increase vertical leap when you have sufficient strength

[lostmyoldaccount]

i'll keep it simple:

i have more than enough squat strength (3 plate front squat, 4 plate back) for what I should be hitting vertical leap wise. I've barely practiced jumping in my life.

So all I need to do is practicing jumping / dunking to train my body to use the power?

i've read countless "increase your vertical leap" articles but the advice is pretty generic aside from "squat more and jump more!"

[BigPecsPeter]

Originally Posted by lostmyoldaccount

i'll keep it simple:

i have more than enough squat strength (3 plate front squat, 4 plate back) for what I should be hitting vertical leap wise. I've barely practiced jumping in my life.

So all I need to do is practicing jumping / dunking to train my body to use the power?

i've read countless "increase your vertical leap" articles but the advice is pretty generic aside from "squat more and jump more!"

That's pretty much what you'd expect the advice to be. To get better at something, you have to do it.

Also, explosive power is not necessarily directly relatable to squat strength.

You could try training explosive squats with a jump at the top, or Olympic lifts even.

[LightCrow]

Good luck getting a good jump height if you're not black.

[kyoun1e]

White men can't jump.

[lostmyoldaccount]

How come there seem to be so many NBA skinny black guys who don't even squat (I assume) who are like 6'7 200 lbs but can jump well above the NBA 30 inch vertical leap average?

I'm guessing they can use a great percent of their leg strength than average?

[squat]

Originally Posted by lostmyoldaccount

How come there seem to be so many NBA skinny black guys who don't even squat (I assume) who are like 6'7 200 lbs but can jump well above the NBA 30 inch vertical leap average?

I'm guessing they can use a great percent of their leg strength than average?

I recall reading somewhere on here that it has to do with their achilles tendons. Bodies are different. Squatting is not really training you for the explosive coordinated effort that is jumping. It helps, but it won't do it alone. I do jump squats with 225. It feels like HIIT. Sort of improved my vertical, but I'm just not built for that. More like a beast of burden.

Woody Harrelson dunked in the movie, though

[BigPecsPeter]

Originally Posted by lostmyoldaccount

How come there seem to be so many NBA skinny black guys who don't even squat (I assume) who are like 6'7 200 lbs but can jump well above the NBA 30 inch vertical leap average?

I'm guessing they can use a great percent of their leg strength than average?

Again, it is not necessary to do barbell squats to train explosive strength for jumping. Why should it be? Hell, female floor gymnasts and ballet dancers, and all those wushu performers, they can effortlessly outjump almost any non-sporting gym rat doing 2x bodyweight squats for reps. Most squatters I see in gyms, when squatting heavy, don't exactly tend to look very explosive on their concentrics.

Anatomy. Genetics. And practise jumping.

Some bball friends of mine used to swear by doing Burpees for improving their vertical jump. Who knows.

[zLeeKo]

Just jump.

When I was a semi-professional player, I used to grab the rim at 5'9. Couldn't dunk tho, mostly because I was lazy to jump. And short, of course.

[lostmyoldaccount]

Thanks for the advice. I measured my leap tonight (via chalk on fingers and tape measure) and clocked in at a pathetic 22 inches.
I remember hitting near 30 as a teenager before I even started lifting weights, lol.

Also yeah, I'm white.

[zLeeKo]

Originally Posted by lostmyoldaccount

Thanks for the advice. I measured my leap tonight (via chalk on fingers and tape measure) and clocked in at a pathetic 22 inches.
I remember hitting near 30 as a teenager before I even started lifting weights, lol.

Also yeah, I'm white.

Vertical leap declines with age, that's normal.

If you're in 30's that's a solid leap.