How to jump higher: “Being able to handle overload at velocity… converting horizontal momentum vertically.”
“There are a lot of people that do a lot of work with overload. There’s quite a few people who do a lot of work with velocity. But, there are very few people who get it right and find a balance.”
“Normally, the things that break down are: as soon as I add velocity, I’m not able to deal with the overload. Or when I increase the overload of what I’m trying to achieve, then I lose the velocity.”
Takeoff-based drills: “There a big lack of that in the dunking industry.”
“You can do all the setup and the takeoff drills… but ultimately it’s about being able to handle things at speed.”
Why people shift to a two-leg jump over time: “It looks good… it’s preferable for skills… it has a better trajectory (e.g., not as horizontal as a single-leg).”
“All the world-class dunkers are the same… they are all built the same.”
How much strength work: “The amount that your body is able to handle without detracting from the skill.”
Track and field vs. dunking: “My load monitoring is far better.”
“Cross sectional area of the tendon… High volumes of extensive work.”
“Variety is a massive part of our program to support tendon health.”
“A lot of backwards work is really successful for keeping Achilles injuries away.”
“Hopping never leaves the program, you must hop once a week every week of the year.”
Rehabbing from an Achilles rupture: “Incremental, basic movement… lots of multi-directional work… lots of extensive work.”
“High extensivity of plyos is what I’ve found to be the best friend of tendons.”
Extensive plyos: “Add some track drills to your warmup… that’s a great start… do a hop, a leap, a bound, and a jump.”
Extensive plyos: “50% forward, 25% lateral, medial, 25% backwards.”
“Understand how much an accumulation of volume over a long period of time can work wonders.”
Sand: “A surface that doesn’t move that’s softer, I would prefer.”
“I think that 50% of the world could get a 40-inch vertical.”
A lot of weightroom training: “They’re trying to create force rather than utilizing momentum.”
Ankle sprain: “Relearning how to land… we lose that proprioceptive skill.”
Ankle sprain: “Everybody does the tissue part but bypasses all of the neural learning and just go straight back to play.”
Lengthen/push through the penultimate: “It’s just lazy.”
The penultimate stride: “I’m thinking 5 strides out… the whole of my approach is an ever-building part of rhythm.”
Pushing through the penultimate: “I don’t want to have to work hard, I just want roll off of it.”
“You can’t measure some of this stuff… world-class performers look smooth… when you put something in slow motion, it looks great for guys who move effectively.”
