Well since a couple of u guys recommended it, I'm gonna try to transcribe my offline journal on here and keep it updated reasonably well.  Hopefully it wont't get dumped in the "graveyard" and provide a few laughs on occasion.  I'm pretty sure I have the lowest vertical on this site but at least its been slowly going up over the last 6-9 months.

Quick synopsis of the last year or so and then details of the last few months + last few workouts:

15 months ago - reached highest bw ever at 235+/bf=21% after yr of just slow hvy pl wkts following lft knee meniscus tear; reached lifetime best strength levels but returned to tennis ct & found I was by far slowest guy there; got pissed & decided to make a change

6-7 months ago - bw down to 210 via tm walking/lt wts/diet - was online investigating how to improve short-dist running speed and found KellyB's site and other jump/speed training sites; started reading and applying to my wkts; measured 1-step vj @17-18in; got pissed some more & started doing squat-based wkts & occasional jumping while dropping wt/bf%

last 6 wks - bw got stuck @~198-199/bf~16%; 1-step vert@21-22in w/almost no jumping-just squats&wt loss; tore right gastroc (2.5/3 grd tear) doing sprint starts on TM; got really pissed & did metabolic/10x10/45-60sec rest wkts w/<=50% 1rm on various erx(frt sq, dl, sntch, c&j, pshp, pllp, etc) while calf was healing.  1.5 wks ago went back to squatcentric strngth wkts&occas jumping.  Found out the hard way not to take 1 mo away from hvy squatting if u care abt ur 1rm.

Last few workouts:
 
Fri, Jul 8 - Quads/Squats - transitioning from 10x10 metabolic wkts back to strength wkts

30min EZ Incl TM walk  w/walk lunges/dyn stretch for warmup

Squats - diff variations for 50-60min;100-120 tot reps-no other erx
frnt squats ATG up to 120lb x5 on balls of ft
back squats hi bar up to 170x6 ATG
parallel back squats hi bar - 220x5
1in higher - 240x5
1in higher - 260x5
1in higher - 280x5
1in higher - 300x4 (20in ht w/1.5in boot/snkrs)
20in - 220x15, 170x15, 120x15
-All reps done as fast as possible, all reps on 1/2 squats touch&go unlike prev months which were box squats; 1st sq wkt in over 3.5wks w/more than 100lb-lots of strength loss-need it back ASAP
-30min EZ Incl TM walk to finish for more kcal burn; 5-10 submax vertjumps&ankle hops


Sat, Jul 9 - Jumping/Explosive erx

30min EZ TM walk/dyn stretch for warmup

Jump Squats - started w/hang jump snatches but wanted to isolate lwr body musc so switched to DB jump squats - 25x5, 45x5, 55x5 - pain in rt elbow on the catch (prob from golfer's elbow frm last year reaggravated) so switched to BB jump squats - 70x5, 90x5, 110x5, 130x5, 150x5, 170x4, 200x3, 220x3 (only abt 1-2 jump at this point-I know, I'm experimenting), 70x10

Altitude Drops (experimenting) - 12inx5, 18inx5, 21inx5, 30inx2; felt pretty good; think 21in too low but 30in too high
30min EZ TM walk to burn kcals
-pretty sore in knees, back(traps), glutes from yest but have 2 recovery days next

Sun, Mon--Recovery Days-just light incl TM walking 30-45min/stretching/light wt squat stretches w/70lb

Tue, Jul 12 - Lower Body, Anterior Chain

30min ez tm walk/walk lunges/stretching

Vert Jumps - 15-20 max efforts - didnt measure-just starting to jump again
Jump Squats - 70x5, 90x5, 110x5
Half Squats (20in-1.5in shoes) - 120x5, 170x5, 220x5, 260x5, 280x4, 300x3, 320x3, 320x3 (strength coming back, yeah)
Full Squats ATG (~10in) - burnout set - 150x25
1-Leg Squats - 20in ht x5 ea leg, 19inx5, 18inx5, 17inx5, 16inx5, 15inx5, 14inx5, 13inxFAIL - legs fried
1-Leg Calf Raises - 2 sets of 10 ea leg; rt calf still hurts-not fully healed & def weaker than before - F@#$
Posterior chain tomorrow


Wed, July 13 - Lower Body, Posterior Chain    BW=195

30min TM warmup/walking lunges
SLRH on TM - 5 sets of 10-15 max effort ea leg - love these - such a great glute/hs pump & carryover to acceleration
SL&DL Hip Thrusts w/ft&shldrs elev - 1xmax reps ea leg - 17 for SL & 35 for DL - glutes fried
Screwed around w/light RDL's & SLDLs, GM's - all hurting my lwr back right now - finished w/Met DB swings - 35lb/50reps
Done w/legs for cple days-tmrw lt upper body & recovery stuff

Thur, Jul 14 - Light Upper Body, Recovery

30min ez walk/stretch on TM
Stretching Squats w/70lb - most soreness is in glutes/left knee(meniscus)
Pushups - 1 set - 35reps - OK by me - want upper body muscles to atrophy
Pullups - 1 set of 10 - atrophy, please, its been 2 wks!!
DB Pullovers - 1 set of 15 w/45lb - good for any OH throwing activity IME (like tennis serving)
DB raises, frnt, side, rear - 1 set of 15reps ea - all very EZ
DB met swings - 50 w/35lb - just playin
Wrist curls - 50lbx15reps rt, 12reps lft, full ROM - haven't done these in ~4 wks - lost strength
Very EZ wkt overall - just what I needed - lwr body very sore

Fri, Jul 15 - Recovery Day

30 min ez TM walk - threw in some light skipping
Stretching & light mobility squats/70lb, foam rolling(I hate it, I suck at it)
Still pretty sore from leg wkt 2&3 days ago - mnly lwr back&glutes
Hope to do max half squats & jumping tomorrow, will see

Sat, Jul 16 - Recovery Day - still too sore for max efforts - 40min ez tm walk - jumping tomorrow for sure, sore or not

Sun, Jul 17 - Jumping Day/Maybe squats also  BW=195

ME SVJ & 1-step VJ - 15-20 jumps in 15-20min in garage - beam touches; best jumps=9'6" for 1-step, 9'4" for SVJ; 1-hnd reach=7'8 in running shoes so 1-steps=22in & 20in for SVJ.  Realize I must have mismeasured in the past (cple months ago when I last tested) bcs this is the highest touch yet by abt 1in.  Actually pretty happy since I very rarely do any jumping bcs I wanted to work on relative strength first and also as I lost wt I figured the jumping would be easier on my knee.  Plus the calf tear precluded any jumping for over a month.  So, highest touch yet+hardly any jumping+calf tear recovery=happy for now!  Short term goal is 24in for 1-step.  Its gonna happen....soon...

Hang Jump Snatches - 70x3, 90x3, 110x2, 120x2;  think my form sucks on these bcs my upper body pulling musc try to take over the movement; I did hang muscle snatch of 190x1 last year when I was heavier but it was more like an explosive upright row w/a catch.  I'm still experimenting w/these-I like the jump squats better bcs they take out the upper body and w/these if the wt goes up I can never tell what part of my body is getting stronger, my jump musc or pulling musc

Jump Squats - 70x5 - 3 sets

Half Squats(20in dpth) - 120x5, 170x5, 220x20.  Decided to forego the heavy squats bcs my legs are tired from all the jumping volume.  Not used to it.  But still wanted to do "some" strength work so chose a burn set w/med wt.  Much ezr than expected- next time if i do this will use more wt or go lower.

Done for today - tmrw post chain & any other leg stuff I can handle depending on soreness.  I like to work lower body for 2 days really hard and then rest it for 2-3 days bcs my doms is worst the 2nd day after the wkt & I really can't complete all the lower body erx I want to do in 1 wkt anyway.  Kind of a push/pull cycle for the lwr body.  Plus I'm really trying to lose muscle along with fat from upper body right now & those wkts are part of lwr body recovery days.  Still have 17+in arms (down from 19.5) & 46in chest(down from 49.5) and don't need it/want it bcs its just making me slower.


Alright, thats it for now.  Hopfully its not too long but I tried to condense the last 1 1/4 yrs w/o leaving out anything impt.  I promise future updates will be much shorter.  Or not.

Tue, July 19 - Light Wt Posterior Chain

30min ez tm walk/stretching for warmup

Bilateral Calf Raises - done w/frnt of feet elevated to incr ROM - 120x10, 170x10, 220x10; done explosively; don't like these as much as 1-legged version; can't feel the contraction as much, still experimenting

Unilateral Calf Raises - done on stairs using handrails to increase stretch at bottom & contraction at top - 2x10 w/bw

RDL - 120x7, 170x7, 200x7; light wts, plenty sore in glutes&hams from 1-leg box squats yest

Hip Thrusts - done w/ft & shldrs elevated - 1xMR single & dbl-legged w/BW; I only do these bcs I like Bret Contreras cuz he replies to my tweets & emails & nobody else does

Metabolic DB Swings - 25 reps w/25lbs, 45lbs - not sure what these do, Dan John says they're good & I like him too

Notes:  Very EZ wkt, cake compared to last 2 days, very sore from squats yest, mainly the 1-legs cuz they fry my stabilizers.  Next 2 days are recovery days w/mb some light upper bod mixed in.  I think my path is gonna head towards almost nothing but squat variations, calfs & jumping bcs tennis season around here starts in the fall & i'm running out of time.

** Thur & Fri did no training at all due to sleep meds being screwed up - tired all the time w/no energy**

Sat, July 23 - ME Jumping Day - still feel like crap but forced myself to do something

ME 1-step VJ - 30 to 35 jumps w/~1min rest btw; abt 1/2in better than last time on best jumps=22.5in; better than expected considering how I felt and having to psych up to do anything at all

ME SVJ - only 5 or 6 jumps w/best @ 20-20.5in; exhausted by this time from the 1-steps & the 110'F+ temps in the garage

-Was planning on doing weighted jump squats & jump snatches afterwards but no energy left.  Was definitely the highest volume ME jump wkt I've ever done so am expecting plenty of soreness.  Got some 12mm EVA foam tiles to pad the concrete landing area - better but will have to add a bit more for next time.



Sun, July 24 - Cardio/Wt loss/Recovery

65 min med intens incline TM walk - various inclines up to 12% w/speeds btw 2.5 & 3.5mph; joints pretty sore from yest but muscles feel good

-Recovered my strength levels in my squat from before the calf tear so now back to weight/fat loss while trying to reduce the explosive strength deficit by putting squat strength on maint and doing jumping wkts as often as possible.  Will try to ME jump every 3-4 days depending on recovery time & squat heavyish ea 7-10 days.

-Goal is to get under 190lb in next few weeks & then reevaluate.  Currently at 196.  Sleep meds sb fixed in 2-3 days.

**Thur-Sun just recovery/cardio wkts w/some light plyos mixed in (ankle hops, power skipping).  Also did a few pushups, pullups, & KB swings.   BW=192.6 on Sat.**


Mon, Aug 1 - Jump/Power Wkt

- 30min incline TM walk mixed w/power skipping/ankle hops for warmup

Hang Jump Snatches - 70x5, 90x5, 120x3, 70x7;  could use more wt but end up using my lwr back/upper bod too much to carry over as well to the VJ technique

Loaded Jump Squats - 70x5, 3-4 sets, w/reset, reactive, & rhythmic

Stair Jumps (18 step flight) - 2x1step, 2x2step, 2x3step

Altitude Drops - up to a 26in ht (~3in above VJ), 20-25 tot reps

**Did stair jumps & ADAs instead of ME VJs at beam in garage bcs I can do them inside on carpet w/heavier shoes to reduce joint stress/pain.  Still sore from the last garage session on concrete & it was almost a week ago.  Prob will just use the beam to occas test my VJ ht**

Mon, Aug 8 - Lt Posterior Chain

Wt Check - 190.6@BOD

30min EZ incl TM walk w/SLRH mixed in

SLHT - 2x10 ea leg; slow neg, expl conc

SLCR - 2x10, full ROM on stairs

SL Pulls for hamstrings - 50lb plate on carpet, 5 reps ea leg



Tue, Aug 9 - Lt Upper Bod, Cardio, Wt Loss

Wt Check - 190.2@BOD

60min med intens incl TM walk w/walk lunges mixed in

KB swings(w/db) - 25x10, 35x10, 45x10, 55x10, 65x10, 75x10; all reps expl w/ROM to vertical

Pullups - 1x10

Pushups - 1x35

DB Pullovers(Straight Arms) - 1x15 w/50lb db

DB Raises - 25lbx10, frnt, side, rear

Ab Rollers - 1x7 super slow

SL Squats to par - 1x5ea leg


Wed, Thur, Fri - just dyn stretching & rest - joints very sore, esp knees & back


Sat, Aug 13 - Jump Wkt

Jump Snatches - 70x2, 90x2, 100x2, 105x2, 110x2, 115x2, 120x1;  115&120 more like hang pwr snatch, deeper catch; up to 110 done w/little or no knee bend on catch

complexed with

Depth Jumps - 12inx3, 12inx3, 12inx3, 12inx3, 12inx3, 17inx3, 12inx3

SVJ & DSVJ - 3 of ea w/best ~ 23in

Half Squats @17in (2-3in>par) - 120x5, 170x5, 220x5, 270x5; stopped due to lft knee meniscus pain from the jumping


**Notes**  Transitioning to a strength/body recomp block w/some jumps mixed in.  Jumping wkts cause me so much more knee/joint pain than strength wkts that cant do them very often plus still want to improve squat/bw ratio a lot more.  Want to get to a 320x5 squat @15in or below w/BW ~180lb.  Last 320x5 (month ago) was @19-20in w/BW ~195.

Mon, Aug 22 - Recovery Wkt

30min TM walk & calf stretching; rt calf REALLY sore, trble walking, not sure if from the hi vol of ankle hops or deep ROM on SLCR



Tue, Aug 23 - Lt Upper Body

30min TM walk up to 4mph @10% incline
BW=192.5;  retaining more wtr since not doing low sod diet last 1.5wks

Handclap Pushups - 1x14, 1x10

Plyo Pullups - 3 sets of 5 done AFAP w/60sec rest

Incl DB Flyes - 1x12 w/25lb - SS ecc, fast conc

DB Raises - Rear,Side,Frnt - Superset of 1x10w/25 fast & 1x10 w/10lb plate SS/iso; shldrs fried

DB Pullover - 1x12 w/45lb - expl



Wed, Aug 24 - Recovery Wkt - BW=191

35min incl TM walk up to 4.1mph @11% incl, mixed w/some sprint starts

20-30 low ankle hops; rt calf starting to feel better, stretched it some more

5-10 lt squats & vjs to test soreness; knees still sore; will do hvy squats tomrw or Fri



Thur, Aug 25 - Recovery Wkt

30min EZ incl TM walk mixed w/some walk lunges & lt skipping

Decided to wait til tmrw for hvy squats bcs knees still aching, also lwr back I guess from bent over DB raises/pullovers

Also did a few low ankle hops, VJs & calf stretching



Fri, Aug 26 - Hvy Squats/Lt Jumps

25min EZ warmup on TM

4-5 med intens VJs

Jump Squats - 70x5, 120x5; not to max ht, part of warmup for hvy squats

Squats @17in (2-3in>par, same ROM as VJ)
     170x5, expl up onto toes
     220x5, expl onto toes, tweaked lwr back a little, might have hit bench too hard trying to go fast
     260x4, went down slower & more carefully
     280x3, controlled eccentric
     300x5, hard, close to max, no spotter, stopped there
     220x20, brutal, planned on 15reps but 1st 10 were so ez went for 20; def a PR w/in last year since dropping 45+lbs bw


**Need to start diet/wt loss again after 2wk brk to get to 185, then short brk, then 180.  Wanted to get 320x5 @17in but this will take at least 2 more weeks & getting lighter to reduce joint stress is more impt right now**

Why did you stop doing ME jumps? Even when you want to focus 100% on something else ( say max strength or anything ) , you need to keep the jumping efficiency up to par.

Ah , injury, sucks  
Get better soon, no rush though , make sure it heals good...


Haha ,  jumps@home are so funny , i am forced to do them too in winters , they kinda suck , the missing arm extension makes it weird. Also when i reach 'touching head@roof' level , CNS shuts me down , it lets me put just enough power to reach 0.5 to 1'' below roof , crazy!


Thanks for the good words man , really appreciate them!

Switching from inches to centimeters = awesome idea! 60cm ( 23.5'' ) @ 60 years old , WORD!