Whoa! It's been a month since my last post. I think that is my longest hiatus since I started jumpmanual training just over 2 years ago. It was nice to have a break but it's time to get back on this!
Last Thursday, I got my body fat tested again using a bod pod which is supposed to be the most accurate test out there. If you have been following this blog for a while, you may recall I also did this in January 2012 and was shocked to find out I was 18% body fat (was expecting to be around 12%). Well, nearly 18 months has passed since my last bodyfat test on the bodpod. And I thought for sure with all my training that surely I would be down in the 12% range this time. Nope! I was able to drop a HUGE .1% in bodyfat. My test came in at a disappointing 17.9%.
So, it is painfully clear that I've got to drop some bodyfat. I currently weigh 173 lbs and 31 of those lbs are fat! That is just way too much! My best jumping days were when I was 29 years old and was in probably the best shape of my life. I weighed 169 lbs and was just 7% bodyfat which means I had only 12 lbs of fat. Today, the scale says I weigh only 4 lbs more than I did 12 years ago but I'm carrying 19 more lbs of fat. It also means I have 15 lbs less muscle. That is a pretty substantial difference in the wrong direction.
So the bad news is I am too fat! At least in terms of maximizing my vertical jump. Of course, I'm not saying I'm obese or anything like that. But, I'm too fat to be an elite jumper. And I want to be an elite jumper!
The good news is I am jumping really well right now. I actually had of my best dunks and best misses ever last week. And, if I lose 20 lbs of fat that should surely help me jump a few inches higher which would be two hand tomahawks all day long.
Today, I started another 12 weeks of training. I have made some changes to my workout and diet that I will tell you guys more about in a future post as this one is already quite long and unlikely many people are still reading this. :-)
Have a great summer! Keep workin hard!
And...if you haven't had your bodyfat tested recently, get it done. Maybe you are like me and need to drop some lbs.
Man, I was beginning to think something bad had happened to you! I always look forward to reading your posts. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteoh no! nothing bad...just took a break! thanks man!
DeleteWish u great results.
ReplyDeletethanks! looking forward to seeing your next vid!
DeleteGot it today! :)
Deletejust watched your new vid! nice man!
DeleteLong time reader, first time post....
ReplyDeleteHave you looked into intermittent fasting? I have been doing it for the last year, and it works great for me. It only took me 12 or so weeks to go from 18%BF to 8%BF. Better than that though is that it is fairly easy to stay in good shape without feeling like you are starving. In fact, I just got measured today with one of those handheld devices and I am sitting at 10.5%BF. And the funny thing is that I had shoulder surgery a few months ago and can't really lift heavy yet. See this link for more info:
http://rippedbody.jp/intermittent-fasting-leangains-introduction-benefits/
Hit me up if you are interested in learning more about my experiences with it. I live in PG so we can meet at the gym and swap program experiences. (I just started on Jump Manual.) Good luck!
Wow - cool! another local jump manual user!
DeleteJacob Hiller (creator of Jump Manual) has been doing intermittent fasting and gotten amazing results so have talked to him about it and read a little. Definitely has me curious!
I want to be 8% bodyfat or less in the next 12 weeks...
That's cool that Jacob does IF. None of the guys I talked to at the gym have ever heard of it. They get interested and want the results, but they are skeptical, too uncommitted, or they are too stuck on the mainstream dieting methods (6 meals a day, etc.)
DeleteIt is not hard, but it does take a few weeks to get into the hang of it. And then you combine that with a good progressive compound lifting program (like Starting Strength and Wendler's 531), you will get stronger and leaner at the same time.
One last thing, it may take some time for your wife to get used to you eating your own "special" meals, but in a few weeks, she will appreciate you looking better naked. :-)
I have been blown away by Jacob's results. He's been posting pictures on his facebook account.
DeleteHow long did you do IF? And would you do it like 30 days straight and then stop? or a few days a week? What was the schedule like?
I have been doing IF for exactly a year now. For the first 8 weeks, I followed it strictly each day. Then I took an involuntary "diet break" for a couple of days. It was hard mentally at first because I felt like I had messed it all up. However, I got back on it and over time, I realized that eating a whole pizza or going to Golden Corral once in a while isn't that big of a deal. Now, I aim for 80% or so of good IF days. This basically means I eat whatever I want once every 8-10 days. And whenever I go on vacation, I just eat whatever is available. I try to stay low-carbish, but I am fairly flexible.
DeleteMy training day schedule goes like this: Skip breakfast, diet coke around 10am, drink a "light" whey protein shake about noon. Go to the gym around 1pm. Drink BCAA while at the gym. Get back around 3pm and have another shake when I feel like. Get home around 6pm and have my big meal of lean protein with rice or potatoes. Have another smaller meal of eggs or chicken around 8:30-9:00pm. At 10pm or so, I will drink my last shake made up of casein, whey, and milk.
My "rest" day schedule goes like this: Skip breakfast, diet coke around 10am. Go play ball around 12pm. Drink two scoops of BCAA while at the gym. Get back around 2pm and have a shake when I feel like. (Once a week, I substitue this with 3 McDoubles and large fries from McDonald's, but I would only eat one of the buns on each of the burgers.) Get home around 6pm and have my big meal of real meat and some carbs. Have another smaller meal of eggs or chicken around 8:30-9:00pm. At 10pm or so, I will drink my last shake made up of casein, whey, and milk.
You bacially want to always be high protein and then you cycle between [low carb + medium fat] with [high carb + low fat] days.
Here's some more food for thought...
DeleteI was fairly strict at first with lean chicken breasts and pork. After about 3 months, I got tired of it all. I switched to eating "fattier" meats for half of my meals and I was a much happier IFer.
The Costco rotisserie chicken is perfect. I would go through two of those each week. Fried chicken from KFC is fine as long as you remove the skin or eat it sparingly. Dark meat doesn't bother me. McDoubles from McDonald's is good cheap source of protein (and fat). Smoked turkey legs from Walmart is perfect for a late night snack. I love eggs. I eat about 1-2 dozen eggs a week. Egg protein also helps you stay fuller, which is why I usually have it night. Combine that with the casein shake, and I can last 14-16 hours without eating easily.
awesome man! thanks for all the details.
Deletehow has IF impacted your vertical jump? how about strength?
I can't really say how much IF has affected my VJ because I was kind of out of shape and overweight when I started. I also wasn't actively jump training like you have been.
DeleteI was only a couple weeks into the 3x5 Starting Strength routine when I decided to follow IF (Leangains.com style). My SVJ at the time was probably in the low to mid 20s. I didn't really measure it, but I could barely nick the rubber padding at the bottom of the backboard. My 5 step RVJ was probably 28-30". (I am only 5'6" with 7' standing reach). My relative strength at the time was also low. Squat was 1.25xBW, bench was .75xBW, and 12 sloppy chinups/pullups.
After 4 months of IF and a couple different strength routines (SS, Texas Method, Reverse Pyramid Training), my relative strength all increased significantly. I was deep squatting 2xBW, benching 1.4xBW, and could do 23 strict chinups or 12 strict with 90lbs around my waist. I injured my shoulder in July doing muscle ups (found out it was torn labrum a few months later) otherwise I think my strength at the end of 4 months could have been slightly higher.
Any ways, I found your blog somewhere at the end of last summer and decided to started the JM routine. I had researched other programs (VertFreak and Vertical Mastery) and I done other programs in my days at the Y, but I thought I would give JM a try. I was only able to do JM that for 5 weeks before I had an MRI and found out about the labral tear. Even with that short amount of time though, I was able to touch the rim with a 5 step approach. That comes to about a 36" RVJ. The SVJ was probably around 31-32".
Long story short, IF helps you keep or gain muscle while reducing fat. And if you can do that, your explosiveness should increase, resulting in a higher VJ.
those are great results! i also have been having issues with my right shoulder. trying to decide if i should have it looked at. been going on for about 2 months now and doesn't seem to be improving.
Deletehas your injury healed?
My surgery has "healed" and I have been given the go ahead by my doc to resume all activities, but I am not 100% yet. My range of motion is great and the pain is almost non-existent. My strength is coming back but slowly. There are certain lifts/exercises I can't do just yet (or won't ever doing again). Chin ups, dips, bench press, military press, hang clean, deadlifts, back squats. Part of the problem was the extent of my injury. It was a SLAP tear and a bicep tendon tear. The doc didn't see the latter in the MRI, but he repaired it during surgery. This tear has really hampered my strength recovery. Normally with just a SLAP tear, you can start strength training in physical therapy after only 6 weeks. I had to wait until 12 weeks because of the other tear.
DeleteOn the bright side, since 10 days after surgery through now, I do more unilateral leg lifts. Instead of squatting, I do single leg, leg presses and skater squats, which are like pistol squats, but doesn't hurt the back as much and is easier to load with weights. I do glute-ham raises (GHR) with a bosu and reverse hyperextensions instead of deadlifting. I also do depth drops to help strengthen the posterior chain. And so on.
Regarding the current JM routine, these adjustments haven't really prevented me from improving each week. The arm swing during a jump was a bit painful at first, but the pain is getting less and less each time out.
And from the sound of it, your injury may be more than muscle related. Because I couldn't sleep on my injured shoulder, I went to see my general physician. He ask me to do some simple movements with my arm. Based on what he saw, he was able to correctly diagnose my problem (can't guarantee yours would do the same) and referred me to the surgeon.
Wow - crazy man! I'm still able to do pull-ups, military press, etc. but there is some pain. It does hurt for me to lie down on my right side when sleeping. I avoided doing much upper body exercises for a few weeks and it actually started hurting more. I've started doing some strength work and it is feeling better. I'll give it another week or so and if it is still bugging me I will get it looked at.
DeleteReally respect that your still getting after it despite the injury. Most people would use it as the perfect excuse to do nothing. Keep going!
I know you're into looking into this kind of thing. Did you see that Shane Larkin came into the NBA Draft Combine with a 44" Max Vert? The second highest ever at the combine.
ReplyDeletewow! had not heard that. will have to check that out!
DeleteSo after looking into it DJ Stephens recorded a 46"! vert at the combine this year, setting the record. Watch some videos of that guy, he's insane. I remember watching him play for Memphis in the tourney and his jump really stood out.
DeleteSaw Steven's dunks on youtube and saw your comment that you got new hyperdunks. Once you get the chip you should post some videos measuring the vertical. I'd also like to see what color of shoes you got. I'm also thinking about getting a pair myself. A little pricy though. Good luck training.
ReplyDeleteYep - gonna get the chip soon and excited to see how it compares to my mat. Will do some comparisons.
DeleteThere is a nike outlet near my home and they are selling these hyperdunks (does not include the chip) for $75. I have been wearing Kobe's for the last 2 years and really liked the kobe VI's. But haven't really like the kobe VII's.
so it feels weird to have a high top on again and the fit is completely different. fits much more like a glove around your foot where the kobe is roomier/wider. I have kind of a narrow foot and so I actually don't think the kobe is the best shoe for my foot.
anyways...i love these new hyperdunks!
I have the Kobe VII's right now and I like them ok but I am like you and have a narrow foot. Interested to see how the shoes measure your vert compared to the mat.
Delete