way to improve any activity is what? To practice that activity, simple enough. What is the number 2 way to improve then? Depth jumps? Squats? Turkish Get-ups? Not really, the second best way to improve is just doing a weighted version of the original. Practice dunking with a weight vest on, or sprint with a light resistance such as a parachute.
The third thing to do to max out your neural pathways is to overload the eccentric portion of whatever movement your sport is based on. This is accomplished by an exercise known as depth jumps. Research has shown that the more energy which is stored in the eccentric phase of a movement, the more energy will be released in the concentric phase. The final key to maximizing your efficiency in a specific event is by doing depth jumps and similar plyometrics.
Conclusion
In simple words, what do these three things do, practicing the original sport movement, weighted versions and then plyometrics? They max out your efficiency in that given activity. Once your efficiency is maxed out, or close to maxed out, only then will weightlifting really be the only way to improve. Of course weightlifting is handy before you max out your efficiency, but the closer you get to 100% efficiency, the more it will help you. Basically, practicing your movement and plyometrics will allow you to recruit the majority of your available motor units (except emergency motor units only recruitable by life/death situations), while lifting weights will increase the total motor pool available. It is as simple as that.
Here is a sample program which could help an intermediate athlete (1.25-1.5xbw squat, 26-30″ VJ) get better based on the things I have just outlined.
2 Day per Week System
Day 1:
- PRIMARY
Practice Dunking/Jumping until noticable decrease in height jumped. - SECONDARY
3×8 Deadlift, with weight that you could do 10x with moderate/difficult effort
Day 2:
- Practice Dunking/Jumping with weighted vest about 5-8% of bodyweight until noticable decrease in height jumped.
OR (if no weight vest)
- Practice Dunking/Jumping off 18″ box (depth jumps) until noticable decrease in height jumped occurs.
It really can be that simple folks…..this type of program will yield excellent short term results.
For good results over a long term, you might want to use a cycle like this alternated with weightlifting oriented cycles.
About Joel Smith
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