Comments on: How to Do a Two-Handed Basketball Dunk

on 3/17/2007 I've been wondering how to dunk since I can remember. The most amazing thing I've ever seen is an under 6' basketball player dunk a basketball. Ever since I was about 14 I've been lifting wieghts. The biggest I've ever been was 250 pounds, the smallest I can remember is 190. I'm 26 years old and I wiegh 190 pounds after my work out at the gym. About 3-4 months ago I wieghed about 230 plus or minus. So, I lost about 30-40 pounds. The way that I lost the wieght was instead of eating 3 or 4 steaks I'd only eat 1. Basicly I start eating less and more healthy. O.H. yea, on top of that I also work out 5-6 days a week at the gym. My whole life I could barely touch the rim with one hand until 3-4 months ago. Now I'm attempting self thrown alley's, and alley's thrown from teammates with extreme confidence, I can extend about 3.5-4 inches above the rim. I'm just responding to this leave a comment section because I really want to help inspiring jumpers. I don't know if this will work for everyone but I feel it will. I do 30-45 mins. of wieghts on my upper body and then 30 mins. of cardio, wether on a machine, or just playing basketball and winning games to stay on the court to get a good work out. When I lift wieghts I circut train 25 reps 1 set of every muscle group. It's the same thing for lower body. BUT!!! I can't express enough the key to my current progress. The key I believe is plyometrics, jumping, running(sprints), and bounding drills, SERIOUSLY!. One day wieghts on upper body, next day plyometrics, and the same thing for your lower body. You don't have to buy all that expensive crap that people are trying to sell you, jump programs a stuff. You don't even have to go to a gym. Sometimes a go to a school football field and I do one leg, two leg jumps for a few hundred yards, sprints, side jumps. The only thing when jumping to remember is to warm up very good first, stretch, do jumping jacks, do squats without wieghts, jog 1 mile, do all those things first and then, may the jumping gods smile upon you my fellow jumping friends :)

on 9/9/2006 My first dunk was at the end of my freshman high school year. It was just 1 foot, one hand, but it felt really good. The way I got my vertical up was with the Air Alert Program. After 1 week I had almost added an inch of vertical and after 4 weeks I had added three. Shoes also affect how high you can jump, so pick up some good shoes before you try to slam.

on 8/13/2006 Stand on your tip toes then squat as low as you can then come back up (still on your tip toes). Do 25 reps and 4 sets three times a week. You'll be dunking before you know it. These are three times as effective as normal squats.

on 8/8/2006 I am 6'2", 22 year old, and have been playing basketball all my life, but never thought I could ever dunk. Until I saw a 5 foot something kid dunk. Don't think you have to be in the NBA to dunk. I am now on a mission to dunk. Use ankle weights and jump to the rim until you're worn out. Then rest your legs for at least one full day, or until you fell ready. I think that is an important key; when your legs are sore rest them. When jumping to the rim, hold a thought. Think about the kid that is shorter than you that can dunk. But most of all, don't give up. Good luck.

on 6/30/2006 I can dunk with one hand, but I never could dunk with two hands. Now I've learned that it is easier to jump off two feet when dunking with two hands. It's easier to get your timing right.

on 6/30/2006 Just because someone you know gained a ton of vertical doing something, doesn't mean that it will work wonders for you. There are basically two different body types. One relies more on strength, and the other relies more on their reactive strength (or plyometric ability, like a high jumper). Although, the average high jumper still squats in the upper 300s weighing at about 165 or so.

If you are the strong type, here are your characteristics:
1) Feel more comfortable jumping off two feet than one.
2) Have a running vertical thats not much higher than a standing vertical. Say 5% or less.
3) If you can't jump higher stepping off a box than just a standing vertical.
4) Classic example is a shot putter or Olympic lifter, whose vertical is usually 40 inches or more.
5) Great short sprint times (20 yard dash) but not as well long distance (100m).

The other type classifies more as this:
1) Prefer the running jump.
2) Jump higher stepping off boxes than standing still.
3) Running jump might be 20% higher than standing vertical.
4) Classic example is a high jumper.
5) Better long sprint times than short (because they have slower acceleration, but faster top speed).

If you are a strength jumper, you can benefit by doing plyometric work.

If you are a plyometric jumper, you might not even need to do plyos at all, just hit the weights hard.

If you're really serious about getting a better vertical, check out Kelly Bagget's advice. Get his Vertical Jump Development Bible and read through all his articles.

As for me, I'm 15, 5'11" tall. My current vertical is 22". Running two foot is 27". Running one foot is at least 28". I have short arms and small hands. When I reach as high as I can flatfooted, it's only 7'9". That means I need 27" just to hit the rim on a two foot vert. I can get the ball over with one hand and grab the rim, but the ball goes flying off somewhere else. Everyone says I'm really close, but I know that unless I learn to palm the ball, I'll need at least 4-6" inches of vertical. So for all you who can touch rim, you've got a long way to go.

As others have said already, practice at a lower hight to get the feeling down.

on 6/30/2006 I am 6'2" 22 year old male, and I have been playing basketball all my life, but never thought I could ever dunk. That is, until I saw a 5 foot some odd inches kid dunk. Don't think you have to be in the NBA to dunk. I am now on a mission to dunk. Use ankle weights and jump to the rim until you're warn out. Then rest your legs for at least one full day ,or until you fell ready. I think that is an important key; when your legs are sore, rest them.

When jumping to the rim, hold a thought think about the kid that is shorter than you that can dunk. But most of all - don't give up! Good luck.

on 11/22/2005 If you want to see results do Air Alert 3 over summer, then wait about a month then do Air Alert 2. For me, I did the 15 weeks of Air Alert 3 and gained 7 inches over the summer. After basketball season I'm going to do the 12 weeks of Air Alert 2. The reason I say to do Air Alert 3 first is that it takes longer and it gets you ready for Air Alert 2. AA2 is harder to do and takes less weeks. If you do both of these programs I promise you'll get at least 8-18 inches added to your vertical.

on 11/22/2005 For a long time my one and only focus was to dunk. If you have done a few jump programs, and seen no real results, don't worry. Have faith, lay off dunking and fine-tune other parts of your game (like a smooth crossover or nice jump shot). I was 14 and could only dunk on a 9 foot ring. I tried 'AIR ALERT 2' earlier that year and only saw few results.
Now I'm not doing any programs or any further training and successfully dunking. I don't know what it is, but not focusing on dunking helped me to dunk.

on 11/22/2005 My tip would be to start working out your legs, so you can build your vertical leap. You can do this by doing calf crunches, plyometrics, jump rope and sprints. Once you feel confident in your legs then you can start approaching an 8 foot rim, and if that is too short, then you can continue to raise the rim. When you jump, use one foot (the foot you feel more comfortable with) or if you feel more comfortable, use two feet.

on 11/22/2005 Keep lean. If you are above 10% body fat, your weight is holding you back. Although it is hard, try to lose fat and gain lean body mass. It is tough for me too, believe me. I strongly believe in the Olympic lifts to help make dunking possible (or easier if you already can). Perform cleans, snatches, deadlifts, clean and jerks, push press correctly and your power will increase. It takes time though, and proper form is absolutely crucial. Also, for me, it helps to be loose. Warm up, jump around a little bit, then try and slam it.

on 11/22/2005 To get more jump out of my legs, I practice on a 9 foot rim, then work my way up. There will be bruises on your wrists if you practice a lot, so don't be afraid of that.

on 11/22/2005 Start with a smaller ball (like a volleyball) to get your confidence up.

on 11/22/2005 My tip would be to practice on a lower rim that you can dunk (but still presents a challenge to you). After a lot of practice, you will build the muscles needed to allow you to jump higher. This worked for me. I started out on a rim that was approximately 8 feet tall (when I was younger). As I grew taller, and with much practice, I started dunking on higher rims until my new found success on 10 foot rims. I've only caught alley-oops in a game, but probably can't get a dunk (unless it's a breakaway). Keep in mind, this isn't easy or everyone would be doing it. Just practice, practice, practice. You will see your leaping ability continue to grow.

on 11/22/2005 Try to mentally conquer something before you try it. Always believe in yourself. Never think that you can not do it. I always envision my self completing the dunk and preparing for my descent, so that I land correctly. Dunking takes a lot of hand and eye coordination, that also takes time to develop, especially when running at a decent speed to prepare for a jump. Always remember, not everyone is an athlete, and not everyone is athletic. It is not only in your genetics, but also in your blood.