Nothing arouses more amazement and drives the audience crazy than a basketball game like a dunk; who does not remember those of Jordan or Lebron? This is one of the shots with the highest percentage of success; for this it is an important fundamental to master. While being tall is certainly not a disadvantage, you can learn to crush if you train your muscles and develop the skills needed for this spectacular movement, regardless of your height and experience. Keep reading!
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Practice Crushing
Step 1. Dribble to the basket
Take the two steps allowed by the third movement while you collect the ball in the palm of your hand and control the approach to the basket. Jump on your support foot, opposite to the hand holding the ball, reach out for the iron and squeeze the ball into the retina.
Practice one-handed dunks first. Those with two hands are a much more "powerful" movement, but they require a higher leap. You can get there step by step
Step 2. Use a smaller balloon
It will be easier at first if you hit with a ball that you can comfortably hold with one hand; in this way the approach to the basket is more controlled and the execution will be more satisfying because it is very similar to the actual movement. Keep dribbling and practicing regular shots so you don't get used to playing with a "wrong" ball, but keep the small one available for your dunk sessions.
Step 3. Practice handling the ball with one hand
Learn to use rebound inertia to control the ball as you extend your arm. Even people who are able to catch the ball with one hand sometimes lose their grip on dunks, so knowing how to maintain control in the air is vital.
- Practice running towards the underwire and squashing the ball against it. Even if you are not doing a true "dunk", you practice the movement by grabbing the ball in the right way as you take off towards the basket.
- You can try a tennis or golf ball to start with, then move on to the volleyball and practice until you can handle the basketball.
Step 4. Land right
It is a very common mistake to concentrate only on jumping and hitting the basket and thus end up landing on your butt. It happens more often than you think, even to professionals, but it is important to train in the complete execution of the movement, returning to the ground in a safe, precise and effective way.
- Visualize a precise dunk and then focus on landing. Try to land on both feet, cushioning the impact with your legs and bending your knees. Watch out for other players.
- Don't hang on the iron. In the game it is forbidden to do this, unless it is necessary to avoid falling on someone below you. Hanging from the iron damages the basket and causes you to lose your balance by misaligning your legs and causing you to fall backwards. So avoid doing this, just crush the ball and return to the ground.
Step 5. Train with a lower basket
If you have access to a height-adjustable basket, lower it to get started. As you begin to get comfortable with the movement and improve, gradually raise it up to the regular height.
Step 6. Buy a good pair of shoes
Most players find that high quality shoes improve elevation and prevent injuries.
Step 7. Be consistent
You will probably look ridiculous in your first few attempts, but stand up and try again. You will be surprised at your improvements, if you keep practicing jumping and strengthening your legs.
Part 2 of 3: Improving the Elevation
Step 1. Increase your elevation
You need power in your legs to "fly" to the basket. Set up a workout routine that focuses on your legs to increase their explosive strength and flexibility. This will allow you to gain several inches of elevation and jump closer to the iron. Here's a good workout to get started:
- 50-100 calf raise.
- 2-3 sets of squats and lunges.
- 3-5 sets of 60 seconds of wall sit.
Step 2. Learn everything there is to know about plyometric exercises
It is a type of training that uses the athlete's body weight as resistance to strengthen the muscles, which is essential for improving jumping skills. It takes time to train your body to jump higher, but by working on the correct muscle groups your explosive strength will improve and you will be able to reach higher heights without using weight machines.
These are the muscle groups that need to be strengthened: quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and calves. The quadriceps extend the knee while the rear ones and glutes work at the level of the hips. The calves flex the ankles and give you the initial momentum
Step 3. Work on flexibility
Not only are powerful muscles enough, they also need to be flexible to allow you to move smoothly and overcome defense during the dunk. To develop this skill, regularly stretch, train with resistance bands and do yoga.
The muscles that need to be flexible are the hamstrings and the hip flexors. The former prevent the knee from extending during the jump, while the latter control the extension of the hip during the movement
Step 4. Run up the stairs
Coaches make athletes run up and down stairs for a reason: it strengthens the quadriceps, calves and hips muscles while allowing you to develop strength and flexibility in the lower limbs. It is also an economic exercise, you can do it at home, at school (at the end of the lessons) and even on the steps of the city.
Step 5. Practice jumping on the court
Run around the field by jumping and then go back the same way. Try to jump as high as you can. Jump to touch the retina after taking the run and keep insisting until you are able to touch it ten times in a row. You probably won't succeed on the first day, keep working on it and then aim for the iron.
Part 3 of 3: Learning the Various Types of Dunk
Step 1. Learn how to do a two-handed dunk
The most famous player for this movement is Shaquille O'Neal, he was able to execute it with such force and violence that the board would sometimes break. Although now the construction technology of the baskets makes this very remote eventuality, this type of dunk is still powerful … and humiliating for the opponents.
You must have excellent elevation for this movement. Practice jumping under the basket until you can touch the iron with your wrists
Step 2. Add some spectacularity with a double-pump dunk
This is a demonstration of elevation, in fact it seems that the athlete jumps high enough to have time to dunk twice. While at the highest point of the jump, lower the ball to chest level and then raise it again and crush it firmly into the basket while in the downward phase of the parabola. Some famous players, such as Tracy McGrady, perform this movement while spinning in the air on themselves, thus making a "double-pump dunk 360 °".
Step 3. Windmill
As you approach the basket, bring the ball towards your abdomen and then backwards by extending your arm in a circular motion, just like a mill shovel. When you are at the top of the jump complete the rotation of the arm and crush the ball into the basket as if you were the king of the basketball court. Dominique Wilkins, the best hitter of the 1990s, used to crush opponents with this spectacular dunk.
Step 4. Tomahawk
This dunk can be done with two hands and with one; you have to bring the ball behind your head by bending your elbows and then smash it with all your strength into the basket as if you were chopping wood with a tomahawk. "Dr. J" Julius Erving made this style famous, as did Darryl Dawkins, who managed to break several boards with this dunk.
Step 5. Between the legs
While he wasn't the first player to complete this type of movement, Vince Carter drove the crowd crazy in the 2000 NBA dunk contest by passing the ball under one leg while in midair and then smashing it violently into the basket. The fact that his forehead almost touched the iron did nothing but impress the audience even more. If you've trained hard enough to jump so high, try getting the ball under one leg before dunking.
Advice
- For most of us who are not 2m tall like the stars we envy, do an internet search for videos of short people crushing. This will show you that even people under 1.80m can still crush. Good examples are Spud Webb, or Nate Robinson, a two-time winner of the NBA dunk contest. If you feel gnawed with envy, that's normal.
- If you are the same height and weight as Shaquille O'Neal, be careful when trying humiliating dunks for opponents; you could destroy the board, sending the splinters flying everywhere.
- If you have trouble jumping with one foot, try this: As you approach the basket, lower your body and arms to bring your center of gravity closer to the ground. Then, explode towards the basket by giving yourself the push with your arms. This could improve your one foot jump by several inches.
- Make sure the iron is securely attached to the board or it could come off causing you a serious injury.
- Increase your calcium and protein intake while maintaining a balanced diet. This helps you build muscle and improves bone health.
- If you are overweight, improving your vertical jump will not be enough. You will need to lose fat mass and turn it into muscle.
- If you know you can jump enough to be able to dunk, try a smaller ball you can hold and jump earlier in the run than you normally would. By moving away from the deadlift point, you may have more time to climb. When you manage to hit like this, switch to a regulation ball. For beginners, it is good practice to smash a tennis ball with one hand.
- To jump higher, know that a good pair of shoes is not enough. To be able to crush you must first train. You need to regularly do squats with weights, jump and lean against the walls in the wall sits. In this way you increase the muscle mass of the legs.
- See the best hunters of the past and present, such as Nate Robinson, Michael Jordan, Derrick Rose, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Blake Griffin and Shaquille O'Neal.
- Make sure there is always someone close to you while you learn. If you fall and get hurt without anyone to help you, you will be in a difficult situation.
