MMA News Forums » Sports & Training » Nutrition, Supplements, and Training for MMA

[leelandk]

I wanted to find the best ways to increase my vertical jump. I have a decent vertical, not sure what it is though. I'm 5'4" (and 1/2 )/150lbs. and I can get the rim fairly easily. So I'm pretty sure its over 35". Is it possible to hit a wall? I've never really been to scientific to working out and I've never tried dieting. Would stretching help at all? I'm the most unflexible person on earth I believe. Any info would help.

[neonatural45]

thats impressive. Im 6'4 and I can dunk but ive been over 6 feet since grade 8 and I couldnt do it back then lol. 35 inches is amazing


try lots of squats, lunges, and step ups

are you trying to dunk?? If you are make sure you can palm the ball first, it makes it so much easier to dunk you wouldnt beleive it. If you need both hands to dunk the ball that takes away from your jump alot

my buddy also did this thing called air alert and he said that there was a noticeble difference. Im not sure where to download it or anything

hope this helped a bit, but outside of this i cant help you anymore lol

[Warchief]

Do some jumping rope for cardio exercise w/ weight belt's on you're feet.

[Clint]

Weighted squats, jump squats, and practice.

[calibeck]

I'm only 6'2" and I can dunk. first off you have to do a lot of leg work. I did mostly squats, legpress, leg extensions and leg curls. But, probably the most important thing you need to do is plyometrics to increase your explosive strength.

One thing you have to keep in mind is though that once you start doing all this legwork you're going to notice a slight decrease in your vetical because it takes some time for you body to learn how to use the new muscle.

When I was lifting hardcore I was noticing significant speed increases but my vertical was about the same. Then I stopped lifting because of school and like two months later I was dunking with ease, like on a whim. The first time i did it, I wasn't sure I did and my friend was like, did you just dunk? So yeah you have to be patient

[Warchief]

I have a friend he is only 5'8...but he can dunk with his two hands, i dont know how he do it though...i might ask him next day if i see him.

[SimpleJack]

I play 3 leagues a week and squats actually take away from my jumping. Obviously, I'm 6'6", so I don't need a lot, but doing HEAVY weighted squats is counter-productive for me. I lose explosion quickly.

I take a different approach.

1. There is no exercise to help you jump higher that is better than jumping. Sound dumb? Do 3 sets of 10 bench jumps. That means jump from the floor up to the bench (bench at the park or a bench press bench in the gym).

2. Follow that with deep knee squats using little or no weight. I usually do about 20 for 3 sets with 135 on the bar.

3. Lunges. Go deep. Start without weight. Move up until you struggle to get 12-15/side.

4. Box jumps. This is simple on a basketball court or on the sidewalk. Find an area on the floor or sidewalk that has 4 sections and then jump clockwise into each box for 30 seconds and then work your way up.

[leelandk]

Thanks. I can dunk, not every time. Maybe 1 outta 4. I just want to get more explosion, more quickness.

[SimpleJack]

You can use the strength bands as well. There are a million exercises with them that will help explosion.

[pillow]

Yeah, just jump a lot. That will help convert your muscles into fast twitch fibers, which is vital for high jumping ability. That's what all of those shoes that are supposed to help your vertical (like on Seinfeld, etc.) ultimately do, is convert your muscle fibers.