Increasing vertical jump?

[Sawol]

I am 5' 6'' 205lb. Yeah, let's say I'm not built for basketball, but I cannot help it. I love the sport.

I can jump and hang on the rim, but I've been told you need to be about 6-8 inches above the rim to be able to dunk.

I deadlift 425 and squat 365, but I settled for rows for Starting Strength (which I am still on), leaving out power cleans.

Will simply increasing my squat/deadlift and beginning to power clean allow me to get those extra few inches to dunk or should I follow a plyometrics program?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Vertical jump is one of those physical parameters that is largely controlled by genetics. Like calves, you either have them or you don't. VJ can go up maybe 25-30% and that's all. It's impossible to improve without improving absolute strength, and this is why practice-based programs that simply apply plyometrics and jumping always fail if they don't include squats. If you're confident that most of your easily-available squat strength has been developed, and that you have then exhausted the potential for plyometric training to turn strength into explosion, the only thing available to you is the Olympic lifts. Cleans and snatches will be the tools that allow an already-conditioned jumper to make a little more increase.

[JLascek]

With strong numbers (or weak numbers for that matter), why settle for the rows?

[Phil Stevens]

at 5'6" 205 I am not convinced that just getting a bigger squat isnt going to help you jump higher. Id say attack that sqaut some more. We have a client that's your same height and yet 45 lbs lighter then you. Fairly new to training the right way and his squat is not far behind. You have in no way, IMO again reached the full potential of your leg strenght that will damn sure transfer to a higher vertical.

Squat and concentrate on getting the loads up over time and making the move CRISP get some POP to it and practice your plyos a bit, as well as just learning how to do the vertical jump test correctly. You can easily add 4-5 inches on a clients by just showing then the right way to do the test

[Mark Rippetoe]

Phil: True, if the guy has never tried the test before, and has not developed his squat. But if all the easy squat increase has been achieved, and the test has been practiced, all the easy vertical jump increase has too.

[Phil Stevens]

Phil: True, if the guy has never tried the test before, and has not developed his squat. But if all the easy squat increase has been achieved, and the test has been practiced, all the easy vertical jump increase has too.

Very true sir,then like you said, Oly lifts or one better get a time machine and ask for new parents.

[jacob cloud]

Plyometrics. I have "crappy genetics" (I'm pretty much the average American Joe, 6'1", always slightly pudgy, etc) but my dad, who is built almost identically to me, was a high school and collegiate diver. His programs for that sport included a lot of plyometrics, even if they didn't call it that back then. His vertical at it's peak was nearly 50% better than mine at my peak (38-42" vs. a dismal ~ 24" for me when playing football). I guarantee you he never squatted 400+ in his life, either, which is about where I'm at right now. I sure can't dunk.

Depth jumps of various sorts, done FRESH, with lots of rest between reps (these are not a metcon), a couple times a week, will add a couple inches to anyone's vertical. But at 5'6" and already hanging on to the rim...another 6-8" is asking for a lot.

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/PowerExercises.html

[Mark Rippetoe]

And I'll bet you a lot of money that a collegiate diver didn't have a 42" vertical jump. I never had more than about a 22" vertical with a 600 squat, so strength is not necessarily indicative of power, but true 42" verticals are so very rare that I feel safe saying that his was not measured in the standard way. If I am wrong and they had a VERTEC and a good tester, I apologize.

[Phil Stevens]

And I'll bet you a lot of money that a collegiate diver didn't have a 42" vertical jump. I never had more than about a 22" vertical with a 600 squat, so strength is not necessarily indicative of power, but true 42" verticals are so very rare that I feel safe saying that his was not measured in the standard way. If I am wrong and they had a VERTEC and a good tester, I apologize.

Very good points but of course. You have limb length, being built for the activity etc but the arguement is valid that if one gets stronger the potential to create power is greater is it not? It surely isnt going to hurt to flat out get stronger. I mean hell my fat ass has a 28.5" vert measure on the vertec and that was with a bum knee my first time doing it.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Certainly. I had a better vertical squatting 600 than I did squatting 400. But my point is that strength alone won't ensure a big vertical. And your point is that the best way to increase the vertical is to increase strength.