Like many basketball players, I’ve dreamed of being able to dunk. But when I was younger, I never took that dream seriously. At 180 cm, it felt unrealistic. I wasn’t particularly athletic, and I couldn’t even touch the rim.
In recent years, as I became fitter, I started seeing videos of people shorter than me jumping high enough to dunk. Most were younger, but they showed me it was possible. So I made a bet with my boys that I would dunk a small ball within five years, before turning 45. They both bet against me, which only made me more motivated.
My first recorded attempt was in May 2023, when I still couldn’t touch the rim. From there, I added strength training, plyometrics, sprinting, and jump-specific work to my routine. It took about half a year to touch the rim, another year to dunk a small massage ball, and then I plateaued.
Training in my 40s has been tough. Work, travel, sickness, poor sleep, and life events all interrupted my progress. Recovery takes longer, and pushing too hard usually leads to knee pain. Progress was slow, uneven, and sometimes frustrating.
But this year, almost three years after I started, I finally dunked a size 1 basketball, and eventually a size 3 basketball. While it is not as cool as dunking a proper basketball in a game, it is good enough for me. I don’t want to risk injury chasing too much more, though a size 5 alley-oop dunk remains an optional next challenge.
My boys treated me to ice cream, and we also celebrated together at one of our go-to izakayas. This goal has little practical value for most people, but it gave me tremendous satisfaction. I’m happy to have finally fulfilled a childhood dream.
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