Regardless of your hand-eye coordination, dunking in basketball requires that you have the ability to jump high enough to reach the rim. While jumping up and down over and over will eventually help you to increase your vertical leap, incorporating a plan that involves targeted strength training exercises for your legs will help you jump higher in less time.
Step 1
Stabilize your body. Jumping is a full-body exercise that requires you to coordinate the core, arms, back, abdominals and legs in a second of explosive action. Start your program by working out in a way that helps your muscles work together. Stabilize your muscles three times a week by performing full-body exercises for 15 to 25 repetitions in an unstable environment, says the National Academy of Sports Medicine's (NASM) Optimum Performance Training (OPT). An unstable environment is one that throws off your balance. For example, instead of doing squats on the ground, do them while standing on a bosu ball. Start your session with sit-ups, then move to single-leg deadlifts, chin-ups, push-ups, squats on a stability ball, calf raises and hamstring curls.
Step 2
Strengthen your muscles. After a month of stabilization, your muscles should be working together efficiently. Change your program to include full-body exercises for 8 to 12 repetitions in stable environments, says the OPT model. Focus your exercises around your lower body, but continue to strengthen your upper body. For example, begin your session with leg raises and oblique crunches. Then continue to straight-leg deadlifts, bench presses, seated rows, shoulder presses, squats, leg presses, calf-raises, hamstring curls and leg extensions.
Step 3
Train your muscles to explode. After one month of strength training, you should have already gained a significant amount of height in your jump. Keep to the same three-day-a-week schedule and perform a strength exercise immediately followed by a power exercise. Power exercises are done for 10 repetitions as fast as you can. For example, perform 8 to 12 squats immediately followed by 10 box jumps. Do calf raises immediately followed by tuck jumps, hamstring curls immediately followed by single-leg lunges, and bench presses immediately followed by clapping push-ups.
Step 4
Run. Running will help coordinate your muscles and round off your strengthening routine. Run for a half hour to an hour five days a week, says the American College of Sports Medicine. Warm up with a slow jog for five minutes prior and cool-down with a slow jog for five minutes afterward.
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