Sunday, July 24, 2011

Jump Manual Nutrition

I've had quite a few people asking me about nutrition, supplements, etc as part of my Jump Manual training so thought I'd share what I've been doing in this area.

About a year ago, I was introduced to "green smoothies" and have been hooked on them ever since. I have one nearly every morning for breakfast after my workout. The nutritional value of a green smoothie is off the charts and they make you feel so good. Typical ingredients I use are spinach, cale, protein powder, coconut oil, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, and ice. Most people hear "spinach" or "cale" and assume it must be disgusting. It doesn't look pretty (green/brownish), but it tastes great!

I used to take Muscle Milk and several of the other popular protein powders out there but many of them upset my stomach and I'm really trying to stay away from eating anything that has a list of ingredients a mile long. Many of the popular protein powders have a ton of sugar and all kinds of artificial crap that I don't think is good for your body. So I did quite a bit of searching and found 2 protein powders that I like a lot. One is by Sun Warrior which is an all natural protein made with rice. It doesn't taste very good if you just mix it with water or milk but in the green smoothie it's great. I love that this protein literally has 1 ingredient and none of that artificial garbage.

The other protein I just started using a few weeks ago is by Mercola. This one is a whey protein that is all natural and has a bunch of other unique benefits. It also tastes pretty good just mixed with water and ice which is nice for those times when you don't have 10 minutes to make a green smoothie.

Around 10:30 am, I usually have a snack like an apple, almonds, banana, etc. For lunch, I usually go to Subway or some place like that for a sandwich. I also eat a lot of peanut butter and jelly and peanut butter and honey sandwiches. What can I say...they are cheap and taste good to me!

I try to have another healthy snack before dinner (apple, banana, almonds, yogurt, etc.) but I find many days that I don't fit this in. For dinner, my wife often makes something from a cookbook we got several years ago when we did Body for Life called "Eating for Life". There are tons of good recipes in that book.

Also from Body for Life, I take one free day each week (usually Sunday) and eat whatever I want. I love junk food so this is my day to enjoy cookies, doughnuts, ice cream, and whatever else sounds good! The great thing about exercising and eating healthy is you then have freedom to eat some junk food every now and then without fear of gaining weight or causing other problems. It's just not realistic (at least for me) to completely eliminate all unhealthy food. A free day is a great way to maintain balance between eating good food without depriving yourself of things you really enjoy.

One new thing I've been experimenting with is having a protein shake right before bed. I've done this a handful of times and seem to have more energy and get a better workout the next morning. Not sure if it's coincidence or if this is in fact a good thing to do. Stay tuned on that.

I'm also using creatine and definitely can see and feel a difference when I'm taking it. Highly recommend using creatine as part of your training.

So, that's what I'm doing in terms of nutrition. But, what about you? What is working or not working for you?

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

11 Weeks of the Jump Manual now complete!

If you have been following along at home, you already know that last week I got my first dunks since starting the Jump Manual. And yes, I am pretty excited about that. It felt really good to achieve my goal of dunking before I turn the ripe young age of 40!

But, instead of that motivating me to work even harder. I found it more difficult than ever to push myself this last week. It didn't help that I was out of town for 4 days. And that I have no self control when it comes to eating healthy when I travel. Why is that?

At any rate, I went down to Gold's Gym this morning with high hopes. Made about a million dunk attempts and only got one very weak dunk. I came home and my wife asked how it went. I told her that I was bummed because I only got one weak dunk. She told me that just a few weeks ago that was not possible so that I should be excited.

As usual, my wife is right. But, don't tell her I said that. Ok?

So...next week I hope to get some REAL dunks.

Thanks for reading and watching.

Here's my latest video.

Friday, July 8, 2011

A dunk is a dunk...right?

After 10 weeks of Jump Manual training, today is a very good day! I got a few dunks!

These can barely be considered dunks but I'll take it! I'm so excited about my results so far.  But, not even close to being done. Still have 2 weeks of the program left and I won't stop there.

I've had a number of people tell me during the last several weeks that there is no way a 39 year old, 5 foot 11, white guy is gonna dunk. Can I tell you how good it feels to prove them wrong?

To anyone out there who is working to improve their vertical or achieve some other goal (especially something people say isn't possible), don't give up! Keep going for it!

Thanks for reading and watching!

Friday, July 1, 2011

I like low rims and I can not lie...

The court I play basketball on a few times each week has one rim that is 2 inches low. Everyone prefers to have that hoop. The team going to that basket has an advantage for sure. It's easier to shoot on. And, it's also easier to dunk on! :-)

Last week, after several weeks of Jump Manual training, I dunked 3 times on the low rim. But, didn't get any of them on video!

Today, I got another dunk on the 9'10" rim and this time had the camera rolling. Come on! Just need 2 more inches. Is that too much to ask???

Got to dunk on 10 foot next week!

Here's a few of the attempts along with my one dunk. Thanks for reading and watching!