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!

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!

I'm jumping higher!

I mentioned in my last post that I had a really good jumping day last week. Yesterday, I was hoping to have another day like that but unfortunately I wasn't jumping as well and actually missed every single dunk attempt I tried. I was pretty bummed out. But, then I watched one of the video clips of one of my dunk attempts and realized I was actually jumping pretty well.

Below on the left, is a freeze frame of the last dunk I got on video from December of last year. This is at the very peak of this jump before I dunked the ball. And, on the right is a freeze frame of one of my dunk attempts yesterday at the peak of my jump. I know the angles are a little different but I think this jump is definitely a few inches higher. 

What's more exciting to me is that I was definitely jumping even higher than this on Friday. So based on that, I've got to be really close to getting a two-hand dunk.

What do you think? Am I jumping higher in the second picture? Or is it just me?

The Final Push!

Sorry for the delay in posting! I have been dealing with some minor injuries (right ankle, left hamstring, and bruised/broken rib) and that has limited my training. I decided to take the last several weeks off from training to try and let my body recover. I am feeling better.

My life seems to just get more and more busy and I'm not getting any younger. And, the amount of time that I can dedicate to training is not what it used to be. I'll never stop working out or playing basketball. But, I have to prioritize my time and in the near future I'm going to use the extra time I have to work with my 14 year old son. He's becoming a basketball addict just like his father and I want to help him as much as possible.

So....here's my plan. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to give it everything I have for the next 12 weeks and see if I can finally get that 2 hand dunk. After that, I may modify this blog to be about training with him. Not sure yet but I can't chase these dunking dreams of mine forever!

The timing should be perfect as I can finish this "Final Push" of 12 weeks right about the time school gets out and then my son and I can train together. Part of my motivation to train has to learn what works and what doesn't so I can help him. If nothing else, I will definitely be able to help him become a much better athlete than I ever was.

One thing I am committing to do differently for these next 12 weeks is to be crazy strict on my eating. I'm really going to focus on eating more whole and natural foods. Will be limiting dairy and gluten and focusing on protein, fruits, and vegetables.

Thanks for reading and there should be weekly updates for the next 3 months. Please follow along as I go for this one more time!

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 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!

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 - 41 years old - Week 9 Results

Week 9 training using the Jump Manual was a good week.

I got in all the workouts except for one and that was because I was unusually sore after my Tuesday workout which I changed up a bit this past week. I mentioned in my last post that I was going to start adding in some additional plyometrics and that's probably what the additional soreness was from. So I took Thursday off to recover. I hate missing days as it makes me feel lazy. But, sometimes you just have to rest.

I've continued to modify and tweak my workout during these last 9 weeks and I feel like what I'm doing now is perfect for me. Admittedly, I have a tendency to change things probably a little too much. But, I think this is the right combination of strength, plyo, core, upper body, etc. It pushes me hard, doesn't take too long, and is giving me results.

To be honest, I was feeling a little discouraged (my wife would say I was "very grumpy") last week as I was expecting to see some nice progress after having a week off but didn't see any gains. However, that all changed this morning! I was in the basketball gym at Gold's doing my depth jumps (I prefer to do them with the basketball rim so I have a target and can tell how well I'm jumping) and some guys came over and asked me to play 3 on 3. It drives me nuts when guys ask me to play hoops at Gold's because I have no willpower to say no! And, I need to workout!

So of course, I said okay and we started playing. We played a very low key game where no one played defense or tried very hard (at least I didn't). After the game, they said okay let's switch up the teams and play again. I grabbed the ball and drove in hard to the basket and threw down a pretty nice one hand dunk. I don't think they were expecting that. One of the guys said, "He's on my team!". That made me laugh and feel really good.

Once again, I jumped really well when I wasn't expecting it and didn't have my camera out to capture the moment. I had already done squats and depth jumps and was a little tired and had no intention of playing basketball today. I also had on my old Kobe's that have no traction and wasn't wearing my knee brace either. I'm not very comfortable jumping with all my effort unless I have that on. In spite of those things, I jumped really well today. The modified workout, taking creatine, stretching more, and eating better (I'm now down to 175 lbs) are making a difference.

I'm really excited again and feeling optimistic that reaching my goal of the two hand tomahawk dunk is possible. On the right day, when the adrenaline is pumping, I think I could do it. But, the planets and stars may have to align perfectly.

When is the next full moon?

Jump Manual 2013 - Week 6 Results

Week 6 of this phase of Jump Manual went pretty well over all.

I did miss my big Saturday workout which sort of bummed me out. We went camping on Friday night and then my son had a basketball game as soon as we got home on Saturday. I then did a 2 hour skill workout with him and the day just got away from me. I wasn't completely lazy though. I did some pushups, situps, and body squats as well as some foam rolling and stretching.

I was really looking forward to basketball this morning as we always have good games on holidays and play for a long time. But, my body actually wasn't feeling that great this morning. I felt sore which made no sense at all. I brought my jump mat to test my no-step vertical like I do each Monday. But, I turned it on and it died. Hopefully its just the batteries and not broken or something.

The good news is instead of doing my no-step vert tests in between games, I made some dunk attempts and got the best dunk I've gotten in a while. Felt so good! Jumping is so unpredictable. I really wasn't feeling that good today and yet I jumped probably higher off the run than I have in a while. My approach felt really strong and fast. I think the extra core work I've been doing this phase of training is helping a lot with my running vertical. Or maybe it was watching the slam dunk contest! Although it was kind of lame. With Gerald Green and James White, it should have been so much better!

Some other good news this week is I got a PR on military press. I really suck at this lift! I finally got 105 lbs for 5 reps. Hopefully I can continue to make improvements there. Strong shoulders are important for the arm swing and helping you jump higher.

Unfortunately, I wasn't filming my dunk attempts as I would love to seen the footage. Will make sure I do that next week. I will leave you with this video which blows my mind. I keep watching it over and over and trying to figure out how in the world this 5'6" high school kid can dunk so easy. He's even dunked a few times in games which is even more insane.

Have a great holiday!

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.

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!

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 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!

Tomahawk before Thanksgiving - Weeks 2 and 3

I just realized I forgot to post a recap of last week's training. I don't even remember why so will not try to come up with a good excuse!

Since I write down all my workouts, I'm reviewing my tracking sheets to refresh my memory on how things went. According to my notes, I got in 4 of the 6 workouts. I missed one of the core & upper workouts and one of the off-day exercise workouts. Played hoops 3 times. Not a great week but not horrible.

But, this past week was way worse. I had full intentions of working out but I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't do a single workout (other than playing basketball 2 times). It was a crazy week for me as my 12 year old son had 2 tryouts for competitive basketball teams and we also did some extra workouts to help him prepare. He's made a ton of progress and it's really fun to see him improve. Yesterday, we went camping and boating so I missed my favorite Jump Manual workout -- the strength & explosion day which is squats, deadlifts, cleans, etc.

With basically a week off, I'm expecting this week to go really well. My body should be pretty fresh so I should be jumping well and be able to hit the workouts hard.

Yesterday, Joe C. Thomas who is one of the 4 guys I'm competing against for Nike Elite's posted a video showing his progress on getting down his first dunk. He's REALLY close so I've got to get going or he's going to win this friendly competition!

Check it out! He was definitely high enough on the first backboard toss!

Good job Joe! But, I'm coming after you! :-)

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!

Squat and Deadlift Technique

I really want to increase my strength and improve my lifting technique as I know that will improve my vertical. So, I've been watching tons of squat and deadlift videos on YouTube. I've come across a young guy (20 years old) who is incredibly strong and whose technique is really impressive. He weighs about the same as me (170 lbs) but squats almost double what I do. Crazy!

I've traded some messages with him and seems like he really knows his stuff. Check out some of his vids!

Olympic Squat Technique

 Deadlift Technique

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 9 Results

Week 9 of my vertical jump training went extremely well.  As I mentioned in last week's update, I decided to go back to doing the exact workouts outlined in the Jump Manual instead of the modifications I had made.

After only 1 week, I already know that was the right decision. How do I know? Well, since I track all my workouts, I know my lifts increased either in weight or number of reps on several exercises. That felt great!

Also, I decided to cut back on playing basketball from 3 times per week to 1 time per week. It felt so good to being playing on fresh legs!

So make sure you are getting enough rest. Recovery is HUGE!
I don't have a video to share this week but will make sure that happens on my next update. Thanks for reading!