Getting Older...But Jumping Higher!!!

I'm posting more often on Instagram so follow me there @overthehilldunker

At 44 years YOUNG, I'm on the verge of jumping the highest I have ever jumped and certainly the highest I've jumped in over 15 years.

I got a few really nice dunks on Saturday including a couple of 2 handers off the glass and know I could have had several more good dunks but there were a bunch of guys who just wanted to play pick-up so I was only able to get in a few attempts. Would have liked to try a few more windmills and other dunks I'm trying to learn but didn't get the opportunity. Next time!

Jumping felt so easy. It was also the first time wearing the Jordan 29s and they felt great. So maybe it was the shoes! So stoked with my progress and so stoked I set the crazy goal of being in the fitconutah dunk contest as it has pushed me so hard to reach my goals. No way I would have come this far without this big goal.

Go get your dreams!

Started vert training again - Week 10 (some dunks and misses)

Made it through another week of training and for the most part I'm feeling really good. I have just 2 weeks left now of this 12 week block of training.

I'm really looking forward to having a few days off and doing a dunk session when I'm completely fresh and can go all-out. I've continued to play basketball 3 times per week during this training -- and that's probably not ideal for maximizing training results. But, I just can't stop.

I almost grabbed the rim on my no-step vert test this week. Just 1 more inch and I should be able to do it. That would be an all-time PR at any age for me. I've never done that before even in my younger years.

I've now been on creatine for 2 weeks and can definitely feel a difference in my energy and strength. I've experimented with taking it post workout and taking it and pre and post workout. I've noticed more energy taking it before a workout and so will continue to do that. And what's been really nice is I haven't had the normal weight gain either. I'm still hovering between 170-172 lbs.

That's about it for this week! Here's the video:

Started vert training again - Week 9 (couple of dunks, lots of misses)

I've now completed 9 weeks of training for this phase. Only 3 weeks left!

This week went really well. I felt really good and was jumping well. I missed a TON of dunks off the dribble. I really thought I'd get at least 1 to go down but missed them all. I did get 2 dunks off the lob and those felt really easy.

I definitely noticed a difference in my energy this week. And, I'm sure that is from the creatine. That stuff definitely works! I'm also really happy that I didn't gain any weight this week as I've typically gained 5 lbs the week I start taking creatine. But, so far -- no weight gain. I think the difference this time is I've been drinking a ton of water. Creatine does pull water into the muscles and so you need to drink extra water. I have and that seems to be working.

Here's this week's video. Enjoy!

Started vert training again - Week 8

Another week in the books!

I've now completed 8 weeks of this 12 week phase. I am still 100% on hitting every single workout so far. This week was the first time though that I was not able to complete all the exercises in every single workout. It was on one of my plyo days and I still had a few jumps left to complete. But there was nothing left in the tank.

It wasn't a great jumping week. My body actually doesn't feel that broken down but it has to be after this many weeks and workouts. I'm also still playing basketball three days a week on top of all the workouts. I would probably get better results if I didn't do that and let my body rest more. But, I have to play. It's an addiction!

I mentioned last week that I was going to start taking creatine again and I started yesterday. I am very curious to see how my last few weeks go and am counting on some extra energy from creatine to help me get a few inches in gains!

I'm also adding in my "secret exercise" during 2 of the workouts each week until I complete this phase. Right now,. I'm focusing primarily on getting super explosive and that exercise in my opinion is one of the best on teaching you to get off the ground as quickly as possible.

That's about all for now. Here's this week's video. Enjoy!

Started vert training again - Week 7 (one weak dunk)

This 12 week phase of training is moving by quickly. Already done with 7 weeks!

I had high hopes for this week since I got my first dunks in many months last week. But, I felt a little sluggish and tired this week. In fact, one night I came home from work and fell asleep on my bed at like 6:30 pm!

I'm really happy with how things are progressing so far. We always want things to go faster than they do. But, I am really happy that I'm dunking again and am not even taking creatine at the moment. One thing that has been pretty consistent for me is my highest jumping has always been when I've been taking creatine. I'm sure some more inches are on the way with the added boost of energy and strength (and probably some placebo effect too) that comes from creatine.

However, I was hoping to get down to 165 lbs before starting to take creatine again because I immediately gain about 5 lbs when I"m on it and I don't want to be over 170 lbs. My best jumping has been when I've been around 170. Unfortunately, I'm still hovering between 170-172 and with just a few weeks left in this phase, I may just have to go for it.

Anyways, here's this week's video. Enjoy!

Started vert training again - Week 5

5 weeks completed for this phase of training!

Things are going well. I've done every single workout so far and have been consistent with stretching, foam rolling, and icing on a daily basis. I've even been foam rolling and stretching before bed on most nights. My body feels good.

I've done reasonably well on my eating but that continues to be my biggest weakness. I just love sugar sooooooooo much! Despite my sugar addiction, I've kept my weight down and hover between 170 to 172 lbs (down from 178-180 lbs a few months ago). To maximize my vertical, I feel like I need to get down to the 165-167 range while gaining muscle and strength.

Overall, my vert is up around 2 inches since I started this phase of training. That's not spectacular but I know the full impact of the training won't be apparent until I've had a week or two to recover from all the training. I should be really flying around 7-8 weeks from now which will be right around Thanksgiving.

While I look forward to setting PR's next month, I fully expect to get some legit dunks next week. I've had some pretty close ones already. This past week I missed some really easy ones on a rim that is 2-3 inches low which really frustrated me. I should be able to dunk on that rim even on a bad day but just couldn't get any down that day. That's the way it goes sometimes. Oh well. You will see those attempts in my Week 5 video below along with my weekly vert tests on no-step, 1 step, and full run.

Started vert training again - Week 4

I totally forgot to post my Week 4 update. My apologies to the millions of followers out there who have been waiting for an update! :)

Honestly, I don't remember much about what happened during Week 4 other than my no-step vert has gone up about an inch since the previous week. My one-step and full approach seem about the same.

Here's the video:



I guess the good news is those of you who do read the blog will get double the fun today as I will also post Week 5 results later today.

Thanks all!

Feeling better! Lost 8 lbs

I mentioned in my last post about a month ago that I was starting a 10 day cleanse to help me get back on track with eating healthy and losing some weight. That ended up being a great experience! It blew my mind to learn how much the food you eat impacts the way you feel. If you have ever eaten super healthy for an extended period of time, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you eat sugar, processed foods, etc. on a regular basis (like I was), you may not have experienced this and you have no idea what you are missing. I didn't until I did the cleanse.

After those 10 days of eating perfectly - I felt absolutely amazing. Like, I can't even explain how much better I felt. I also dropped 8 lbs and most of the pain in my joints including my left knee are gone. What a difference!

Now that my body is feeling better from eating right and getting some recovery from months of training -- I'm ready to get back to training again. I am going to start my next round of training on Monday, August 10th and will be documenting my progress more regularly here on my blog and YouTube channel.

My recommendation to anyone out there who is wanting to feel better and jump higher is take a serious look at the food you are putting in your body. Eating clean is not easy -- but you will feel amazing.

Another birthday and my training for 2014...

I've had this blog now for over 2 years tracking my vertical jump training! I've been able to reach some of my goals and others I'm still working on. Just had another birthday which now makes me 42 years young.

About 6 weeks ago I was jumping really well. Got some great dunks. And pretty much guaranteed in writing here on my blog that I was going to dunk 2 hands before the end of the year. I'm sorry to say that didn't happen. Not completely sure why. Could have been fatigue. Could have been overtraining. Could have been that I gained nearly 10 lbs during the holidays. 

At any rate, I'm not giving up. I started training again the first week of the year and am now 3 weeks into another 12 week phase. I'm taking creatine again and am rededicating myself to eating healthy so I can get leaner. I'm right around 180 lbs which would be fine if my bodyfat was low but it's not. So, I got to change that.

I'm coaching my son's AAU team (8th grade) and am really enjoying that. I try to incorporate a little bit of what I've learned during the last couple of years into our practices. I can't help but think how much better of a player I would have been had I trained properly back then. If anyone has figured out time travel, please hit me up!

Well...Happy New Year everyone and may all your vertical jump and other worthwhile goals come true in 2014!

Road to 40 inch running vert - Week 10 Results

Quick update...yesterday I tested my no-step vertical again and was fully expecting to have another PR. But, didn't happen. I got 31.6" a few times (31.8") is my current PR that I got last week.

But, I also did the 4 jump test which I hadn't done in several weeks. I saw a huge improvement with this test. My previous best was:


.24 (avg ground contact time)
2.99 (explosive leg power)
25.6 (average vertical for the 4 jumps)

Yesterday, my best results were:

.21 (avg ground contact time)

3.54 (explosive leg power)

27.2 (average vertical for the 4 jumps)

So, I'm very happy with the progress there. 

I ended up not doing a dunk session on Saturday last week but am planning to do that this week. Hopefully, I can get some good stuff.

Thanks for reading!

Road to 40 inch running vert - Week 4 Results

Today marks 2 weeks since I sprained my right ankle pretty bad. Even though it didn't keep me off the court or from working out for very long, it still is not 100% and I'm not jumping great right now. I'd say maybe 80%. I'm actually icing it right now as I type this!

The swelling has gone down a ton but is not completely gone. I can do most exercises other than depth jumps as those are just too painful still. 

I did test my no-step vert on Monday and my best jump was 29.1 which of course was disappointing. That's 2 inches from my PR. I know my ankle is mostly to blame but that doesn't make me feel any better! I just want to jump higher!

I also did the 4 jump test a few times and my best test was:

.24 (ground contact time)

2.87 (explosive leg power)

23.5 (avg vertical during the 4 jumps)

Those are fairly similar to my last test a couple of weeks ago after I had sprained my left ankle and down quite a bit from where I was 3 weeks ago. I know these numbers will rapidly go back up when I am healthy. 

The timing for these injuries is kind of unfortunate as I'm going to Florida next week and am going to meet up with my friend Steven Celi who I met through YouTube from doing the Jump Manual. I used to jump higher than this guy but he's passed me up by a ways! But, hopefully I will have a great week and can get some decent dunks. We're planning to do at least one dunk session and maybe two. He also recently sprained an ankle and may not be 100%. But, no matter what it will be fun and it's so cool that I've made some new friends from chasing my dunking dreams.

Check out one of his recent dunk mixes!

Road to 40 inch running vert - Week 3 Results

Another good week of training despite spraining my left ankle playing hoops (luckily not a bad sprain). The "cool" part was I did it blocking a guy's shot. But, there was some contact in the air and got off-balance and landed wrong. It's still a bit swollen and I need to do a better job icing it.

Last week was also kind of crazy because my oldest son was trying out for 2 competitive basketball teams and I probably get more stressed out than he does. But, he did great and is so fun to see his hard work pay off!

My best no-step vert was down this week almost an inch. I got 29.5 compared to 30.4 last week. I attribute that to having a bad day, some soreness, and my sprained ankle.


No-step vert test results so far:

• Week 3 best no-step vert = 29.5 
• Week 2 best no-step jump = 30.4
• Week 1 best no-step jump = 30.1
• PR for no-step jump = 31.1 (April 2013)

I also did the 4 jump test again. My best of 3 attempts was:

.24 (ground contact time)
2.91 (explosive leg power)
23.4 (avg vertical for the 4 jumps)

Ground contact time (.24) is same as last week.
Explosive leg power (2.91) is down from last week's 2.99.
Average vertical for the 4 jumps (23.4) is down from last week's 25.6.

This kind of shows I just had no "bounce" this day which also helps explain my no-step vert being down. Just one of those days. Next week will be better!

Jump Manual - 41 years old - Week 8 Results

My week 8 training using the Jump Manual went alright. I skipped one of the workouts completely and then did only about half of another workout. Definitely started feeling some fatigue and burn out and so I'm definitely going to take this week off and rest up a bit.

My plan is to play hoops 2 times this week and just do the "off-day" jump manual exercises on those days. I'll do some pushups, pullups, and some core stuff and of course stretching and foam rolling. But, I'm going to take a break from lifting (squats, deadlifts, etc.) and plyometrics. Going to eat really strict this week and see if I can lean out just a bit more before I start taking creatine again on Monday. Seems like I gain an instant 5 lbs within a couple of days taking creatine so would like to get down to around 170 lbs so that when I'm on creatine I'm around 175 lbs.

I also sprained my right ankle last week (not horribly bad) but that's another reason to take some time off. I have been doing tons of ice and advil and most of the swelling is gone already. It's my first sprained ankle since I started doing jump manual workouts almost 2 years ago which is really good for me. In the past, I  sprained ankles pretty regularly.

I will upload a new video later this week with some better dunks than that lob from last week.

Thanks for reading!

Jump Manual 2013 - Week 2 Results

I had another awesome week of training using the Jump Manual! I got in every single workout (including Freak Jump Technique) and stretched everyday.

Every Monday, I'm doing the "off-day exercises" which among other things include performing 2 sets of 6 no-step jumps. Last week, 5 of my 12 jumps were over 29" with my best jump being 29.7". Yesterday, 9 out of the 12 jumps were over 29" and I had 4 jumps over 30" with my best jump being 30.6". Almost a full inch increase! Now to be fair, I'm still working my way back to where I was so these are not "true gains". But, good news nonetheless. The best jump I've done on the mat is 30.8" about 6 months ago and I expect to beat that next week. I'm pretty confident anything over 31" would be a PR even if you go back to my younger days as my no-step vert has never been that good.

Anyways, here is a short video showing a couple of my jumps. Notice my friend in the background mocking me on the second jump. Lol!

In other good news, I got 210 lbs for 3 reps on bench press. My all time best is 225 lbs for 3 reps when I was 29 years old. I'm on track to beat that fairly soon.

Very excited! Progress feels good!

Jump Manual 2013 - Week 1 Results

I finished my first week of Jump Manual training for 2013 and am pleased to say it was a great week. I got in all my workouts including Freak Jump Technique and I even stretched everyday!

My diet on the other hand was not so great! With New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and my wife's birthday -- I just didn't have the will power to pass up all the stuff that tastes so good and yet is so bad for you.

I played hoops this morning and my body felt pretty dang good. And since today is my birthday (41 years young), that made me feel pretty good! I brought my vertical jump mat which makes it so convenient to test my vertical.

Last Monday, I did 2 sets of 6 no-step jumps and my best was 29.2". Only 2 out of the 12 jumps were over 29 inches.

Today, I did 2 sets of 6 no-step jumps and my best was 29.7". So 1/2" better. I'll take it. And, 5 of the 12 were over 29 inches so nice improvement there. Here's the video:

About 6 months ago, my best no-step jump on the mat was 30.8". I am absolutely certain I will pass that very soon. I want a 33" no-step vert by the end of this 12 week phase. That would get me to 39-40" on my running jump which would be amazing and would mean tomahawk dunks all day long.

Well, my birthday is almost over and at this age, I could definitely use my beauty sleep! Plus, I'm getting up at 5:15 am for my workout. 

Thanks for reading! Hope you have great success reaching your goals this year!

PR's on lifts coming soon!

I'm continuing to really focus on strength and making some good progress. This morning I benched 195 lbs for 5 reps. I plan to beat my PR (225 lbs for 3 reps) by end of January.

For squats, I did 240 lbs for 5 reps this morning and should beat my PR (275 lbs) also by end of January. In addition, I'm now squatting to a little below parallel and certainly didn't get to parallel on what I've been calling my squat PR. Here's the video that proves it:



Of course, the real key is to translate this additional strength into jumping higher. I'm going to start adding plyometric and jumping technique back into my training soon and am confident this will allow me to utilize this additional strength and as a result pick up some inches.

Happy Holidays! May all your jumping dreams come true!

Getting stronger...and fatter!

If you have read my last few posts, you know that I've modified my training a bit to focus on getting stronger. The good news is it's working! On Saturday, I benched 190 lbs 3 times. The last time I maxed out on bench, I barely got up 185 lbs so things are moving in the right direction. I am also making gains on squats and deadlifts. I should hit new PR's on those lifts in the next few weeks.

The bad news is that I'm gaining weight! And, I'm sure its not all muscle! :-) This morning I weighed 180 lbs which is the most I have weighed in quite a while. I haven't been eating as healthy and I've also reduced the plyometrics I was doing which means I've been burning fewer calories. I'm taking creatine and that always results in some weight gain too.

So, I got to keep getting stronger but must keep my bodyfat % under control. In fact, I need to drop it. This time of year is not easy (for someone like me who loves junk food) to have self control. But, I will make myself do it. Right after I eat this donut...

Train Hard!

Tomahawk before Thanksgiving - Week 7

Week 7 of this phase of vertical jump training using the Jump Manual was another great week. That's 3 weeks in a row of really getting after it.

This week is going to be tough. I actually left for Europe on Sunday and will be traveling to France, Germany, and the UK. Long days and jet lag doesn't bode well for working out. I'm not planning to do much other than maybe some pushups and 1 leg squats in my hotel room. Taking a week off will actually be kind of nice. Give my body a break and get going again next week. 

Will start posting videos again hopefully next week. Until then...au revoir and lebewohl!

Tomahawk before Thanksgiving - Week 6

Week 6 of my vertical jump training was another great week! 2 weeks in a row of no missed workouts.

I really like the new schedule I'm on. Also, it feels really good to be hitting my upper body hard again. Other than core work, the Jump Manual leaves your upper body workout pretty open to do whatever you want. So, I opted to not do very much! And, that is not good. I've also noticed playing hoops the last 2 weeks or so that I'm shooting better. I'm confident this is because my upper body strength is improving.

That's about all I can think of for now. I really got to start making videos again!

Tomahawk before Thanksgiving - Week 5

Week 5 of this phase of training using the Jump Manual went great! One of my best weeks of training for sure.

Last week I made some changes to my workout by splitting the 2 plyo workouts into 2 shorter workouts and I really like it. I actually think these shorter workouts will allow me to focus more on quality and explosiveness which is what you want. I do think the standard Jump Manual workout is ideal for the first time you go through the program to build a strong foundation. But, after the first 12 weeks, I would recommend shortening some of the workouts. 

I've decided to make one more minor change. I've noticed that Mondays are consistently my best jumping days. I believe this is because on Saturday, I hit it really hard with the strength and explosion workout (squats, deadlifts, etc.) and on Sunday I just rest and do some stretching. Because of this I'm going to move my first plyo day to Monday from Tuesday as I do think the order in which you train can impact your results. Hitting plyo's on the day I jump the highest is ideal.

So here's my schedule that I plan to stick with until Thanksgiving:

Monday: Plyo's
Tuesday: Core & Upper Body
Wednesday: Rest or Swim or play hoops
Thursday: Plyo's
Friday: Core & Upper
Saturday: Strength & Explosion workout

Thanks for reading and hope your training is going well!