Adarq.org
Performance Area => Article & Video Discussion => Topic started by: Dreyth on February 21, 2012, 12:52:15 pm
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Adarqui is mention in it as well.
It isn't on the website yet, but I'm on his mailing list. Been a long time since I read something from that guy.
Here's a copy/paste
I apologize for my lack of newsletters as of late as well as the delay in getting the VJ Bible 2.0 out. I had planned on having it released by now but I had some personal difficulties that kept me occupied a couple of months that prevented me from working on it as much as I would have liked. Fortunately, things are back on the right track and I'm now in the process of finishing it up. In the meantime I wanted to give newsletter subscribers a first look at a special VJ Bible 2.0 promo that will be released along with it. It is called, "12 modern tricks for higher jumps". I'll give you the first 6 now & the remaining 6 next week.
Enjoy!
Trick #1 - Use caffeine judiciously
Low grade stimulants like caffeine can give you an extra boost if used intermittently and judiciously. They increase stimulatory neurochemicals like nor-adrenaline and that can give you a little bit of an extra muscle recruitment and rate coding boost. The key thing is if caffeine's going to be effective you can't use it all the time and it works best if you cleanse your system of it for a few days before using it. I recommend you take 3 or 4 days and consume no stimulants - make sure you're not taking in anything that has "disguised" caffeine (guarana) such as NO explode, red bull, or other common energy drinks and obviously lay off "obvious" caffeine sources such as coffee and pop. After you've been off the caffeine for 3-4 days it'll be much more effective. I recommend about 200 mg of caffeine about 45 minutes to an hour before you really want to set a PR type performance. You can either take a caffeine pill (no-doz or generic caffeine), drink a big cup of strong coffee, take in a big mountain dew, or use one of the common "energy" drinks on the market like Red Bull or NO Explode. You'll definitely feel it. You can also add in natural stimulants like l-tyrosine (3000 mg is the common dosage) or acetyl-l-carnitine, (1500 mg) but honestly, with a good dose of caffeine on dormant receptors those things aren't gonna add much in the way of noticeable effects.
Trick #2 Low grade dehydration/carb depletion
Here's a little trick that can be quite effective you've probably never heard of before: Short term weight loss via either dehydration or short term caloric restriction can temporarily improve vertical jump performance via a loss in bodyweight. Longer term weight loss via caloric restriction and the things that come along with it tends to have negative effects on strength and power, as does prolonged weight loss thru dehydration, yet in the short term (as in days) a loss in bodyweight can improve VJ performance. I've known about this for years but it's not something I've talked about much. In a vertical jump it can be enough to give you an extra couple of inches - not a TON but definitely noticeable. Over the years I've been amazed at the number of athletes I've s een hit PRs the day after a night of fairly heavy drinking - I believe the dehydrating effects of alcohol have a lot to do with it. The positive effect of low level temporary dehydration or weight loss has also been confirmed in research.
The key is the temporary weight/water loss can't be TOO MUCH - no more than about 3% of your bodyweight - anymore than that and you negatively affect strength and energy too much. So if you weigh 100 lbs that's only 3 lbs. If you want to dehydrate yourself in an effort to increase your vert I'm not gonna tell you how to do it and it's not something I recommend. Too much dehydration can be dangerous and someone will think since a 3% drop in bodyweight is good a 10% drop is even better and run into all sorts of problems. I'll just tell you it can work and it's not hard to find information on how wrestlers and other athletes do it. Just make sure if you do decide to dehydrate yourself it's not something I'm recommending.
Ho wever, I can tell you how others have done it thru short term caloric restriction. It only takes 2 or 3 days. For 2 or 3 days simply consume about a gram of protein per pound of lean body mass and little else. A typical individual might consume 600-800 calories per day with most of that coming from protein. A typical diet would include something like 6 hard boiled eggs, a glass of milk, a piece of bread, half a pound of grilled chicken breast, a big salad, and half a pound of broccoli. Other than unlimited water that's it. Follow that for 2-3 days, or until your scale weight is down about 3%. Keep in mind the weight you lose will mostly be water weight and glycogen depletion and most of it will come back as soon as you start eating normally again. As far as exercise goes, you can do some stretching, shooting, lifting, and other light to moderate activity, but it's probably a good idea you don't try to do TOO MUCH like a marathon or full court basketball. Next, after 2-3 days have a good sized high carb meal to get some energy back into your brain, then go out and test your jumps. Most likely you'll be getting up higher and will continue to do so for a couple of days.
Trick #3 Use Squats For Delayed Potentiation
Here's something else a lot of people aren't aware of: A low volume of barbell training has a tonic effect on the nervous system that can temporarily improve performance several hours later. What happens after a fairly intense session of weight lifting is the nerves that fire muscle motor units become stimulated. This allows the stimulated muscles to fire at a reduced level of neural stimulation, which is a positive thing. Any activity you do while the nerves and muscles are in this state will tend to become enhanced. The problem with this is there's also a lot of fatigue that occurs from the weight training used to induce this state in the muscles, so the effect is not immediate. You have to let the fatigue dissipate first. However, the good thing is the fatigue doesn't stick around all that long. After a few hours the fatigue from the weight training will be mostly gone but the neural stimulation will persist. The best way to take advantage of this is to lift weights, wait 4 to 6 hours, then do plyos and/or jumps. Virtually any sorta barbell squat training will create this tonic effect but for my money I prefer a workout like this:
A.M. Session: Squat 6-8 reps of 1 @87.5% of 1rm (use a weight you could do 4 reps with if you had to) Rest 4-6 hours
P.M. session Jumps for max height
Trick #4: Use extended warm-ups in quality warm-up situations
Here are 4 important things pertaining to warm-ups you should be aware of:
A: Most people don't warm up nearly enough
B: Most people get their best warm-ups on accident
C: A standing vert requires significantly less warming up than a running vert, which typically requires less of a warm-up than a sprint. A warm-up that is optimal for a sprint is TOO MUCH for a jump, in my experience. A warm-up that is optimal for a running vert (bilateral) can be too much for a standing vert. So before you determine what type or how much of a warm-up to do you should determine what type of event you're warming up for
D: Adrenaline (competitive situations) definitely helps with your warm-up
To that end the best chance you have of hitting a running vert PR are things like full court basketball games when you're surrounded by your peers. The extra adrenaline you get from being around your peers and the competitive environment tends to promote quality performances. In my experience the best warm-up is a light dynamic warmup followed by 15-20 minutes of full court basketball or similar endeavor. All the dynamic warm-up stuff is ok on its own but not as good as actually getting out and participating in sport. Here is an example of coach Andrew Darqui demonstrating what I consider a quality dynamic warm-up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um5jnjFav7Q
Follow something like that up with a game or 2 of basketball, volleyball, or similar endeavor and you'll be well warmed up and ready to go.
Trick #5: Use A Form Of Potentiation In your Warm-Up
We covered delayed potentiation, but by far I've always seen the best VJ (and sprint) performances with some form of immediate potentiation - like warming up with a weighted vest or pair of ankle weights. This is also substantiated by research. I normally don't recommend ankle weights but they can work - in fact I used them myself a few different times with good effectiveness back when I was obsessively training for VJ gains back in my 20's. Optimally you'd have a weighted vest or a weighted belt at approximately 10% of your bodyweight but ankle weights are a lot cheaper. Just go to your nearest wal-mart and get a pair of 2.5 or 5 lb ankle weights. The best way to use ankle weights is to put them in your pockets or rig a belt and wear them that way. Just be careful if you actually wear them on your ankles that you don't do any vigorous sprints. Most low level jumps are fine though. When you wear them on your ankles and you sprint you create a lot of hyperextension stress on your knees which can possibly cause problems.
If you don't have a vest, belt, or pair of ankle weights you can create the same effect by warming up with a pair of platform shoes. Although they don't offer much in the way of training efficiency they can work for an effective form of potentiation. Here is a sample warm-up for using a vest, ankle weights, or jump soles:
Buildup sprints up to 75% max speed: 50 yards
High knees: 25 yds x 3
Butt kicks: 25 yds x 3
Skips: 25 yds x 3
Side shuffle: 25 yds x 2 each direction
Aalternating lunge x 10 reps/side
Sumo squat x 10 reps
Straight leg kicks x 10 reps/side
Walk around a few minutes
Standing jumps x 3
Running jumps x 3 *
Next, take the extra load off and put regular shoes on - walk around for a few minutes, shake your legs out, then do any sorta jumps you want. MOST of the time that would result in PR city. For the ultimate in potentiation try using both delayed stimulation and immediate stimulation on the same day. Do some squats earlier in the day then come back in the evening and use a form of immediate potentiation. Note: I know one idiot that did the above mentioned warm-up in his jumpsoles along with wearing ankle weights. I won't embarass him by giving you his name, but that's not something I recommend doing.
Trick #6: Use Potentiation 24/7 For Brief Periods
This is similar to wearing a weighted vest, belt, or ankle weights in your warm-up BUT you can also benefit by taking a 3 wee k period of time and wearing them ALL the time throughout the day except for when you actually play your sport. Do this for 3 weeks straight. Wearing a light load (no more than 10% of your bodyweight) chronically "tricks" your body into thinking you're heavier than you actually are. It takes a week or 2 to really see the results and after about 3 weeks it won’t do much, but for short periods of time you can gain a nice little boost doing this.
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Trick #3 Use Squats For Delayed Potentiation
maybe my squat before speed workout is not a bad idea after all. been doing it that way all this time. my self-reason for doing it is the effective "warmup" i get when i feel all the big muscles in my legs have fired already.
i don't do piston type continuous tension - bodybuilding reps where the whole set feels like a one big long rep. i'm more like 3sec on, 2sec off, repeat.. thats one set. could be the reason i dont tire much even with heavy weights.
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I can vouch for the the jumping higher/running faster after a night of heavy drinking because of the dehydration, but it will have a negative affect on weight room numbers which can mess up the training plan for a lot of you.
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Never got drunk so I have no idea how that works. Sleeping in your own vomit doesn't sound too enticing to me.
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SWEET.
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Never got drunk so I have no idea how that works. Sleeping in your own vomit doesn't sound too enticing to me.
It's not because of the drunkeness, it's because alcohol is a diuretic so the next day you're 3-8 pounds lighter.
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Never got drunk so I have no idea how that works. Sleeping in your own vomit doesn't sound too enticing to me.
It's not because of the drunkeness, it's because alcohol is a diuretic so the next day you're 3-8 pounds lighter.
I've noticed you havn't been trolling as much anymore. I like the new you.
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Trick #3 Use Squats For Delayed Potentiation
maybe my squat before speed workout is not a bad idea after all. been doing it that way all this time. my self-reason for doing it is the effective "warmup" i get when i feel all the big muscles in my legs have fired already.
i don't do piston type continuous tension - bodybuilding reps where the whole set feels like a one big long rep. i'm more like 3sec on, 2sec off, repeat.. thats one set. could be the reason i dont tire much even with heavy weights.
How long do you wait after the squats though? Article mentions 4-6 hours. I didn't know that the legs can stay fired up for that long.
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i do my SVJs in the same workout a few minutes after the squats, probably ~ 20-30mins max after the last heavy squat rep. again, my legs might have lifted heavy weights, but the way i lifted it really minimizes fatigue. in this 445x1 paused rep vid, i was still able to get low 40s SVJ in the same workout even thought my squat ramping went thru 5 sets of 400+ (400,410,420,430,440,445)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGSq-YOYOmw
i agree with the weight loss from dehydration prior to near max jump attempts. i don't drink alcohol but i usually comsume 4-5 shots of black espresso before getting to my max weight when i lift. i have to use the can in between sets most of the time.. by the time the lifts are done, i've lost a lot of water weight. that + muscles that have been primed nicely = consistent high 30s/low 40s SVJs.
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^^ sounds crazy, I know you take a lot of rest between reps and sets (I like to as well, but I'm limiting my rest times now for the sake of consistency), but I would think a half hour break after ramping paused squats wouldn't be enough to dissapate it. I guess I'll have to try for myself.
Would you experiment with a longer break before SVJ in the near future? very curious
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Thanks for posting this, Lucky i check before i double post!
I wonder what VJB Version 2 is going to have...
After all, i had learnt alot from adarq already
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Never got drunk so I have no idea how that works. Sleeping in your own vomit doesn't sound too enticing to me.
It's not because of the drunkeness, it's because alcohol is a diuretic so the next day you're 3-8 pounds lighter.
I've noticed you havn't been trolling as much anymore. I like the new you.
I think you might have something wrong with your brain. Why are you trying to be all cyberbully on me. Do you really think anyone cares about you. You talk to people like they are trash. Why would you want to come off like that. Does it make you feel tough? Are you trying to make up for having a small smelly dick? You need to see a shrink. Have fun going through life wondering why people don't like you. I'll give you a hint though, you try to make others feel like shit. But you have failed on me. I know what you are. See, the thing is, I'm a nice guy. You on the other hand can't control your stupidity. You really don't even realize that you are a jerk ,do you? When you're older maybe you can look back on times like this and see that you where unnecessarily rude to people you don't know. Right now you think you are being clever and it is just a fun time. Keep treating people like you do and see where you end up. You can not compete with my intellect so I warn you to give up before you embarrass yourself further..
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and shit
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I think you might have something wrong with your brain. Why are you trying to be all cyberbully on me. Do you really think anyone cares about you. You talk to people like they are trash. Why would you want to come off like that. Does it make you feel tough? Are you trying to make up for having a small smelly dick? You need to see a shrink. Have fun going through life wondering why people don't like you. I'll give you a hint though, you try to make others feel like shit. But you have failed on me. I know what you are. See, the thing is, I'm a nice guy. You on the other hand can't control your stupidity. You really don't even realize that you are a jerk ,do you? When you're older maybe you can look back on times like this and see that you where unnecessarily rude to people you don't know. Right now you think you are being clever and it is just a fun time. Keep treating people like you do and see where you end up. You can not compete with my intellect so I warn you to give up before you embarrass yourself further..
I love bodybuilding forums. Misc section is hilarious.
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Never got drunk so I have no idea how that works. Sleeping in your own vomit doesn't sound too enticing to me.
It's not because of the drunkeness, it's because alcohol is a diuretic so the next day you're 3-8 pounds lighter.
After a night of drinking, I usually gain like 3-5 lbs... The explanation I've been told is that since it's a diuretic, it dehydrates my body causing water retention. How come you guys don't get this water retention/weight gain?
For sure it is water retention, because I lose the weight after ~2 days if I drink a lot of water.
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Never got drunk so I have no idea how that works. Sleeping in your own vomit doesn't sound too enticing to me.
It's not because of the drunkeness, it's because alcohol is a diuretic so the next day you're 3-8 pounds lighter.
After a night of drinking, I usually gain like 3-5 lbs... The explanation I've been told is that since it's a diuretic, it dehydrates my body causing water retention. How come you guys don't get this water retention/weight gain?
For sure it is water retention, because I lose the weight after ~2 days if I drink a lot of water.
Unless you're drinking gallons of water along with whatever alcoholic drinks you're drinking, this makes no sense. You can't just make yourself weigh more out of nothing.
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wtf? :ninja:
So when you take diuretics that make you piss a lot a lose water, you gain water weight, and when you drink a ton of water you lose water weight?
:ninja:
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Look, I don't know much about this, or anything, but I've been told when you have high water retention, you need to drink a lot of water to get the water weight out... Something along the lines of, when the body is being fed a lot of water, it will stop holding onto water because it knows it's getting enough now..
I don't know, it doesn't make much sense to me, but all I know is, when I'm out drinking the night away, the next day I'm pretty much ALWAYS 3-5lbs heavier... I don't understand this..
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Drinking tons of water one day then drinking little the next will get the extra water out.
But for the alcohol, that seriously makes no sense and I think you're imagining things. It's not possible for you to weigh 3-5 pounds more unless you drank 3-5 pounds, didn't urinate at all, didn't digest food at all, etc. Weight can't come from nowhere. Alcohol dehydrates you because it takes water out of you. It doesn't dehydrate you because it makes you hold onto water.
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Look, I don't know much about this, or anything, but I've been told when you have high water retention, you need to drink a lot of water to get the water weight out...
And you believed that?
First of all, it's taking a piss and/or sweating that takes the water out of your body. Drinking water again after that will just replace what water you got rid of. If you want to lose a net amount of water, you'll have to drink LESS after that.
Something along the lines of, when the body is being fed a lot of water, it will stop holding onto water because it knows it's getting enough now..
Yes, your body will eventually stop holding extra water because it can only hold so much.
If a bucket of water is filled to the top, the bucket won't hold extra water if you pour more into it.
I don't know, it doesn't make much sense to me, but all I know is, when I'm out drinking the night away, the next day I'm pretty much ALWAYS 3-5lbs heavier... I don't understand this..
The only way I can resolve this is this:
You probably didn't drink that much, but what you DID do, was have a lot of carbs and salty stuff and then drank a crap load of water throughout the night so you're holding more water weight and you also didn't piss or sweat enough throughout the night.
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Drinking tons of water one day then drinking little the next will get the extra water out.
But for the alcohol, that seriously makes no sense and I think you're imagining things. It's not possible for you to weigh 3-5 pounds more unless you drank 3-5 pounds, didn't urinate at all, didn't digest food at all, etc. Weight can't come from nowhere. Alcohol dehydrates you because it takes water out of you. It doesn't dehydrate you because it makes you hold onto water.
no, jc. weight comes from HFCS and too many grains. everyone knows this. where have you been.
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Drinking tons of water one day then drinking little the next will get the extra water out.
But for the alcohol, that seriously makes no sense and I think you're imagining things. It's not possible for you to weigh 3-5 pounds more unless you drank 3-5 pounds, didn't urinate at all, didn't digest food at all, etc. Weight can't come from nowhere. Alcohol dehydrates you because it takes water out of you. It doesn't dehydrate you because it makes you hold onto water.
no, jc. weight comes from HFCS and too many grains. everyone knows this. where have you been.
(http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t47/johndoe91890/lolkid.gif)
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no, jc. weight comes from HFCS and too many grains. everyone knows this. where have you been.
lol, of course silly. its been proven that grains and HFCS can defy the laws of thermodynamics many times over :headbang:
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i do my SVJs in the same workout a few minutes after the squats, probably ~ 20-30mins max after the last heavy squat rep. again, my legs might have lifted heavy weights, but the way i lifted it really minimizes fatigue. in this 445x1 paused rep vid, i was still able to get low 40s SVJ in the same workout even thought my squat ramping went thru 5 sets of 400+ (400,410,420,430,440,445)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGSq-YOYOmw
i agree with the weight loss from dehydration prior to near max jump attempts. i don't drink alcohol but i usually comsume 4-5 shots of black espresso before getting to my max weight when i lift. i have to use the can in between sets most of the time.. by the time the lifts are done, i've lost a lot of water weight. that + muscles that have been primed nicely = consistent high 30s/low 40s SVJs.
wow 2.62bw? now who said dont squat more than 2.5 your bw for squats . now im confused
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wow 2.62bw? now who said dont squat more than 2.5 your bw for squats . now im confused
Whoever it was, I think he was referring to the fact that after a certain ratio, your returns are GREATLY diminishing and you're better off maintaining that ratio and go full on plyos and practicing jumps.
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^^^
This.
And since this is a kellyb thread...
http://www.higher-faster-sports.com/verticaljumpfaq.html
But I heard I need to squat faster with light weights to improve power production for vertical jumping and that lifting heavy weights will make me slow?
Until you have a really good base of strength in place you will get faster with light weights by increasing the poundage on your max lifts. Let me explain: Let's say we take someone with a 150 pound bench press who wants to be a great shotputter. Someone tells him that he can be an olympic caliber thrower if he just practices being very explosive with light weights. So he trains by putting 100 pounds on the bar and does sets of 5 as fast as he can. What's gonna happen when he goes out and throws against 400 pound bench pressers who can throw 300 pounds around as fast as he can throw 100? He's gonna get his butt kicked that's what's gonna happen.
Just for the sake of argument let's say that the guy who can throw around 100 pounds the fastest will have a superior vertical jump. Who's gonna throw around 100 pounds faster - The guy with a max squat of 135 pounds, or the guy with a max squat of 300 pounds. Definitely the guy with the 300 pound squat. But if we were to compare a 600 pound squatter to an 800 pound squatter in the same task the answer may not be so clear cut.
The main point is, unless you're already stronger than an ox, the fastest way to improve your ability to lift light weights is to increase your maxes, and the best way to do that is to lift fairly heavy with reps between 1 and 10 with weights between 70 and 100% of your 1 rep max. Lifting light loads will not improve max strength. When lifting heav weights the load may not move that fast but it doesn't need to move that fast.
As for heavy weights making you slow, this is only true of people who carry strength training to the extreme. Even then, it's not the strength or heavy weight that creates slowness, it is the excessive muscular bodyweight that can develop. To verify this all you have to do is look at olympic weightlifters. Their entire sport is based on lifting heavy weights, yet they have the best vertical jumps of all athletes and are as fast as sprinters out to 30 meters.
Some people are sometimes under the misguided assumption that strength training with heavy weights makes one slow because it can create a temporary state of fatigue and soreness in the muscles. That fatigue will sometime temporarily "mask" explosiveness. The solution to that is very simple: Take some occassional downtime and let that fatigue dissipate.