dunking basketball

I’m 6’0" and like to warm-up before a workout by playing a little b-ball. I’m pretty quick and can jump surprisingly high for a skinny Scandinavian but just barely can’t dunk.

What’s the best way to increase your vertical jump without straying too far from a normal weight-training routine?

I’ve thought about just doing more calf work with a thorough program such as Allesi’s Diamonds in the Rough however my hunch is that that kind of training wouldn’t necessary help with the kind of super-quick explosive movement used in jumping.

king white men can jump

I read an article by Ian King once called White Men Can Jump. Search that one out.

In a post CT cited a study that showed that altitude landings were as good at improving vertical as depth jumps, so maybe add some altitude drops with a Iso hold for time, learn to absorb and store the energy.

Also, avoid static stretching before you play or try to dunk, static stretching lowers vertical jump. The residual effects of static stretching last up to an hour. Use dynamic mobility warm ups.

Learn and master the Olympic lifts. Do you want a 36"+ vertical? Check this out:
Research done on Olympians at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico revealed
that Olympic lifters had higher vertical leap than high jumpers and faster 25
meter sprint times than 100m sprinters. The goal of training with OL is to
develop explosive speed-strength, the ability to express strength very fast.
This training develops power as well as trains the nervous system for rapid
contractions, which are necessary for swimming, running and cycling at faster
speeds. The goal of this article is to expose you to Olympic style lifts,
and give you direction on how to learn these technical yet explosive lifts.