My friend needs to be able to dunk a basketball in a month and a half; how should he train? (Genuine Q--don't delete)

So your marathon training program is to go out do every run at MP pace lengthening the rep length until it gets up to 26 miles?Yes you need to do some dunking to get the technique down but that is only part of the training you should be doing.

Thanks for the advice so far, everyone. Does anyone have any specific lifting suggestions like different lifts and reps?

Once a weak Oly lifts. 5 sets 1-5 reps if he doesn't already know snatch or clean then nvm.

Comrade of War wrote:

Look up air alert. i started at 28 and got up to 37. Even though I'm a distance runner I still have a good jumping ability. luck.

Do this. As a distance runner, Comrade has a vertical matched by only 7 out of 1379 (0.5%) NBA prospects measured at the NBA combine in the past 13 years, higher than Vince Carter or Nate Robinson.

If the program can help a distance runner have a higher vertical than 99.5% of NBA players, you gotta try it.

sorry but 6 weeks is likely not enough time for your friend if he can only grab the rim with 1 hand right now, laying it in as a forward handed finger roll may look almost like a dunk if you hang on the rim after but it is not the same thing

i set dunking as a goal a long time ago in school and for me the progression and training was generally:

Start: 6' 1' 182 lbs could touch rim at midpoint of hand (could grab rim and hang 1 handed)

Training:

Legs: (to get your max vert jump)

explosive squats (you literally will jump off floor with a barbell from squat position)

explosive calf raises (same)

if you do these exercises with the front of your foot on a 2 by 4 and your heel is not touching you will maximize your benefit, however this is a VERY dangerous way to exercise and goof way to hurt yourself or somebody else in the weight room

leg presses

plyometrics

Arms:

flexibility training: you can get another 2 inches on your reach if you can really get flexible

Grip:

To dunk you either need to be able to palm a ball or have exceptional ball control and grip

you can improve this by doing lots of wrist extensions and finger drills with resistance - I literally used a 25 lb dumbbell and would roll it up and down in my grip extending it to my fingertips - got a lot of strange looks from people in the gym as to why I would do that but it worked

Practice:

dunking the ball is actually a bit of timing and control so you need to practice the skill

Landing: doing this in a closed gym is different than in a game, make sure the floor is dry and safe and try it

Good luck, it took me 7 months of the above to close that final gap so I could legitimately dunk a basketball 1 out of 3 attempts by myself, and I did it maybe 3 times out of 30 attempts in a game situation

I am not sure that 7 months of training focus was well spent other than to say "I dunked". Nowadays I can touch the net 1 out of 4 attempts.

i meant to add that when i could dunk i was down from 182 to 164

And my squat had improved by 50 lbs.

and I could grip a 75 lb dumbbell for 5 minutes by fingertips

at the end i could hit the rim consistently at 2 inches below my wrist

your mileage may vary and hops will compensate for everything

Kyle. wrote:

Once a weak Oly lifts. 5 sets 1-5 reps if he doesn't already know snatch or clean then nvm.

Yep, Oly lifts, box jumps, and practice jamming 20 times every other day with an under-inflated ball. Maybe some OTC thing to boost T.

I’m 6’2 but 48 . Never dunked in my life . Any chance this would work for me? Wonder how far from rim I’d be now. Used to be able to grab it

Sally Vixxxens wrote:

toro wrote:

The best way to get there is to practice dunking over and over.

At my college I would see the pole vaulters doing all kinds of supplemental activities t improve their technique.

Then we had a new vaulter come in from Hungary.

He just jumped over and over, every day.

He went on to win 6 NCAA championships (3 in, 3 out) and a WC Silver medal behind Bubka.

If you can't dunk already it is going to look a bit silly continually trying to dunk but falling short.

elementary school rims are often in the 9' range. Throw down!

Eight-week program but has specifics. Started it about three weeks ago for the sake of general conditioning and athleticism...really like the workouts...I've probably gained an inch, but I'm a non-b-ball playing girl who's being not that aggressive about it. 6' tuned up guy might see bigger gains sooner. https://www.stack.com/a/an-8-week-training-program-for-a-higher-vertical-jump/

...just saw that this is a seven year old thread. Enjoy the routine to anyone who checks it out.