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!

Jump Manual at 40 years old - Week 8 Results

During the last seven weeks of my Jump Manual training, I have been able to "re-gain" most of the gains I made to my no-step vertical last year. However, I'm definitely not jumping as high off the run. I've been thinking a lot about this and believe this is due to overtraining or as Jacob likes to call it "under recovery".

These last seven weeks instead of doing 1 plyometric workout and 1 strength workout separated by several days as outlined in the Jump Manual, I decided to experiment with shorter workouts but more often. So, I was lifting legs 2 times per week and doing short plyometric workouts 3 times per week. But, I don't think this is the right approach for me. My body just needs more rest and recovery time.

So, I'm going back to the standard Jump Manual schedule of 1 plyometric workout and 1 leg workout per week separated by 3-4 days. I'm also going to only play basketball 1 time per week to allow myself even more time to rest as compared to what I was previously doing.

I'm confident this will get things back on track. In hindsight, I should have just stuck with the standard Jump Manual workout schedule. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Today, I did the standard plyometric workout and used the Just Jump system for the first time during a plyo workout. It was so awesome to have immediate feedback on how I was performing. I used it during depth jumps, medicine ball approaches, rim jumps, and weighted explosions. Now, I will be able to more accurately track my progress and push myself to the max during each workout. I also expect this to speed up my results.

I'm really motivated again and can't wait to see where I'm at during the next several weeks! 

Here's a clip of my best depth jump today which was only 29.1 inches. I was disappointed that I wasn't getting more like 33-34 inches but expect to be there very soon. Thanks for reading!

Jump Manual at 40 years old - Week 7 Results

I'm late posting my recap of Week 7! But, the week went fairly well other than I still haven't been able to dunk 2 hands which I was hoping to do by July 4th.

I did test my no-step vertical on Monday as I've been doing for the last several weeks. My best no-step jump was 30.3 inches which is a 1/2 inch less than my best jump from Week 6 when my best was 30.8 inches.

I've been feeling a bit run down and tired the last few weeks which isn't normal for me. I think this is due to not eating as healthy and not getting enough sleep. I'm recommitting myself to eating better and getting to bed earlier.

Although my no-step vertical is close to where I was at my peak last year, my running vert doesn't seem to be as high. I think this is do to fatigue and possibly overtraining. I looked back through my old training logs and blog posts (another reason why tracking your workouts and having a blog are so beneficial), and realized that when I was jumping my best, I had cut back to playing basketball to only once per week instead of 3 times per week like normal. My body probably needs more recovery!

So starting this week, I'm only going to play hoops 1 time per week for the next several weeks and see how that impacts my results. I'm also going to set a new date for me to dunk 2 hands. I'm heavily leaning towards this being my last phase of training for a while. It's just too easy to keep pushing that date back and while my motivation is still high it is not like it was when I wanted to dunk before I turned 40 last year. I was on a mission!

I wish there was a dunk contest for old guys that was happening this fall. Having a date like that would really motivate me. I'm pretty sure there is no such thing as it would likely be the worst dunk contest of all time! :-)

But, maybe I will put on my own dunk contest? If your over 35 and would want to participate, post a comment below. The winner gets a year supply of Viagra?!

Happy Training!

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 at 40 years old - Week 3 Results

Week 3 of this round of vertical jump training using the Jump Manual went great! I did 5 of the 6 workouts and also played basketball 3 times.

I'm testing my vertical each Monday using the Just Jump system so I can accurately track my progress. My goal today was to get 29" and I'm very pleased to say that I got 29.9" which is 1.8" improvement from last week where my best no-step jump was 28.1". If only I could go up 1.8" every week now that would be amazing!

About 6 months ago when I was jumping my best, I'm pretty sure my no-step vertical was around 31" so I'm getting close to being back at my peak. Here's the video from today's no-step vert test. I somehow messed up the recording of my 29.9" jump but have my second best jump at 29.5" on video. Check it out!