Have you seen Baron Davis’s dunk on Andrei Kirilenko during the playoffs? How about Jermaine Ornil’s dunk, or the one that was over Thielo green at UCLA?
Anyone who’s seen the slams know that they are hard to forget. A lot of people are also curious about how an average-sized man, weighing in at 220, can get that high. To lift that much weight, you will need to have strong leg muscles!
Weight training is the key. Olympic weightlifting is for those who are much heavier than Baron.
Olympic weightlifting has the most significant benefit: it trains the body how to use all of its muscle fibers simultaneously.
Multiple studies have proven the efficacy of Olympic weightlifting. A group of Olympic weightlifters performed various Olympic lifts such as Power Cleans, High pulls and Clean and Juerks. They were then compared with a group doing vertical jumps (Single, Double Leg Hurdles Hops and Alternated Single-leg Hurdle Hops), etc. The Olympic weightlifting team had a significantly higher 10 meter sprint speed than the group that used standard vertical jump exercise (Tricoli 2005).
Also, a study of football players was done for a similar 15-week period. This allowed us to compare a powerlifting program with an Olympic weightlifting programme in terms of athletic performance. The Olympic weightlifting team saw a marked improvement in their vertical jump and the 40-meter sprint after the study (Hoffman JR. 2004).
You don’t have to focus only on weightlifting, as you need to also be a jumper. Also, you need to train your quickness. What can you do to improve your quickness?
It is very beneficial to do five wind sprints of 50m (three times per week)
Jump rope is another great exercise. Jumping rope will increase explosiveness and strength in your calf. However, it is also great for building stamina and leg strength. At least three times per week, jump rope.
You can find more information and tips on the site below: