How I Went From A 36 To A 45 Inch Vertical | Isaiah Rivera

In this video I take you guys on my journey from 16 to 20 years old as I become a pro dunker and improve my vertical by 9 inches.
Jump Higher Here: THPstrength.com
Instagram:
@isaiahrivera1
@translatinghumanperformance

[@IsaiahRivera1]

Soooo many people are commenting about knee pain. I have a knee pain video on my channel uploaded recently!! Go check it out. I also cover knee pain on my podcast here: THPstrength.com

[@gageplayz1426]

Bro Isaiah...., you’ve inspired me so much to keep pushing myself to try harder, jump higher, never give up.... you’re amazing, thank u so much and in my opinion ure the best dunker in the world. 😁

[@kushlanravindra5786]

Isaiah, I'm 17 years old 5'6", i want to do weights to increase my vert, but i wanna know how lifting affected ur height, and how much did u grow after starting to lift?

[@jabigchad1749]

It don’t inhibit ur growth but help in fact. Get enough sleep tho

[@emilutolteanu4418]

2023: how i went from a 45 vertical to flying. Edit: he got pretty close to flying but not there yet. Flying video will be out in 2027, see you then. Time goes so fast:((

[@moneysolomon1010]

ha funny

[@seth_lewis1]

emirhdb olteanu 🤣🤣🤣

[@jimzo9071]

LOL

[@solidgold0886]

Lmfao

[@jaredcruz5423]

😂😂

[@rtsbass7829]

When will you make a video "How i went from 45 to a 55 inch vert."??????

[@aqtwizzy]

naa je will make a video from 45 inch to flying

[@DunkademicsOfficial]

Love to see this! The passion for dunking is insane

[@Aaxu777]

Hey please share the workout of Anthony the guy who is just 5'6 but he's flying.. please

[@sanjaysuresh8865]

More than dunking alone, there's a lot of information in this video that could really help anyone! Great video man!

[@IsaiahRivera1]

Yeah man, a lot of this stuff applies to just life in general

[@Sanjay-je2wi]

Yup, Isiah sure is a great dunker, right brother from another mother?

[@IsaiahRivera1]

For those of you that are curious, Austin Burkey is also trained by John Evans and he’s actually the person that introduced me to him!

[@noobert7274]

Isaiah Rivera how tall are you? What about when you got your first dunk? I’m 15 and 5”8, landed my fist dunk on a 9ft rim. Am quite happy

[@rayberguerrero9057]

Isaiah Rivera brooo always tune greetings from Dominican Republic 🇩🇴❤️🇵🇷

[@snap_fit8686]

Austin burkey is the 5 ,10 guy. or was he not ? He should have a channel of his own,, as a short guy. i like to take from someone hwo i can related to,,, height wise lol

[@huuhung6194]

Can u teach us how to landing, plzzzzzzz

[@nahomdejenie3448]

Talk about your osgood-schlatter cause i also have it and a lot of others do to

[@teamflightbrothers]

Love it! Great video, Zay! Everyone should definitely listen 👂 if they want hops!

[@IsaiahRivera1]

You were a huge inspiration to me during those early years!

[@moreplates4782]

I love how you can feel how much excited he gets when he's talking about his first dunks♥️♥️

[@memitoruiz7069]

I turn 39 in September this year, I have never dunked, ima dunk by my 40th birthday

[@Point4.Christ]

Ahh

[@terenceallen9216]

Did u do it

[@karlg.9388]

YO U SUCCEEDED??

[@memitoruiz7069]

I can touch the rim but no dunk ☹️

[@seand4584]

@@memitoruiz7069 keep trying!!

[@launch_0147]

dude i have the exact same kind of knee pain: it really sucks and makes my jumps hurt insanely on my left knee

[@romainchanteux9110]

Me too

[@lebrontheg.o.a.t2490]

Yeah same

[@mystic5382]

same

[@jasonkent7609]

El Cino mines the left knee also, but the pain has gone down

[@crazedmonster2726]

I think most jumpers get it honestly. Just gotta take it easy for a bit

[@akram0logy]

You inspired me to go out and attempt to dunk after my acl reconstruction 2 years ago. Just watching your video on technique and seeing your passion got me to throw my first dunk on 9’9 I’m going to work harder now after watching this video. Hopefully I can catch up to you someday soon! I greatly appreciate you sharing with all of us your journey! Stay blessed stay healthy! Thank you.

[@Tyrese-hm6bs]

Isaiah I’m 16 right and I’m currently training to get my first dunk. I’ve learned so much from you and I literally binge watch you just trying to jump higher.

[@giles.50]

how tall are you

[@Tyrese-hm6bs]

i'm Giles I’m 5’10 or 5’11

[@JeffO-]

Hope you get it. I'm too old and beat up now. Always wanted to.

[@Tyrese-hm6bs]

Jowly U got more bounce then me, I’m getting rim stuffed 💀

[@TukeShark]

I'm 14 and I'm insecure about my height, so I'm doing the same as you

[@simtombinghel2543]

Next Tuesday I will get my own basket I'm so hyped about that. I can't wait to practice every day after school❤️🏀🏀

[@brycekondziela9892]

As someone who as also suffered from Osgood Schlatters I teared up after hearing that you have suffered from it to. Growing up I had a passion for distance running and from the ages of 8 to 15 it was all that I focused on. I was good to, I completed my first ten mile run at 10 years old breaking age records, and ran half marathons by 13. At this point in my life I was 5”1 and in 8th grade and was barely able to touch the net. Going into my sophomore year of high school I started growing and developed this condition in both of my knees. The constant pounding the the knees take on in distance running was to much for me and I had to quit my passion. I went into a time of anger, where I was mad at God for taking away the one thing that my life revolves around. I started to let my anger get the best of me with my family members and didn’t respect them the way I should have. The winter of my Junior year I joined the swim team and although I was terrible it was something to do. After the swim season I was messing around on my hoop and realized I could touch the rim(I was 5”10 at the time and I didn’t know my hoop was only 9”8 at the time). I then began to work on my vertical, and in the past year my vertical has increased from around 24” to 31” I am now a 6ft tall with a standing reach of 7”11 and am extremely close to getting my first dunk on 10. Your passion and toughness for dunking and being willing to push through the pain is very inspiring, and if your wondering the knee pain for me is almost gone. If you would be willing to check out my dunk attempts and give me advise that would be very much appreciated. I could send you my closest attempts on Instagram. Thank you! Your journey is very impressive.

[@brycekondziela9892]

has also suffered*

[@goldenstars_993]

TheBryceroni Swag what exercises did you do and for how long? also did u have rest days, i’m 5’11.5” and have a 7’5” standing reach this would help thank you

[@brycekondziela9892]

Dang you have short arms. I purchased bounce kit from Jordan Kilganon and used that over the summer, and during the school year I lifted at school. I did have rest days, and didn’t jump at all during the swim season this year. I do a lot of squats and deadlifts, also jump rope and lunges.

[@Korda27]

I’m 13(6’2) and my vertical is 30 inches but I’m still working on it.Guys like you really inspire me.

[@nazfx2648]

Bruh im 14 5”10/11 crazy

[@scheledv]

Bruh I’m 14 and 5,4

[@Korda27]

3 years later I’m 6’5

[@JohnEvans]

AYE BOY I WATCHED THIS A COUPLE TIMES BECAUSE I LIKED IT SO MUCH

[@stevenchrisafis2874]

im 16 years old, 6'0 with a 28 inch vert. This is inspiring me to get to 35 inches by the end of the year and prove my friends wrong

[@Andy_n02]

How tall where you at 15 and when did you hit your growth spurt

[@r3a1itygamezz14]

Andy F at 16 I was 6’2 and at 18 6’4 and could kinda rim graze dunk. My growth spurt hit me at around 14/15 and I just started growing I’m not 20 and 6’4 and a bit I think I might make 6’5. But everyone’s growth spurt is diff

[@pure2291]

r3a1ityGamezZ u could rim graze at 6’4??? Dude I can touch net standing and I’m 6’1

[@r3a1itygamezz14]

PureAnimation TV the baskets by me don’t have nets aha so in my park it’s just rims (in England bball isn’t as big as us) in shoes I’m probs around 6’5 and a bit so i can touch the rim by just jumping but I can’t seem to dunk I think it’s a psychological thing as with the ball I don’t jump anywhere as high without it

[@pure2291]

r3a1ityGamezZ last year when I was 12 I went from touching backboard to dunking. Idk if it was growth spurt but I changed my dunking technique and grew to 5’11. Maybe try jumping forward when u dunk. What made me unable to dunk was getting hung on the front of the rim. Try to have ur head under the rim when u do it.

[@jesusruacho2001]

Omg omg it’s here! Can’t wait to watch!🔥

[@braxd3n]

i’m tryna be like you one day💯

[@simtombinghel2543]

Too❣️🏀🏀

[@Teeco10]

N imma be better then both of you

[@hegthebrave9424]

So I just want to mention how important a proper landing technique, you could basically argue almost all knee problems come from not having a proper landing technique, and notice how when he is done with josh’s training program where he stops having pain, he’s landing technique is way better, he is flexing his knees a lot more and dissipating more force, instead of how he did this entire video, where he just landed with almost straight and stiff legs, putting a ton of stress in his knees.

[@hegthebrave9424]

Plus before the program, all the times he bent his knees, they were going in front of his toes, if you don’t have the proper sheer muscle strength, that causes a lot of stress on your knees also

[@andresposada7064]

I'm a beach volleyball player wanting to improve my vertical, and this video was a great reminder that to be elite at anything you have no choice but to embrace the grind. Thanks for sharing Isaiah💪

[@nicoskal85]

Time for the 45 to 50.5" video!! Would be interesting to show us the evolution of your lifts throughout your journey. I am wondering whether you are within John's "strong as fuck" area 😀

[@jordankiniry5784]

Yes! The progress over the years is crazy!

[@metalmoto3275]

I think everyone should do rehab workouts with their regular strength workouts. Don't sleep on those, they make your muscles and tendons healthier people. And GREAT JOB Isaiah!

[@Hasan9t]

10:27 - Tacko!

[@TukeShark]

fall!

[@Content.Deleted_Deleted]

I want to be just like you i respect you a lot. Thank you for showing so much inspiration. Love you bro.

[@jacobwatson2925]

Haha literally looking at good jump programs and get a notie for this keep it up my man!!!

[@ahmed.rosanally]

hopefully you get to 50 in vertical. It kinda sucks now with the covid 19 situation we can't train like we used to. But we keep pushing tho. Kudos to you my G

[@juliepohler3056]

Where is my 1:00 am gang

[@elijahhall6107]

g-man prospects yerr

[@crazedmonster2726]

How bout 4😂

[@Bloo_Scops]

Yesir

[@julianstauffer3041]

Me

[@redshift7876]

Mg- Brazil

[@zeky7244]

You one of the people that have inspired me to start my own dunk journey. I love these types of videos because it keeps me from having any doubts and motivates me to work even harder on my goals 🔥

[@IsaiahRivera1]

Keep going! 💪🏼

[@joshuaR426]

The best part of this video is seeing your face as a kid when you hit a new goal. Pure joy.

[@Jaydubb1031]

I’m 16 and 6’1 I wish I had your vert. Since I was young I watched people dunk and I thought it was amazing. Ever since I’ve been looking at work outs and now I’m at the point where I can grab rim. I hope one day I can dunk like you bro💯

[@highflyniggaballs883]

how did it go bro?

[@johnlester8577]

Your awesome, you are big inspiration for a lot of hoopers like me that practicing to have a vertical like you.

[@youngmelo2335]

Good shit Isaiah. Really enjoying ur podcasts man. Do you think you could do a hang clean/power clean tutorial? Thx big homie

[@cristianporumb4718]

The long awaited sequel, keep up dawg

[@guardseanfr]

Isaiah you're my inspiration, to me you're what Jordan Kilganon was to you in the beginning. By the end of the summer, i WILL have a 35 inch vertical or higher, as of right now last time i tested was maybe a month ago and i was at 32".

[@AP.Bouncy]

Needed this today. Two weeks into thp, creating my own dunk list now!

[@charv5119]

Bro I want to get thp but 100$ a month is insane man, I guess it is worth it tho if you can afford it.

[@amp.Cimbom]

I am 5’4 and have a 34 inch vertical. This video is perfect for my next goal! Thx

[@operasinger2126]

Around the back, under the leg best dunk I've ever seen!

[@dennisrobinson8008]

He was looking down into the rim on that opening dunk... Excellent work!

[@zanek5137]

Loved the way you took us through that journey dude! Thank you for sharing this amazing story.

[@noahodell5817]

Lmao this is insane. I’m almost 20 grinding for a simple two hand dunk and this dude is absolutely slamming 🥲

[@ashle9034]

Actually insightful asf bro good video!

[@jeromerome]

Great video, well spoken and narrated. Inspiring to see and hear you persevere and learn through the years !

[@RealCazTv]

Awesome vid! My son is starting to get into dunking hes 14 and 5'10 same issue as you has had Osgood slaughters for years played sports through the pain and we really want to get his vertical up since he loves basketball...we are always outside on the hoops outside and he lowers it to 8 and 9 feet and dunks on that! Will have to check out the training vids.

[@hcmercy6786]

This video really inspired me, what would be really cool and helpful is if you make a video explaining what we need as dunkers and tips🔥. Btw im 17 5’10 and never dunked, this whole year i went from not being to touch the board to grabbing the rim with only pylometrics and a little gym training but i feel like I don’t know what im even doing

[@Thebluedevil078]

Can u write your workout here? I'm 5'9" and the maximum I've clocked in is a 2'10 vertical and I can't even touch the rim...

[@MacBendsMetal]

That 2 handed at 14:16 was brutal 🖤 💪😎👍 Love this video ❤️‍🔥

[@Vodka970]

I think being specific with training is always the most important. If you want to get better at jumping/dunking that should be majority of your training.

[@mihajlobrankovic7039]

13:11 Lmao Steven and I had the exact same reaction 😂😂😂

[@JuztMori]

Dude were a monster at dunking even as a teen I always wanted to become a dunker to and at a young age u definitely inspired me and I’m 17 and I can dunk just not as consistent but ur a monster 🏀💪🏽

[@leonidasg0039]

oh shit i didn't click on the video when i first saw the thumbnail, cause i thought it was the old one😂 (P.S. I just found out about your training program, bro that's exactly what i needed, i've been looking for such a program for a long time thnx)

[@wyterook00]

Be careful, I was obsessed with dunking too and jumped every day. I healed too, but one day I was playing a pickup game, I stole the ball, went down the court to dunk and when I planted my left leg to go up, I completely tore my patella tendon. I had to get surgery and had to keep my leg straight for 10 months and then 6 months of physical therapy. I haven't jumped since...

[@navi1372]

how you doing now?

[@wyterook00]

@@navi1372 Knee is still weak and my knee cap is higher than the other leg. I will probably never play basketball again unless it's just me shooting 3's. No driving to the basket, thats for sure.

[@navi1372]

oh I got my left knee cap a little bit higher than my right too, I ma start training with isometric and stop jumping, e3 rehab and Kneesovertoesguy have some good exercises and I'm doing joint mobility from calimovement and some other guys, I started having the pain after playing volleyball hard for 3 months at the last training of the season, that was one year ago, right now is kinda hurting but can push through it, tho my mobility in all my body sucks, use or lose it but don't destroy it, I ma document my progress and put a video in the future so subscribe for an update I'm 19, 5,8ft and around an 20 inch vert with two feet and my goal is to dunk on a 9,2ft rim in 6 months and be move athletic in general, good luck me

[@a5blake]

Love the podcast bro! Keep up the hard work!

[@IsaiahRivera1]

Thanks for listening bro!

[@silverstoric3450]

Ridiculous! Congrats dude!!! It's been about 20 years since i dunked it lol

[@mxsty_blue6442]

I have the same knee pain as you, it’s really tough especially as an athlete. But happy to see you get through it.

[@evandadon8604]

If you have Osgood PLEASE TAKE A BREAK, I didn’t take a break and while going up my knee just exploded.. just got surgery 2 weeks ago

[@slapaho1234]

1 year from first dunk to in between the legs WOW

[@samuelwilbanks9184]

Thank you Isaiah! Super motivating for me, cause I'm 18 and 6'0 with the same vertical and max lifts you had at 18 years old! What standing reach did you have at 17, 18, or 19 years old?

[@timothyhensley3815]

I'm 60 now but at one time I could jump really well....I wish I had this kind of training back in the day, that would've been fun!

[@jadenathletic4593]

This deserves a BIG like

[@terrysummers9537]

Dam! His dunks are top notch 🔥

[@khaledramadan9384]

Story that come from heart keep it up man

[@harshitchutani5339]

Man I am 20 , can just touch the rim but I am coming for it , my dream is to do a honey dip in front of Jordan kilganon and you are a great inspiration bro

[@ismailunia5448]

For anyone with knee pain, go look up Ben from Knees over toes, his knee training program is insane, it will help stop your knee pain and increase your vertical as well.

[@Luke-eo8dj]

Thanks Isaiah I just did a windmill on a 8.5 rim without you I’ve would’ve never completed it

[@clat-wise-23200]

Even I have Osgood thanks for making this video I'm 15 5'8 u have given me the motivation

[@eloso9077]

If you have knee pain , look at your landing form and if you land on your heel that causes knee pain so try and land on your fore foot because that lowers knee stress .

[@riot2136]

Cristian Andrade that’s good advice, but the way you land isn’t the only thing that can cause knee pain

[@jjaydxn]

10:28 is that tacko fall? In the number 24?

[@gabrielsmith6426]

When he said most people have never seen a between the legs dunk I felt that. I’m a basketball fan in England and have never seen someone dunk. Cus at my practice we’re all twelve so none of us can dunk and I’ve never seen any of the older kids do it

[@steviesan3895]

I feel you on the osgood schlatter. It sucks

[@gigabuyceps]

U was noob, but fucking PRO now, gg wp 💪🏾

[@yuanjeremy3107]

Thank you for your unselfish sharing. Really appreciate it.

[@Jeffrey_DeBlaay...888]

great video, Isaiah! informational & inspirational. love all the video clips over the years. keep up the great work! continued health & positivity to you...🤗

[@jah-leah]

was obsessed as a kid/ teen. now i'm 30. had jumpsoles, air alert everything. then college and life etc. BUt as a woman at 5'11 I touched the rim consistently in HS. I still play (trying to get my first pro contract overseas), but it amazes me how i've never seen vids from women working on their hops for basketball. I guess I should've kept going *sigh* I am starting a program now though to get in shape and I'm sure my vert will come back to improve my all around game

[@hunterrussell4409]

Yo that's great! I would love to see you get up and dunk!!

[@urbrodieaj2363]

Bro this video is inspirational

[@raidingcadet0717]

I've just been doing jumps and squats at 14 and after 5months or 6months of starting basketball I can finally touch backboard ik to alot of people of that's easy but the fact is I'm 5ft4 so I take pride in my progress only downside was feeling knee 0ain so I had to focus on strength ing it because it didn't help we was doing the bleep test or that run for 20 minutes I still came first but I pushed my self to much but I now know feel pain tqke action then get back to progress

[@raidingcadet0717]

Because the one thing I need to see is I basically have to jump my own hight and there's no shortcuts

[@tommymcpheemusic7745]

Note how little weight he squats with a 36' vertical. I was squatting that weight when I first started lifting in HS. I remember after I touched rim, which is about a 31" jump for me, people said I'd need to get stronger to dunk, but after putting a solid 100 pounds on my squat I saw no improvement. Since then I've been able to grind out another 3 or 4 inches which I attribute more to the technique and explosiveness of actual practice and basketball. Also the fact that I reduced my body fat percentage (although I've gained 20 pounds since then as I've gotten considerably more muscular)

[@AmasBansalArt]

Didn't know a "low rim session" 2:21 was a thing. Glad I'm not alone. Unfortunately I'm still there....

[@jjdb9969]

He improved a lot and so will you 💪💪💪

[@sirsempoi]

You beat Porter Mayberry!? Holy mother!! 😱😱

[@IsaiahRivera1]

Yeah during my second contest ever haha

[@sirsempoi]

@@IsaiahRivera1 Woah! Awesome dude!!

[@zakaryperrin7126]

Thanks for the motivation bro, quite a story 👌

[@LandoLeavesLand]

tendonitis ruined my basketball career.... a lot of people get it, I had it really bad though. Had surgery, but then it came back again... I was the best by far up until 10th grade, then first got it around my junior year and things started going downhill.. I wasn't the same player with stupid, lingering tendonitis. If I could go back, I would have strengthened my legs more starting in 7th-8th grade, so more pressure would be on the muscles and less on the tendons.... I hope this can help someone. Wish someone would have told me that.

[@thomasgulliver4522]

the people that stood there holding the ball for him are real ones

[@garymartin23]

Dunk progression baby 🤙🏽

[@zaymullaa843]

Aye i just started watching I'm a youngin so I'm not really tall I'm a jhit but I have a amazing vert for my height I'm only 13 5'3 with a 24 inch vert but I'm not tall enough to touch 10ft rim so I just dunk on 9ft so hopefully I get taller and gain more vert Ive not starting my weight training until highschool so hopefully I touch rim by next year thank you for showing people like me this very helpful I also have Osgood knee disease but it's not on the extreme level it doesn't hurt when I jump it really hurts when it's in contact I have a bump there from not letting it heal and overusing it

[@terenceallen9216]

XNoFe4R that makes to sense I’m 5”8 long arms can dunk on 9”6 barely and have a 30in vert how are u 5”3 with only a 24 in vert which isn’t that could btw able to dunk on 9 feet

[@zaymullaa843]

Terence Allen I made this 5 months ago like I knew what my actual vert is. its really 37.5 it’s not 24

[@zaymullaa843]

Terence Allen and I’m 5’6 now

[@marky8652]

Hey Isaiah another amazing video lahd! Any ideas on how you dealt with osgood schlatters? Did it give you tight leg muscles? (tight quads, hams and calves) I have osgood as well... And my leg muscles are so tight.

[@robertiannetta6842]

i relate to this so much i have Osgood schlatter ever since i had knee surgery and im trying to bring my vertical up and im just jumping through the pain.

[@kevink1005]

Should we do this everyday even the same days we do heavy plyo and strength or just on the rest days so 2-3 times a week? Great vid by the way he me burning lol

[@DCtakeOFF]

45-50 next?

[@IsaiahRivera1]

Yessir 😈

[@ahmed.rosanally]

Same man osgood-schlatters is rough man, especially when you're body's in the process of growing. Bones and muscles ain't fully matured. Had it for like 8 months so I stopped playing ball for a year rip. But I guess we gotta live w/ it yurr

[@lkfashionandlifestyle1299]

I love you ✊ bro U always inspire me bro from Nigeria 🇳🇬 🇳🇬 🇳🇬

[@RayfilWong]

great storytelling I will rembering your contributions to dunk community - Love from Hong Kong - AsianFoodNerd

[@PvPFanForLifeSAAAAN]

I’m 5’11 and can barely dunk on 9’5 hopefully I can learn something from this... I also had surgery on my left knee so it hurts to jump with two feet but I feel like I get higher like that than with jumping from one foot

[@davidwyss6128]

Great vid, thanks for taking your time! Another question Id have is, how did your diet look like? Did it change when you started lifting vs. when you were "just" dunking, still looked pretty lean though. Thanks for your answer

[@SxNKlyVe]

i wanna be like you one day, dunk on my friends and they be like "fuk, guard ruben" and its and ez point when i get the ball so im working on my hops rn i can dunk a volley ball on 10ft rim rlly ez i just need more and jumping power so im lifint and lifting, never gonna stop the grind, this is all because of you. you motivated me to do so so never stop these vids bro keep up the grind

[@arseni.s1595]

Isaiah I’m 6’1 and I can barely grab the rim, I’m trying to get my first dunk as a New Years resolution but it just seems impossible, your videos have really inspired me to keep trying and thank you for that . + i also have the same knee problems as you had. Any suggestions for improvement?

[@aramkqly4555]

That's sad man

[@kylesmith9598]

@@aramkqly4555 why is that sad, he’s improving and actually trying to get better, pretty commendable actually

[@draxd3045]

So inspiring. plz keep climbing up

[@soundboydesign1373]

...at 18 mins...you say track n field training...yes! Sprints build fast twitch n power...you got it...don't forget stretching n rehab B...everything you speak of in vids is the whole apple...Get Up!

[@lomifresh6629]

You are an inspiration to me brother

[@brokexartist]

I’m trynna get a 48 inch vert. before I join a team because I’m short and jumping is the one thing I’ve got to get good at. But it’s going to be super hard because mine’s only 28 right now but hey you gotta start somewhere 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@alrealz2851]

Excellent video man you deserve millions for all your work. I have a question . I barely landed a self alley oop dunk at 5"10 I am no where near one handed dribble dunk any tips. Because my my vertical goes lower due to going up with the ball