Is it possible? (36 inch vertical)

[TheMarkos]

I am 16 years old and I recently just started going to the gym to work on my overall strength and vertical for basketball in the past week. I am 5'9 and 151 pounds; to dunk consistently, I would need a 36 inch vertical. I have a horrible 19 inch vertical, so there is room for lots of improvement. I am weak in general; both my upper body and lower body. My upper body is extremely weak compared to lower body as I am lifting less then most people who have never lifted before. I am at 13 percent body fat so I would like to get that down to 8 or 9 percent. I would like to be able to dunk in a year of training but if I need to continue for another I won't mind. At the status I am at physically is it possible to achieve my goal because of all the beginner gains in vertical and strength or are my genetics going to hold me back?

[iHATEnumberTWO]

it is absolutely possible. as teenagers, you and I have plenty of things going for us. firstly, increasing max strength in lower body (squats, deadlifts, rdls, calf raises, etc.) into levels 2x your body-weight will probably bring you 10-12inches. secondly, i think 12-15% is okay to be at, power to weight ratio tends to suffer in the lower body-fat levels. thirdly, jumping itself is very important. the specificity of the movement is very important for neural efficiency so jump often.

doing starting strength (3x week in the gym) but replacing low-bar squats with high-bar and jumping prior to the weights session will get you gains for a while. you can add calf raises on A days. if you don't know what starting strength is, search it up. however, don't follow the nutrition advice. for diet, just eat clean most of the time with plenty of veggies, lean meats and a protein shake once in a while (don't rely on it.) keep it simple. just follow the SS program as it is meant to be followed (exception: exchange high-bar squats as i said), practice jumping and you will be well on your way. once you can not progress any further, come back here and make another thread. it's probably going to be 4-6months.. maybe even longer. stay dedicated and work hard.

[TheMarkos]

it is absolutely possible. as teenagers, you and I have plenty of things going for us. firstly, increasing max strength in lower body (squats, deadlifts, rdls, calf raises, etc.) into levels 2x your body-weight will probably bring you 10-12inches. secondly, i think 12-15% is okay to be at, power to weight ratio tends to suffer in the lower body-fat levels. thirdly, jumping itself is very important. the specificity of the movement is very important for neural efficiency so jump often.

doing starting strength (3x week in the gym) but replacing low-bar squats with high-bar and jumping prior to the weights session will get you gains for a while. you can add calf raises on A days. if you don't know what starting strength is, search it up. however, don't follow the nutrition advice. for diet, just eat clean most of the time with plenty of veggies, lean meats and a protein shake once in a while (don't rely on it.) keep it simple. just follow the SS program as it is meant to be followed (exception: exchange high-bar squats as i said), practice jumping and you will be well on your way. once you can not progress any further, come back here and make another thread. it's probably going to be 4-6months.. maybe even longer. stay dedicated and work hard.

Thanks for the feedback.