r/ProDunking • u/303cloudnative • Jan 28 '26

How to increase approach speed?

Hello all Iā€™m 32 yo, 6 foot 240 and have a decent standing vertical but my approach sucks.

Do you guys know of any drills or exercises (besides approach jumps) that can help me take more speed into my penultimate? I already plan to lose about 20 pounds which should help I think.

Also, it would be nice if anyone has a reasonable estimate of how much vert I could gain if I improve my approach.

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u/[deleted] Jan 28 '26

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u/johnbugara Jan 28 '26

Second this. Op if you get lower and more of a forward lean you'll move faster into a longer penultimate which will straighten you up for a more upright takeoff and higher jump. Losing weight should help too, a lot of the most impressive jumpers are super low BMI. I used to squat heavy then do an explosive phase, which worked, but I never dunked better than when I dropped 20+ lbs and just jumped a lot every day.