LeBron James Dunk or how to increase the vertical jump

Remember LeBron James’ dunk on Damon Jones? What about Tim Duncan and Rasheed Wallace? Nobody would doubt that LeBron has crazy jumps. His head is on the edge almost every time he dunks! In fact, he has a vertical of 41 inches.

But the most interesting fact about the 23-year-old superstar is that although he is one of the strongest players in the league, he manages to have such a sick vertical jump.

You ask where is the problem? Let’s take a look at LeBron’s body. The guy is built like a bodybuilder. The problem is that muscles are heavy, muscles are even heavier than fat. By the way, that’s why you first gain weight when you start running to lose some fat. You build muscles first and burn fat only later. So be patient in that case. Back to Lebron: in fact, at 240 pounds, he is too heavy for his height (6′ 8”)! The average weight of an NBA player at this point is 222 pounds. But he still does it, he still has a vertical that is way above that of an average NBA player (=32 inches)! So how does he do it?

“Ask me to play. I will play.

Ask me to shoot. i will shoot

ask me to pass I will pass.

Ask me to steal, block, sacrifice, lead, dominate. Anything.

But it’s not what you ask of me.

It’s what I ask of myself.”

– Lebron James

This quote gives you a clue about a point that is absolutely essential: the dedication. LeBron’s work ethic is second to none (for example, his body fat ratio is 6.7%!). Only Kobe Bryant’s training is on the same level. Let’s look at an excerpt from LeBron’s workout:

It is a training of 5 days a week, one hour a day (running and playing basketball are not included, = 3 additional hours a day). Each day consists of different exercises, only certain exercises like jumping rope are done each time.

Day 1 (Monday):

– Jump rope (400 jumps)

– DynaDisc Foot Speed ​​Exercise To develop core, balance and foot speed at the same time, stand on the discs while holding a medicine ball. Do a small, quick jump so your left foot is on the floor and your right foot is on the puck your left foot was on. Return to your original position, then do a quick jump in the opposite direction, so that your right foot is on the ground. (20 moves in each direction)

– DynaDisc Dribbling Drill Stand on one foot on a disc holding a basketball with both hands at chest level. (Just be glad it’s not a medicine ball.) Bounce and catch it while keeping your balance. (20 dribbles with each foot)

– Stability Dribbling Drill Let’s go back to the medicine ball and the basic board. (20 dribbles)

– Instability pushup (right) Do 2 sets of 20 with your hands holding the Core board.

– Seated figure eight (15 in each direction)

– Leg curls (2 sets of 10)

– Seated leg extensions (2 sets of 10)

– Hip abduction (2 sets of 10)

– Smith rack squat The safest squat (2 sets of 10)

– Front raise (2 sets of 10)

– Lateral raises (2 sets of 10)

– Rear deltoid raise (2 sets of 10)

– One arm dumbbell row (2 sets of 10)

– Elliptical machine (25 minutes)

As you may have heard, LeBron also uses belts to increase strength. Here are some examples:

– Parachute slides:

Using two small parachutes attached to a belt, LeBron races using wind resistance to improve power and strength.

– Bungees:

Two elastic ropes tied to a lifting belt. Resisted runs forwards and backwards, then resisted slides, also jumps.

As for the vertical jump drills, what’s interesting is that in addition to the common drills like jumping rope and calf raises, LeBron uses some very effective specialty drills.

Here is an example:

– Split-Squat jumps:

Starting position: Start in a semi lunge position with one foot in front of the other. Movement: Jump as high as you can, alternating foot positions in the air. (If you start this exercise with your left foot forward, your left foot should be on the back of your right foot as you complete one repetition.) Use your hands for balance, landing softly and under control.
2 sets, 10 sec (then 15, 20, 25 sec)

For the rest of the exercises and crucial things you need to know about the vertical jump (why often what it “doesn’t” do is more important than what it “does”), take a look at: