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!

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 5

5 weeks completed for this phase of training!

Things are going well. I've done every single workout so far and have been consistent with stretching, foam rolling, and icing on a daily basis. I've even been foam rolling and stretching before bed on most nights. My body feels good.

I've done reasonably well on my eating but that continues to be my biggest weakness. I just love sugar sooooooooo much! Despite my sugar addiction, I've kept my weight down and hover between 170 to 172 lbs (down from 178-180 lbs a few months ago). To maximize my vertical, I feel like I need to get down to the 165-167 range while gaining muscle and strength.

Overall, my vert is up around 2 inches since I started this phase of training. That's not spectacular but I know the full impact of the training won't be apparent until I've had a week or two to recover from all the training. I should be really flying around 7-8 weeks from now which will be right around Thanksgiving.

While I look forward to setting PR's next month, I fully expect to get some legit dunks next week. I've had some pretty close ones already. This past week I missed some really easy ones on a rim that is 2-3 inches low which really frustrated me. I should be able to dunk on that rim even on a bad day but just couldn't get any down that day. That's the way it goes sometimes. Oh well. You will see those attempts in my Week 5 video below along with my weekly vert tests on no-step, 1 step, and full run.

Started vert training again - Week 4

I totally forgot to post my Week 4 update. My apologies to the millions of followers out there who have been waiting for an update! :)

Honestly, I don't remember much about what happened during Week 4 other than my no-step vert has gone up about an inch since the previous week. My one-step and full approach seem about the same.

Here's the video:



I guess the good news is those of you who do read the blog will get double the fun today as I will also post Week 5 results later today.

Thanks all!

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.

Started vert training again - Week 2

Feels so good to be training again!

Tomorrow will mark 2 weeks into this 12 week phase of training and I'm noticing a difference already. I feel stronger and more explosive. I'm also pleasantly surprised at how well my body is responding in terms of not being crazy sore especially after not doing squats, deadlifts, etc. in a really long time. I have been stretching and icing a ton which definitely helps.

This morning I tested my no-step, 1 step, and running vert. It's hard to know for sure but I would estimate that I'm up about a 1/2" on my no-step and about 1 inch on both my 1 step and running vert from last week. It's subtle but at least in my mind it looks like I'm moving a little better and am more explosive compared to last week.

Here's the video.

Video - testing my vert at beginning of training

Yesterday, I tested my no-step, 1 step, and running vert as part of my workout. I think it will take 4-6 weeks to get back to where I was and then another 4-6 weeks to hit new PR's.

By the end of 12 weeks, here are my goals:

• No step vert: hang on rim with 1 hand
• 1 step vert: hang on rim with 2 hands
• Running vert: both wrists above rim and dunking 2 hands off dribble and off backboard

Here's the video from yesterday showing where I'm currently at on my vert.


My running vert looks SO SLOW! Got to speed that up!

Excited to be back training again!