A lot of ball players want to know how to jump higher to dunk a basketball. Dunking is highly addictive, the feeling when you dunk a basketball is simply matchless. Shawn Kemp, one of the greatest dunkers of all time, even says that dunking is "better than sex".

So, what can you do to jump higher and dunk a basketball? How can you increase your vertical leap?

First of all you have to realize that you can't learn to dunk over night. It takes some time. So first of all you need patience. Without it you will be disappointed and give up.

The second point is that there are no huge secrets about jumping higher - it's all about work. All the common exercises you heard about jumping higher work:

1) Squats (3 sets, 10 repetitions)
2) Calf Raises (2 sets, 15 repetitions)
3) Jump Rope (200 jumps a day)
4) Lunges (3 sets, 10 repetitions)
5) Step Ups (2 sets, 8 repetitions)
6) Leg Presses (3 sets, 10 repetitions)
7) Leg Extensions (3 sets, 12 repetitions)
8) Wall Sits (2 times, min. 90 sec)

It's all about the correct execution and workout plan - that's why you need a vertical program. I personally recommend The Jump Manual, as it gives all you need.

If you think you already know it all and have a good vertical but want to maximize it, try Olympic Weightlifting. Now what's so special about Olympic Weightlifting and what does it have to do with increasing your vertical jump?

Believe it or not: It's highly effective in increasing your vertical jump. Different studies have proved the effectiveness of Olympic weightlifting in case of increasing your vertical jump:

1) A group of lifters did various Olympic lifts (High pulls, Power Clean, and Clean and Jerk), and were compared to a group using vertical jump exercises (Single and Double Leg Hurdles Hops, Alternated Single-leg Hurdle Hops, etc). After the 8 weeks of training the Olympic weightlifting group had significantly increased standing jump (and their 10 meter sprint speed) over the control group using standard vertical jump exercises (Tricoli, 2005).

2) Another 15 week study compared a powerlifting program to an Olympic Weightlifting program for athletic performance. After the study was over the Olympic weightlifting group had a significant improvement in the vertical jump over the powerlifting group (Hoffman JR, 2004).

By the way, a famous NBA player uses Olympic Weightlifting - Baron Davis!

But as long as jumping ability is about (leg) power AND quickness, you also need to work on your quickness. Here is a simple exercise that is highly effective to improve your quickness:

Wind sprints (5 sets, 50 meters, 3 times a week).

Remember - Success doesn't come overnight, but once you are there, you know the hard work was worth it!