LeBron James Dunk or how to increase the vertical jump

Remember LeBron James’ dunk on Damon Jones? What about Tim Duncan and Rasheed Wallace? No one would doubt that LeBron has crazy jumps. His head is on edge almost every time he dunks! In fact, he has a 41-inch vertical.

But the most interesting fact about the 23-year-old superstar is that even though he is one of the strongest players in the league, he still 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 the reason why you gain weight first when you start running to lose some fat. You build muscles first and burn fat only afterwards. 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 height is 222 pounds. But he still does, he still has a vertical that is way above the average NBA player (=32 inches)! So how does he do it?

“Ask me to play. I’ll play.

Ask me to shoot. i will shoot

ask me to come in I’m going to pass.

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

But it’s not what you ask.

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 rating is 6.7%!). Only Kobe Bryant’s training is on the same level. Let’s see an excerpt from LeBron’s training:

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 jump rope are done each time.

Day 1 (Monday):

– Jump rope (400 jumps)

– DynaDisc Foot Speed ​​Drill 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 that your left foot is on the floor and your right foot is on the plate 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 Dribble Drill Stand on one foot on a disc holding a basketball with both hands at chest height. (Be glad it’s not a medicine ball.) Bounce and catch it while keeping your balance. (20 dribbles on each foot)

– Stability Dribble Drill Let’s go back to the medicine ball and the basic backboard. (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 curl (2 sets of 10)

– Seated leg extensions (2 sets of 10)

– Hip abduction (2 series of 10)

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

– Front elevation (2 sets of 10)

– Lateral elevations (2 series 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 run slides:

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

– Bungee:

Two elastic cords attached to a lifting belt. Forward and backward resisted runs, then resisted slides, also jumps.

As for the vertical jump exercises, the interesting thing is that, in addition to the common exercises like jump rope and calf raises, LeBron uses some very effective special exercises.

Here’s an example:

– Split-Squat jumps:

Starting position: Begin 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, land smoothly and under control.
2 sets, 10 sec (then 15, 20, 25 sec)

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