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! :-)

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 - 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!

Jump Manual at 40 years old - Week 6 Results

This past week of training using the Jump Manual was not my best. I skipped about 1/2 of the workouts. Just one of those weeks where I just could not find the motivation.

However, today I did my weekly no-step vertical test and am pleased to say that I got over 30 inches on three jumps! I got 30.8, 30.1, and 30.0. I'm now back to where my no-step vertical peaked about 6 months ago.

I've increased 3.2 inches during these 6 weeks (27.6 to 30.8). That puts me half way to my goal of 33 inches and I'm also half-way through this 12 week phase of training. Of course, these first 3 inches are much easier to obtain as I'm just gaining back what I already had achieved and now I've got to go past that. Won't be easy, but I'm going to do it!

Here's today's video!

Jump Manual at 40 years old - Week 4 & 5 Results

After seeing some nice gains the first three weeks of this phase of Jump Manual training (no-step vertical has gone from 27.6" to 28.1" to 29.9"), I have not seen any further gains these last two weeks. Last Monday, my best no-step vertical jump was 28.9" and yesterday my best no-step vertical jump was 29.5".

Of course, I'm not super happy about this but I'm also not super surprised. My no-step vertical peaked around 31 inches last Fall and so going past that won't be easy. But, I will do it! Just got to be consistent, eat healthy, stretch, and get proper recovery.

Another thing I believe will help me is creatine. I was using it when I was jumping my best about 6 months ago and excited to see how adding it back into my training will impact my results.

July 4th (my deadline to dunk 2 hands) is coming up quickly! Come on creatine! :-)

My best dunks from 2011

I had a pretty good week of training last week. But, more details on that later.

I have been thinking about making a dunk mix for a while and tonight I went ahead and put together a short video with my best dunks from last year. I even added music! :-)  I know it's not that impressive compared to the incredible dunk videos out there on YouTube, but it was fun and motivating for me to put it together.

Hope you enjoy!

Jump Manual - Week 10 Recap of "40 at 40"

Another week of my Jump Manual training has passed bringing me to a total of 10 weeks for this phase of training. This was another tough week for me to get my workouts in due to my tournament games. I ended up taking several days off to rest. I always feel guilty and lazy when I take days off and so I have to remind myself how important rest and recovery is.

Unfortunately, both of my teams came up short in the tournament. We took 3rd place in one league and made it to the final four in the other league. I'm disappointed especially since I feel like we had the talent to win both leagues. I'm sure we'll go after it again next year!

As much as I love playing basketball, I'm kind of relieved the season is over. I still really want that two hand dunk and now I can refocus my time and training to really get after it.

Finally, I want to give a shout out to my new friend Aleks in Australia who has started the Jump Manual and made a bet with his buddy that he will dunk in six weeks or less. I'm not a big gambler but my money is on Aleks to win this wager!

Check out his blog and follow his progress!

Jump Manual - Week 7 Recap of "40 at 40"

For the first time this year, I was able to get in all my Jump Manual workouts this past week and it felt sooooo good!

This past week, I also made some more changes to my workout that I'm really excited about. Frankly, I was getting pretty burned out on the Core & Upper Body workout from the Jump Manual and felt like it was time to mix things up. I think it's healthy and productive to change up your workouts from time to time. I think the benefit may be as much mental as it is physical.

Anyways, I came across this video that claims to be the Ab workout that Lebron does and so thought I would give it a try.

I really like this Ab routine and so I've implemented it into my workout in place of one of the standard core & upper body workouts from the Jump Manual. There are a couple of exercises in this workout that I haven't done before and so that is fun and challenging. Try it out and see if you like it!

The tournament starts tomorrow for one of my city league teams and next week for the other team. I really think both teams can win their tournaments and so I'm really looking forward to these games. March madness is also just around the corner so this is going to be a great month of basketball.

Hope your training is going well! Thanks for reading.

Jump Manual - Week 6 Recap of "40 at 40"

After about 4 weeks of limited vertical jump training due to injuries, week 6 went much better because I was finally feeling better! I did 5 of the 6 Jump Manual workouts and it felt really good to get back after it.

In other good news, I've been able to drop 7 lbs during these past 6 weeks. When I started this phase of training on January 16, I weighed 174.2 lbs. This past Monday, Feb 27, my weight was down to 167.2 lbs. So I've been losing about 1 lb per week. Assuming, I haven't lost any muscle (which is probably unlikely due to these dumb injuries and limited training), my estimated bodyfat % would now be 14% which is still too high but much better than 18%!

What did you think of this year's NBA dunk contest? I thought it started off pretty lame, got interesting in the middle, and went right back to lame. After watching so many amazing dunkers on YouTube, it is hard to be impressed anymore. Somehow we got to get Lebron, Wade, Rose, Wall, and some of the other superstars to participate.

Here is a pretty cool video I found the other day of Team Flight Brothers doing 19 dunks that have never been done in an NBA dunk contest. Some pretty cool stuff.

I realized today (Feb 29) that 2012 is a Leap Year! And that is what this year is going to be for me! And I hope it will be for you too!

Thanks for reading!

Jump Manual - another dunker!

As a result of my YouTube videos, a guy named Steven contacted me back in November. He had bought the Jump Manual and was getting ready to begin his vertical jump training and had some questions. Since then, we've stayed in touch and it has been fun watching his progress.

He has worked really hard these last couple of months and it has paid off! Today, Steven posted a video of his first dunk!

Congrats Steven! Check out his first dunk and his YouTube Channel to see his progress from Day 1.

Jump Manual - Week 5 Recap of "40 at 40"

Another week has passed towards my pursuit of a 40 inch vertical using the Jump Manual!

The last 3 weeks have been frustrating due to injuries (low back and left ankle) making it difficult to train.  Thankfully, I'm almost back to 100% and should be able to get all my workouts in this week and get things moving in the right direction again (up!).

On the positive side, I have been playing very well on both of my city league teams. I'm getting more rebounds and steals and I'm also finding it easier to score. I'm not just an outside threat (I love to shoot 3's) because I'm now able to get to the basket for easy layups or to dish to a teammate. That part of my game had kind of gone away in the last few years as my quickness and explosiveness began to fade. So, although I'm not dunking 2 hands yet...I'm having a blast!

Recently, I recorded myself doing the exercises in one of the Jump Manual plyometric workouts (there are 2 different versions). I've sent those videos to Jacob (creator of Jump Manual) and he's going to critique my technique to hep make sure I'm doing them correctly.

If you haven't been filming your workouts or jumping/dunking, I highly recommend you do. Watching the video will teach you things that you simply can't learn any other way. For example, I really thought I was being really explosive and giving my all on each rep like your supposed to (train explosiveness not endurance). But, after watching the videos, I can see that is not always the case. So, I'm going to train more explosively which means I will get better results!

Thanks for reading and I hope your training is going well!