"40 at 40" starts tomorrow!

After taking a week off, I'm ready to start my next round of vertical jump training! This next phase I'm calling "40 at 40" because I'm going for a 40+ inch vertical at 40 years old! This round of training begins tomorrow, Monday, January 16, and will run for 12 weeks ending Saturday, April 7th.

I will be uploading videos and posting to my blog regularly during the next 12 weeks and hope you will follow along!

Here are some of the changes I'm making to my training:

• Adding bands to my squats. Jacob (creator of Jump Manual) suggested I start using these because it adds resistance to the lift particularly as you are coming up where you really want to be explosive. Here's a video Jacob posted recently on using bands and another video on setting up bands. I got the orange bands from elitefts.
• Writing down the weights, reps, sets, etc. on all my workouts. I was doing this for the strength workout (squats, deadlifts, etc.) but not plyometrics, the off-day exercises, core & upper body, etc.
• Doing strength training for my lower body twice per week instead of once per week. I see this making a HUGE difference for me.
• Testing, measuring, and tracking my vertical every single day. See my last post for more details on how I'm doing this.
• Getting my bodyfat tested a week from tomorrow (January 23rd). I haven't had this tested in years and really curious where I'm at. I will test it again in six weeks and again at the end of twelve weeks. I want to see my bodyfat percentage no higher than 8%
• Going to be super strict on my diet and write down everything I eat. I will be having green smoothies every morning after my workout and then healthy meals throughout the day. Before bed each night, I'm going to eat cottage cheese and a banana (or other healthy snack with casein protein) to ensure my body has sufficient protein during the night to repair broken down muscles. On Sunday, I will take a "free" day and eat whatever I want. Looking forward to my Sunday morning doughnuts! Maple bars are the best.

There are some other changes but those are the big ones. One thing I've noticed during the last several months is some days I can jump at least 4 inches higher than other days but can't really explain why. By being much more diligent on recording my lifts, my vertical, etc. I should be able to determine what things are allowing me to jump higher and then modify my workouts accordingly. I also believe testing my vertical on a daily basis is going to really push me to improve every single day. And, that's what it takes!

Here are my goals to reach by April 7, 2012:

• 34" standing vertical
• 38" one-step vertical
• 41" running vertical

If you are working on your vertical jump, I strongly encourage you to set some very specific goals and create a detailed plan on how you will achieve those goals.

Thanks for reading!

Testing my vertical

I've been regularly attending coaching sessions with Jacob Hiller (creator of Jump Manual) to get feedback on my training. It has been really helpful and one of the biggest reasons I am a huge fan of Jacob and the Jump Manual.

As a result of the coaching combined with my own knowledge and experience, I'm going to make several changes to my workouts during this next round of training which starts on Monday. One of these changes is I will be testing my vertical every single day. Jacob has been really pushing me to do this and so I have been trying to figure out the best way to test, measure, and track my vertical.

Probably the best way to do this would be using a Vertec like you see in the NFL and NBA combines. But, those are like $600! And even if I had an extra $600, I'm pretty sure my wife would not be down with me spending that kind of money on something like that. Sometimes you have to improvise and so today I made my own vertec! Well...sort of.

Here's a little video that shows my $8 version...

Operation Tomahawk - Week 5 Recap

Just got back from traveling for a few days so I'm late in posting this week's recap. This past week was fairly successful in that I got in most of my workouts.

I have a funny story to share from this past week. One morning after we had been playing hoops for a while a few guys left and so we were down to just 10 players. Then another guy said he had to take off which would have left us with just 9. This guy had not been out to play with us since about last March which was before I started using the Jump Manual. So, I told him, "if I dunk, you have to stay another game." Since he thought there was very little chance of that happening, he said, "sure!" Well...you probably can guess what happened since I'm telling you this story. Yes, I threw down a pretty good dunk and he was man enough to follow through on his word. Everybody was laughing pretty hard and it was a really fun morning. He also asked me what I've been doing to work on my vertical which made me feel pretty good (he is actually a professional athlete). Even better, I got the whole thing on video and will upload soon!

Thanks for following along!

Motivation...where have you gone?

I really thought I was back in the groove with my jump manual training, but I'm not there yet. The last few weeks have been tough.

My 40th birthday is now almost exactly 3 months away and will be here before I know it. I think I may actually start over again on Monday and do the full 12 weeks again leading right up to my birthday. I think it might help me stay on track.

Can't decide what to do about the Freak Jump Technique program. I do like it and think it helps but I feel like maybe trying to do both at the same time is just a little too much for me and all I have going on. The older I get, the more I realize that there isn't enough time to do all the things I want to do and so you have to prioritize.

Here is my latest video. I almost didn't post it as I am pretty disappointed with what I have to show for the last couple of weeks. Missed workouts = missed dunks. Not good.

Thanks for reading and watching.

2 inches...just 2 more inches!!!

In addition to doing the Jump Manual training six days per week, I also play hoops 3 days per week. The basketball court I play on has one rim that is 10 feet and another rim that is 2 inches low (9' 10"). Yes, I have measured both rims!

One of my goals during my vertical jump training has been to dunk on the low rim. I have tried several times during these last few weeks without success. That is...until today!

I'm very pleased to announce the 9' 10" goal has been conquered! I'm so bummed this wasn't caught on video! I should know better by now than to make dunk attempts without a camera rolling. My best jumps always come in between games when I'm completely warmed up but when it's not particularly convenient to grab the video camera. So I don't have a video to post (yet), but I do have several witnesses including my buddy who threw me 2 perfect alley oops for 2 dunks.

And oh man...it felt so good! Especially the first one.

2 more inches! I just need 2 more inches!

I'm so motivated! Gonna get there!

For the haters and naysayers...

During the filming of my most recent vertical jump test video earlier this week, one of the players started to crack some jokes. I can't really blame him. I'll admit it is kind of funny!

He asked what I was going to do with the video. I briefly explained that I'm working really hard to improve my vertical jump (Jump Manual) and each week I film a quick video to track the progress. I also told him I fully expect to be dunking in the next few weeks. He smiled with one of those "yeah right!" smiles. To which I said, "you don't think it's possible for me to dunk"? I don't remember his exact words, but it was something like, "I've been playing ball with you for 5 years and never seen you dunk. Now you're 39 and I don't see it happening."

We'll find out soon enough if he is right or wrong. But, what he doesn't realize is that he has given me some extra motivation. And that extra motivation might be the difference. So...to all the haters and naysayers out there...THANK YOU! I look forward to proving you wrong. That will make this even more fun. :-)

Half way done!

It's hard to believe but 6 weeks of training has come and gone. I'm half way done with the Jump Manual! But, am I at least half way to dunking?

Yesterday, I made a few dunk attempts on a rim that is 9 foot 10 inches. I got really close on a couple of them. It seemed like I was high enough but was just missing the dunks. So I think I'm just a few inches away from throwing down!

The Jump Manual is definitely working for me. My vertical is increasing and my legs are getting stronger. As I mentioned when I started the program, I have been using a log book to track my leg workouts. I've made some solid progress on several lifts:

Squat: increased 40 lbs
Hang cleans: increased 40 lbs
Calf raises: increased 80 lbs
Dead lifts: increased 40 lbs
Lunges: increased 20 lbs

I will test my vertical again on Monday and post a new video to show where I'm at.

Thanks for reading!

Jump Manual - on the road this week!

I finished another successful week of the Jump Manual on Saturday which puts me at 3 weeks into the program. I'm definitely feeling stronger and after watching Jacob Hiller's videos showing off his 42" inch vertical and a rim rocking tomahawk dunk, I'm more motivated than ever!

That extra motivation is really important right now because I'm traveling this week which can make getting workouts in a little harder. Eating healthy is also really hard on the road for me. I eat and eat and eat and most of it isn't that healthy. I also miss my green smoothies which I have for breakfast every morning when I'm home.

I'm back in town in a couple of days and will test my vertical again and get a new video posted by Friday. I'm hoping for at least 1 more inch on my vertical.

Jacob Hiller - 42 inch vertical!

Just saw this and had to share it!

Jacob Hiller who created the Jump Manual just posted a video showing that this program does in fact work.

So motivated!