Has your main focus switched to sprinting or is it just a phase, like reaching a sub-12 100, going well at those meets etc then re-think things? How is the dunk fever going these days?
Haha. I was thinking someone might ask me this soon. The simple answer is: yes, I want to still want to throw down bad, really bad. I have been thinking a lot though about the best long-term approach to achieve this, however. As I've learned more about myself as an athlete and training principles in general, my thought process has changed a bit. The relevant facts:
- Reach: 229cm/
7'6.5'' reach- Vertical touch required to dunk a perfectly timed oop w/one hand: 323-325cm/
10'7-8''- Vertical jump required to dunk an oop w/one hand: ~94cm/
37'' - Vertical jump required to dunk off the dribble w/ one hand: 100cm/
39-40'' - Previous best RVJ: 94cm/
37'' (SL/DL) - mid-2012
- Previous best SVJ: ~89cm/
35'' -mid-2012 + early-mid 2013
- Training years: ~
3 (started this log about three years ago)
*vag might have different opinion on numbers, just rough estimatesFor a start, based on my previous results, dunking in any way other than with a full run-up is probably unrealistic. I don't doubt I could get upwards of 40'' SVJ IF I committed a large amount of time (1-2 years) building up my squat KF style. I'm not a freak natural 400lb guy, but I have pretty good natural strength levels and can get to 2xBW squat without much long-term training or weight change (sorry entropy
). That's my main advantage in regard to this 'project' (I'm calling it a project now rather than a quest. Sounds more efficient and less fantasy-like, as if it's just a dream). Dunking off SVJ would be awesome, but to get the dunk I need to be training my running SL or DL RVJ efficiently.
Ideally, I'd like to be able to dunk off one and two. Not fussed about style really. Two hands would be sweet but would require a few extra inches most likely. In the past I've gotten good success with getting my vertical up to around 37'', or just under the threshold for dunking off the dribble. I believe I can get back to those levels and beyond within the next year or so if I can stay injury-free. My training during 2012 revolved around more frequent jump sessions and explosive weights, but the actual structure was not ideal. I probably trained too much for my capabilities at that time, and I didn't know as much about recovery and nutrition as I do now. I ended up getting patellar tendonitis and had to slow down. Then I hit a strength phase for a few months but fucked it up by not programming well, continued to play basketball fatigued and ended up getting injured again.
Last year was a bit scattered, lost the first part of it just getting healthy again, then just worked on strength and SVJ, getting to 2x BW squat. Mid part of the year started to do some running and transitioning into power/RFD stuff and more running jumps, but then found out about the training group and wanted to start doing a bit of track comps as well. Figured it would be a good way to get the good adrenaline rush you get from playing ball but with less injury risk. In hindsight, I probably focused too much on arbitrary numbers last year and probably should have done more jumping. But I don't regret joining the group near the end of the year for many reasons, some of them I already detailed above. They train for speed, power, explosiveness, and there's also a focus on injury prevention. Of course, I know that it's not completely specific to vertical: the emphasis is on horizontal force production over distance rather than vertical force production for height, but there's obviously a fairly strong transfer to vertical force production. Another good outcome from the training is that I'm more confident in my work capacity: the training has been big volume and intensity lately and (aside from some minor shin splints which are manageable), haven't gotten hurt.
Now, last time I checked, my vertical is probably at what I like to call 'baseline', around 32'' for SVJ and not much higher for RVJ (maybe 33''). I plan to do a more thorough test of vertical at a 10' ring soon. I'm not 100% on the off-season plan for the group but I know it involves probably 3-4x gym sessions a week getting diesel strong. I'm talking like 2.5xBW strong in squat etc (there's some real weight-room beasts in the group). That could be cool, and I'll also try and build in a period where jump sessions are the focus (I think T0dday did something similar in his off-season recently). I live very close to a basketball court where I can practice jumps on springboarded floors (better for my knees) and really try and get the vert up.
So, to answer your first question, yes, this is a phase where I'm just trying to become a fast, strong athlete with good power numbers, and then when there's no competitions, start utilising those characteristics in vertical jump improvement again. It's probably the long way around, but there's also part of me that wants to compete in something to keep the juices flowing. Also, it'd be nice to have something else to focus on after I complete the dunk project, rather than just training in isolation.
TL;DR: Still going strong! Dunk coming soon.
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