My Best Dunks of 2015 at 43 years old

Today I turned 44! Can't believe I've been on this planet for 44 years! I threw down my first dunk of 2016 today on my birthday and that felt sooooo GOOD!

I will keep this post short so I can go celebrate my birthday and just leave you with a video of my best dunks from 2015.


Follow me on Instagram @overthehilldunker!

Started vert training again - Week 6 (I'm dunking again!)

I'm now half-way through this 12 week phase of training! This past week was definitely the hardest so far. I really struggled with motivation. I also ate like crap! Dang it!

But...today I got the first dunks I've had in a really long time. They weren't anything special but man it felt good! They were lobs -- so the easiest possible dunk. But, again I'll take 'em! Progress is good even if it's small.

It's so strange how my best jumping days come unexpectedly. The days I feel really good, when my legs feel the most fresh, and I can hardly wait to get on the court to see what I can do -- almost always end up being disappointing days. However, the days where I'm really not expecting anything good to happen (today for example), often end up being my best days.

Today, my right quad was super sore from a knee to the thigh from playing ball on Wednesday. My back was hurting, I went to bed really late, and I just didn't feel great. And then to my surprise, I got 2 dunks to go down.

Anyone else had a great jumping day on a day when you felt way less than 100%?

Here's my Week 6 video. Thanks for following along.

Started vert training again - Week 3

I've now finished 3 weeks of this phase of training.

Things are going really well so far. Despite the volume and intensity, my body is feeling really good which has surprised me. Guess these last 4 years of training has built up some tolerance. It was hard to take time off during these last several months but it was definitely the right decision. I'm also icing and stretching like crazy which I know helps.

Here's a video showing where I'm currently at. About the same as last week, maybe a bit higher on the one-step jump. But, I know my legs are not completely fresh either so I'm not too worried about it. Probably could have gotten a dunk on the lob today if it was a perfect throw. It was just a little high for my current vertical! :)

Give me another week or 2 and I will be dunking again. And then, I'm going to jump higher than I've ever jumped before.

Another year - What's possible?

Here we are in 2015 and I've had yet another birthday! I'm now 43 years YOUNG!

I have started training again after taking some time off the last few months. It feels really good to be working out again. 

For the next 12 weeks, here's what my workout schedule looks like:

Mon, Wed, Fri - play hoops and do my "secret exercise"

Tue - Deadlifts, chin-ups, and core

Thu - Upper body

Sat - Squats, Cleans, and a few plyo's

This is the routine (with a few minor changes) I was following about 6 months ago that got me jumping really well this past Fall. 

Anyone else try my "secret exercise"? 

And, you got to check out the progress my new YouTube and FB friend, "Mick Pick" has made! He's using the Jump Manual and also told me he's been doing my "secret exercise" as well. So fun to see people reach their goals! Inspiring stuff! Watch his videos and subscribe to his channel!

Happy New Year everyone! Let's get to work!

Got my best dunk today in a long time!

Apologies again for how rarely I'm posting these days...but I have some good news that I wanted to share!

This morning I got the best dunk I've had probably in a couple of years! I threw the ball off the glass and caught it and dunked one handed similar to the last dunk in this video.

It felt so good! Most of my dunks in the last two years have been when someone tosses the ball up by the rim (which is the easiest dunk to do). Catching off the glass is a harder dunk and requires jumping higher too. I was jumping higher today than I have in quite a while. This is very good news because I'm not getting younger. But, more importantly...the training I have been doing the last 2 months (which is a little different than what I was in the past) seems to be working.

Next week, I will post a video with some dunks and some of the training my son and I have been doing together and share some more details about the changes I have made if anyone is interested.

Let me know!

Road to 40 inch running vert - Week 11 Results

Last Monday, I was feeling really stiff and sore and had a horrible jumping day. My highest no-step vert that day was a 29.9 which is about 2 inches below my PR. So, on Tuesday I decided to take a rest day. I slept in and skipped the gym. On Tuesday night, I fell asleep checking email at 8:00 pm lying on my bed.

I got up at 6:00 am and headed over to play some hoops. My legs were still a little sore but definitely felt better. After a couple of games, I went for a couple of dunk attempts and was jumping higher than I have in years. I then got the best dunk I've gotten in months and it felt so good. I am almost positive I could have dunked 2 hands that day based on how high I was getting. 

So...my training is working and I'm making gains again. I just wish I got that dunk on video!

I'm hitting it really hard for the next 2 weeks and then I'll be taking 1-2 weeks off which is when I will likely be able to see the full results from my last few months of training. I know I've said this before but I am absolutely sure that I will dunk 2 hands very soon. In fact, I'm going to go ahead and say that it will happen during the next 3 weeks. Before the end of 2013 for sure.

Thanks to all those who are still following this blog and especially those who post comments and ask questions. Hope your having success reaching your goals!

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 9 Results - another PR!

Sorry it has been a while since my last post. I have still been training hard despite my schedule being crazier than ever. I've had to get up at 4:45 am in order to get my workouts in during these last few weeks. But, I'm determined to reach my goals and will give up sleep if I have to!

And it is paying off! 3 weeks ago I got a new PR on my no-step vert and today I got another PR (31.8" on my no-step vert).

Here's the video:



Today's jump was only a PR by .2 inches but progress is progress! And I fully expect to get a new PR next week. I'm feeling so good again after all those injuries.

I'm hoping to make a new dunk video on Saturday. With my no-step vert higher than it probably has ever been (even when I was a "young" lad), I should be able to get some decent dunks. I haven't tried dunking much lately as I've been much more focused on training and playing basketball.

Stay tuned! Big things are coming!

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!

Shocking news! Elite jumpers are not FAT!

For those of you following my blog (thank you!) and my apologies for the lack of posts. Things have been extra busy lately but I am ready to get back to posting updates and videos of my vertical jump training.

My last post talked about how I'm WAY TOO FAT! My bodyfat as of a few weeks ago was 17.9% at a bodyweight of 173 lbs which equates to 31 lbs of fat. As a comparison, I looked up the bodyfat % from the NBA combine for each player with at least a 38" max vertical. This includes 46 athletes over the last several years. I decided to crunch the numbers and figure out the average bodyfat % for these athletes. Not surprising, the average is very low -- only 6.33%! In addition, there were only 2 of the 46 athletes who had a bodyfat % over 10%.

So I'm absolutely going to get much leaner and stronger. My goal is to be 8% by August 5th. To help achieve this, I started Intermittent Fasting (IF) a few days ago. I first heard about IF from Jacob Hiller (creator of Jump Manual). He was posting before and after pictures on his facebook page and I was amazed at the results he was getting.

For those of you not familiar with Intermittent Fasting, it is pretty simple. You eat during a 8 hour window each day and the rest of time you don't eat (water is ok). My eating window will be from noon to 8:00 pm. It is also recommended to take BCAA (branch chained amino acids) as a supplement before, during, and after your workouts. I didn't think I had taken this supplement before but it is included in many protein powders including the one I take (Optimum Nutrition). But, I have not taken BCAA all by itself before. I got watermelon flavor by Scivation. You just add it to water and it actually tastes really good. 

I won't go into all the reasons why Intermittent Fasting seems to be an effective way to get very lean and strong but read up on it if you are interested. It actually contradicts everything I and most people believe about nutrition (eat every 2-3 hours). But, I have an open mind and am willing to give it a shot. I will be sure to post updates on how it's going.

To wrap up this post, I want to leave you with this amazing video I saw yesterday. This is a high jump competition in Kenya with some high school athletes who are absolutely unreal. I hope these guys get access to some better resources and a shot at the Olympics. They absolutely deserve it. BTW, I bet these guys bodyfat % is also just a little lower than 17.9%! :-)

On my next post, I will let you know what tweaks I've made to my training. My vert has increased a little over the past few weeks and will share what I've been doing different.

Happy Summer!

Jump Manual - 41 years old - 12 week results

I have completed another 12 weeks of Jump Manual training!

I was really hoping to have a video of me dunking 2 hands this week but I'm not quite there. But, I am getting closer. I am back to where I was in the Fall of 2011 and might even be jumping a little higher. What's even more encouraging to me is I have seen some gains in the last 2 weeks as I've started focusing more on single leg work and being explosive with lighter weights rather than always lifting super heavy.

I actually think if I rest for a few days (like I was supposed to do this week) that I can get a two hand dunk off a lob or maybe even the dribble. I intended to take it easy this week so that on Thursday I would be fully rested but instead I played basketball six times this week and also worked out 4 times.

Tomorrow, I go out of town until Thursday and so it will be much easier for me to take a bit of a break. The trick will be eating right and stretching. If I do that, I fully expect to get a two hand dunk on Thu or Fri of next week.

Regardless, some really good things happened during this phase of training.

1. Bench pressed 225 lbs for the second time in my life. Started having issues with my right shoulder so I stopped benching. Not sure if I will go back to it or not.

2. Got a new PR for my no-step vertical jump of 31.1 (see video below). My previous best was 30.8. I am going to test again on Thu or Fri of next week and fully expect to get 32" or better after having some actual rest/recovery.

3. Feel like I've figured out some better ways to train. I've become a big believer in single leg exercises and has me feeling really confident in my training.

Below are a couple of videos from this week. Stay tuned for a blog post and hopefully awesome dunk video next week! Also, I will give an update on what I'm doing for my next phase of training...no, I'm not stopping! :-)

Jump Manual 2013 - took a week off

After 4 weeks of hitting it pretty hard, I decided to take a week off from the Jump Manual. I'm glad I did.

Yesterday, I retested my no-step vertical and was able to match my highest jump of 30.6" (for this phase of training back on week 2) and actually got it 3 times! But, what was more encouraging to me was 6 of the 12 jumps were over 30 inches compared to 4 out of 12 a couple of weeks ago.

Here are the jumps:
Set 1: 29.7, 28.8, 30.6, 30.4, 30.6, 30.6
Set 2: 30.2, 30.1, 29.4, 28.3, 28.4, 28.6

So, I think the extra rest was the right choice. But, I will find out for sure next Monday to see if I can finally break the 31" barrier. I'm feeling pretty good about that.

Here's yesterday's video:

This past Saturday since I wasn't doing my normal workout, I decided to test my max lifts on squats, deadlifts, and bench press to see how much progress I've made.

I did 265 lbs for 2 reps on squats and my right knee started hurting so I decided to stop there although I felt like I could do maybe another 10 lbs. Since my right knee was feeling weird, I opted not to test my dead lift max and instead went right to bench press. I've been wanting to put 2 plates on each side for a very long time and so stoked that I finally got 225 lbs! My all time PR on bench was when I was 29 years old and got 225 lbs x 3 reps. Saturday is the second time in my life I have benched that much weight. And, it shouldn't be long until I beat that.

So after kind of a lazy week, I'm all fired up again and ready to get after it. Let's do this!

Jump Manual 2013 - Week 4 Results

Week 4 of this phase of training using the Jump Manual was just okay. I missed 1 full workout, part of another workout, and didn't stretch 3 of the 7 days. I definitely felt my motivation slipping and some fatigue setting on.

On Monday, I tested my no-step vertical and my best jump was only 29.6" which is an inch below my best from Week 2. I think it was just a bad day. It also may indicate that I need to get a little extra rest and so I've taken this week off. Several trainers recommend doing 4 weeks on and then 1 week off and so I decided to take their advice. This week I've played some basketball, done some pushups, and stretching. It has been weird to sleep in and has made me feel lazy. But, hopefully it's just what my body needs.

I will start my training again on Monday and go another 4 weeks really hard and may take another week off. We'll see how it goes. I've modified a few things to my workout and am excited about that. I've been on creatine now for about 6 weeks and will go off it for the next 4 weeks or so. Should be able to get my weight down at least 5 lbs but hopefully can keep the added strength. I'm also going to take a break from Freak Jump Technique for the next 4 weeks and will re-start again in March.

Since my vertical jump results this week were less than stellar, I'll instead share a quick video of me shooting some 3's yesterday. Man I love basketball.

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 - Weeks 10-11

Tomorrow (Thanksgiving) is my most recent deadline to throw down a 2 hand tomahawk dunk!

Now, I definitely believe in thinking positively and believing in yourself! But, the laws of gravity and physics still have to be overcome! And the unfortunate reality is I still have a ways to go to achieve this goal. With that said, I am playing hoops in the morning and will have my camera with me just in case it does become the best Thanksgiving Day ever! :-)

I've been thinking a lot lately about the basics in terms of vertical jump training. To increase your vertical, one or more of the following must happen:

- get stronger
- get more explosive/quick/springy
- improve your technique/form

Of these 3 key ways to improve the vertical jump, I feel I have the most room for improvement with strength.  So, that's where I'm really focusing right now. I have modified my workouts by reducing plyometric work and increasing the frequency of strength training. I also started taking creatine two weeks ago and am noticing a difference. In the last 2 weeks, I've gotten a little bit stronger, my lifts are increasing, and it's only a matter of time until that carries over to my jumping.

I'm going to continue this new routine for the next 10 weeks and have set the following goals:

- Squat: 300 lbs
- Bench: 225 lbs
- Deadlift: 325 lbs
- Bodyweight: 168 lbs
- Bodyfat: 10%

I believe these are the minimum levels of strength I've got to obtain in order to throw down two hand tomahawk dunks. And there are tons of other benefits to getting stronger too. But, dunking is my favorite!

Speaking of dunking, you've got to watch this video of Gerald Green. I've never seen anyone get their head this high above a rim. And, this is at the Pacers practice facility so should be a legit 10 foot rim. Even his teammates are freaking out.

Hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

-Andy

Tomahawk before Thanksgiving - Weeks 8-9

If you read my last post from a few weeks ago, you may recall I went to Europe for a week. It was an awesome trip! But, derailed me a bit on my vertical training with the Jump Manual and on updating my blog. Since I returned from my trip, I've lacked motivation, strength, and energy and I missed several workouts. I'm ready to change that!

This morning I had a great workout and am confident this week is going to be a good one. I also started taking creatine again after being off of it for several months. I'm anxious to see how it impacts my results this time. 

The next several weeks my focus is going to be on getting stronger. I think my strength is a bigger weakness compared to my "springyness" although I'd like to improve that too. My goal is to get my squat over 300 lbs and my deadlift to 325 lbs and get my bodyfat under 10%. When I do that, I should be dunking 2 hands easily!

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 1 Recap

After taking a week off to let my body rest, I hit my vert training hard this past week. I got in all my workouts and it felt awesome! In addition, I ate really well and stretched every day. Those are two areas that I haven't done very well in for the last several months. And, they are just too important to be neglected.

I looked back at my bodyfat results from the test I did back in January. To my surprise and horror, I was 18% bodyfat with 31 lbs of fat. I got my bodyfat percentage down to approximately 13% in March but over the last few months I'm probably back up to around 18%. If I'm going to get the two hand tomahawk dunk and win the Nike Elite dunk competition, I've got to get my bodyfat down probably to under 10%. So, I've recommitted myself to being super strict on my diet. I know it will help me jump higher.

Another highlight this week is yesterday I met JWdunk (Jeff) at Gold's Gym. I was doing my final exercise of the strength and explosion workout and saw a guy who looked like he was doing the Jump Manual workout and who looked somewhat familiar. I went and introduced myself and sure enough it was him. It is fun to be part of this community of aspiring dunkers and gravity defiers (is that word?)!

So, I'm off to a great start of another 12 weeks of Jump Manual training which will have me finishing right around Thanksgiving (or until I get the tomahawk). I'm calling this phase of training, "Tomahawk before Thanksgiving"!

After that, basketball season will be about to start and I think I'll just play hoops and enjoy the season. Or, I may actually start Crossfit. Either way, I think it will be time to take a break for a while. But, we'll see. When, I get the tomahawk, I will probably want to windmill! So this may never stop! But, I have several friends who are totally addicted to Crossfit and my 12 year old son has also started and is loving it.

Happy Labor Day! Tomorrow is going to be awesome. Will be playing hoops for like 3 hours!

Dunk Competition for Nike Elites!

In my last blog post, I asked if anyone would like to enter a friendly competition with the hope it would give me some additional motivation in my pursuit of the 2 hand dunk! And, maybe it would provide some additional motivation to someone else too. Well, I'm happy to report that 4 people have challenged me so far:

Aaron Perry - he can dunk 1 hand similar to me. So, we're racing to the 2 hand dunk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq3kllU7Vys

d - he can get a few inches over the rim. So, he's racing to the 1 hand dunk vs. me getting 2 hand dunk
http://dunkbot.blogspot.com

Mason Collier - can dunk 1 hand similar to me. So, we're racing to the 2 hand dunk
http://projectmason.blogspot.com/

Joe C. Thomas - can grab rim with both hands. So, he's racing to the 1 hand dunk vs me getting 2 hand dunk
http://joejoesbucketlist.blogspot.com/

Thanks, Aaron, d, Mason, and Joe! Good luck guys!

So, what's the wager? Whoever accomplishes their dunking goal first, gets a pair of Nike Elite's!

I'm looking forward to having 4 more pairs of Elite's very soon! :-)

Let the competition begin!

Jump Manual at 40 years old - Week 12 Results

So another 12 weeks of Jump Manual is complete! Crazy how fast time goes by. I sure wish I was posting a video with some awesome 2 hand dunks but still not quite there. But, as I've said before...I'm not giving up! And, I'm actually more confident than ever that I'm going to get there. Maybe I'm delusional but I don't think so.

I was thinking that one thing that really helped motivate me during my first 12 weeks of training is I had a few "haters" that were telling me I would never be able to dunk at age 39. It made me mad! But, it also drove me. And I worked harder because of it. Honestly, I kind of miss it. Strange but true.

So instead of asking for some haters to provide some additional motivation, I'm wondering if anyone out there reading this blog would like to have a wager of some kind? Like first person to do X (for me it would be dunk 2 hands and for you it could be dunk for the first time or whatever) gets something cool. Doesn't have to be expensive. Maybe its a pair of Nike Elite socks or whatever. I just love to compete and might be fun to have a little extra bet to go along with our training.

Any takers? Come on. It will be fun!

While your thinking about it, I will leave you with one of my favorite new dunk vids. Enjoy!