In case you didn’t know – the skinny 5’10” guy from the And1 streetball squad called The Professor who is well known for his outstanding ball handling actually can dunk! And right, he is white!
As many outstanding ball players Grayson Boucher aka The Professor has a fix workout he sticks to.
“Everday I’m in the gym for a minimum of 2 hours. I’ve been getting up at 5am everyday lately knocking my basketball workouts out early in the morning. Then I run 2 miles and lift for about an hour. Too me, whatever you put into working on your game is what you get out of it. Its all about your time investment and dedication. When I go to the gym its not going to ever be some sweet ass workout. You can’t just go to the gym and shoot around casually and expect to improve. I get up at least 500 every time I’m in there and go hard with full court dribbling drills, then end the workout with some free throws. When I run 2 miles I try and keep one hard pace the whole time. Right now I get in 2 miles at 1330, which is tough to get done every morning, but when you start seeing results you begin to like it and go harder. I used to lift for bulk and got heavy at one point and found that quickness is more important for me then bulk weight. This year I’m concentrating on working my legs harder then I ever have before, because my goal for this upcoming season is to dunk on the regular.” – The Professor
In case you ask yourself which exercises will make your legs stronger, here are a couple:
Jump rope:
Almost every NBA player uses this “old” exercise. Jumping rope is a great way to build stamina, and work on your leg strength. In addition, it builds jumping ability (explosiveness, calf strength, etc.).
Wall sits and squats:
These exercises will help you build leg strength, which is a key component of athletic fitness, and therefore jumping ability. Remember to only use a weight that is comfortable for you, and to always have a trainer or training partner work out with you.
But remember that vertical leap is part leg strength and part explosiveness. And the explosiveness part is the more important of the two. Just like The Professor said it, it’s not about the size of your leg muscles, or how much weight you can put up in the gym. It’s about your athletic ability, coordination, and your ability to explode up and off the ground.
If you seriously want to improve your vertical and look for concrete exercises, I highly recommend The Jump Manual: