Dunk a basketball

[cun2x]

Background

I've been lifting on and off since 2002, but have never gained any significant results, since I'm always swayed by the 'latest breakthrough in science or whatever'. I've been lifting seriously again since January this year, following the Starting Strength recommendation, and haven't stopped until now. I thought it'll be great to post my goals and what I did in the gym, and ask for constructive criticism.

I've always wanted to be able to dunk a basketball, so I'll make it my goal. I'll start from aiming for 1.5 x bw squat and 2 x bw deadlift before I added plyo or other complicated stuff. I'm finishing up madcow's intermediate 5 x 5 soon, and then will reload with the texas 5 x 5.

Current stats

Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 165 lbs, about 12-14% bf

Squat: 205 lbs x 3 reps
Deadlift: 255 lbs x 4 reps
Bench: 137 lbs x 3 reps

Short term goals

Squat: 225 lbs x 5 reps
Deadlift: 280 lbs x 5 reps
Bench: 150 lbs x 5 reps

Long term goals

Squat: 250 lbs x 5 reps (1.5 x bw squat)
Deadlift: 330 lbs x 5 reps (2 x bw deadlift)
Bench: 165 lbs x 5 reps (bw bench)

Once I get here, then I'll think about adding plyo and other stuff. I think I'll be able to dunk when I got here, since I can already grab the rim with a running start on a good day.

Hope to hear from all of you.

[cun2x]

My current program

Tuesday
Mobility drills, some low intensity plyo
Squat 4 x 5, 1 x 3, 1 x 8 (weight is ramped up, set with 3 rep is the heaviest)
Bench 4 x 5, 1 x 3, 1 x 8 (weight is ramped up, set with 3 rep is the heaviest)
Pendlay row 4 x 5, 1 x 3, 1 x 8 (weight is ramped up, set with 3 rep is the heaviest)
Curl superset with tricep pushdown 3 x 6-8

Thursday
Mobility drills, some low intensity plyo
Squat 5 x 5 (weight is ramped up, 5th set is the heaviest)
Bench 5 x 5 (weight is ramped up, 5th set is the heaviest)
Pendlay row 5 x 5 (weight is ramped up, 5th set is the heaviest)

Saturday / Sunday
Mobility drills, some low intensity plyo
Light squat 4 x 5
Press 4 x 5
Deadlift 4 x 5 (weight is ramped up, 4th set is the heaviest)

[Kyle]

My current program

Tuesday
Mobility drills, some low intensity plyo
Squat 5 x 5 (weight is ramped up, 5th set is the heaviest)
Bench 5 x 5 (weight is ramped up, 5th set is the heaviest)
Pendlay row 5 x 5 (weight is ramped up, 5th set is the heaviest)

Thursday
Mobility drills, some low intensity plyo
Light squat 4 x 5
Press 4 x 5
Deadlift 4 x 5 (weight is ramped up, 5th set is the heaviest)

Saturday/Sunday
Mobility drills, some low intensity plyo
Squat 4 x 5, 1 x 3, 1 x 8 (weight is ramped up, set with 3 rep is the heaviest)
Bench 4 x 5, 1 x 3, 1 x 8 (weight is ramped up, set with 3 rep is the heaviest)
Pendlay row 4 x 5, 1 x 3, 1 x 8 (weight is ramped up, set with 3 rep is the heaviest)
Curl superset with tricep pushdown 3 x 6-8

Not a bad program, should certainly see some improvments in goals.

Kyle

[jshreck]

Could you describe your mobility drills and what you are doing for your low grade plyos?

[cun2x]

js,

I use the mobility drills taken from Inside Out DVD and Magnificent Mobility. For upper body, I use thoracic spine foam rolling, quadruped thoracic rotation extension, push up plus, dynamic blackburn, reach roll and lift and then PNF diagonal with lunge. For lower body, I start with warrior lunge, supine bridges, high knee walks, pull back butt kicks, cradle walks and reverse lunge with twist.

For the low intensity plyo, I took this from Kelly Baggett's Vertical Jump Development Bible. It's basically ankle jump, 4 star drills, jump squat (no weight), slalom jump, lunge jump and low squat ankle jump.

[Heisman]

So what's your vertical right now?

[cun2x]

Heisman,

I'm not sure actually. All I know is I can grab the rim from a running start, and almost touch the rim if I jump from a standstill. I was planning to test it every month, to see what part of the basketball backboard I can touch. I'm gonna measure them this weekend actually, and I'll post it here.

[cun2x]

Yay, got couple of PRs today!

My squat is up to 210 lbs x 3 reps (+5 lbs), and thanks to Lyle's help, the set felt a lot better tighter. I felt that I could have done a total of 5 reps, but I'm going to be patient and slowly increase it.

My bench is also up to 140 lbs x 3 reps (+3 lbs). I tighten up my lower body, and start my push from the legs. I think I can still increase my weights for this cycle for another 2-3 weeks from now, before taking a week off.

[jshreck]

js,

I use the mobility drills taken from Inside Out DVD and Magnificent Mobility. For upper body, I use thoracic spine foam rolling, quadruped thoracic rotation extension, push up plus, dynamic blackburn, reach roll and lift and then PNF diagonal with lunge. For lower body, I start with warrior lunge, supine bridges, high knee walks, pull back butt kicks, cradle walks and reverse lunge with twist.

For the low intensity plyo, I took this from Kelly Baggett's Vertical Jump Development Bible. It's basically ankle jump, 4 star drills, jump squat (no weight), slalom jump, lunge jump and low squat ankle jump.

All of that looks great, Keep us updated with your progress.

[cun2x]

So what's your vertical right now?

My highest right hand reach is at 7' 9". There is no way for me to measure how high the rim is at the court I usually play, but I'm assuming it'll be at 10' give or take. I can go over the rim about 5" with a running start, which gives me about 32" running vertical. If I jump from a standstill, I can almost touch the rim, probably about 2" off. I would guess my vertical is about 25".

On a side note, I have only been able to set records on my 3 rep day of the week nowadays. I haven't been able to lift the planned weights for the other two days. My deadlift has lowered a bit from my max. My military press is also stuck for about 4 weeks now. I'll milk whatever I can gain from this cycle and take a week off. Hopefully I can get 225 lbs x 3 reps squat before the cycle ends.

On a side note, I tried jumping around after a bunch of pickup games to see how high I can jump. I can now grab the rim with 1/3rd of my finger consistently even after games. In the past, I can grab the rim only when I'm fresh and properly warmed up. Once my cycle ends, I'll take a week off, and see how high I can jump at the end of the off week.