Warning: long and boring.

Goals: no real specific ones. ive had better experience working my ass off 100% all the time but without any specific goals. any time i had goals i failed to meet them and have usually made jumping/strength improvements randomly when my body felt like it. i was hoping for a 50 inch vert before but i have slightly cooled down with my intensity which had been nonstop for 2 years like my life depended on every jump. i'm still training hard though so we'll see..

my vert in general seems to be very odd and random so i feel like documenting and analyzing experiences could allow me to possibly find ways to improve my training. i might be able to notice patterns and find some things my vert responds to. i have been able to find things that work specifically for me in the past. i feel like a lot of my vert and performance has to do with "activating" my vert which is tricky and random.

Jump: december 42-43 running 2 leg


Today I did my first jumping/vert session in easily 1.5 months. I have had a hip flexor problem since mid december. i have been able to get through my weight training exercises and although there is pain and it can make it difficult. since i can get through my normal load i have been concentrating on doing that. i have a fair amount of pain after but it subsides. plyometrics and sprinting and jumping seem to really aggrevate the injury and leave me with a more lasting soreness so i chose to put that on hold with some mild plyos occassionally and focus primarily on not losing ground with weight training.

Yesterday: I decided to do my first dunk/jump session today and made the decision as i missed jumping to try switching to single leg for now or forever as this injury is really a bitch. in preparation i did some light plyos yesterday. i was somewhat disappointed as i had to really alter my jumping even single leg to not bother my injury. i think it was probably partially physical partially mental and partially that i just plain didnt want to have the injury flair up before my anticipated dunk session. i also noticed my technique was really pitiful with lots of loss of speed. i called it quits early though but i did feel explosive after ward.

i have very little single leg jumping experience. i have some balance problems from a medical condition that i cant help so i always favored 2 leg which is more stable and bothers me less. plus i have never naturally been drawn to double leg. i have however on like one occasion proven i am definitely capable as a single leg jumper. one time in a dunk session probably 6 months ago i tried it and was surprised when i landed a dunk my first try single leg. i did 2 more. since then though any time i tried i barely got rim and said to hell with it. i think this is partially due to sucky technique and partially because i have to be at my absolute most explosive to double leg jump well.

Today: I didn't know what to expect. i have taken a month off caffeine (minus one slip up) so i decided it was time to bust out the NO Xplode (or coffee sometimes and lots of it) like i typically like to do before a session. like i got to the gym and did some dynamic stretching. after that as usual i did some plyos which seems to activate my jumping in a way i dont get going cold. usually i do like 1 or 2 really intense set of like line jumps/ bounds/spriting. today i did a slightly less intense job.

Once the jumping started it was surprisingly easy. My hip flexor was hardly noticeable at all. My hamstring on my non jumping foot was a little. it was amazing to me though how okay my hip flexor was perhaps i had it warmed up just right or didnt put any pressure the wrong way on it. i was immediately pleased with my jumping. for someone with little single leg technique and an injury i was doing quite well. i was feeling explosive running in and getting a solid half of my hand above rim. my dunks on the other hand were quite embarrassing. i was struggling to get anywhere near enough height when i attempted to dunk and losing the ball. i really dont know how i managed to just randomly dunk single legged that one time as i had to learn how to get maximum height with the ball with 2 legs and feel like i need to work on that on 1 leg.

i think im going to start working on hand grip again also. i had worked on it but decided it was pointless and stopped. now i cant hang onto the ball at all (i couldnt very well even when i was doing it) so i think i should go back to doing it.

i also tried some dunks off lobs which seemed really difficult. i felt like since i run in faster going single leg i had to angle the ball differently and im seriously no adarq to start at lobs my shit are really inconsistent and terrible. i felt like i had to do a new technique for single leg though. in retrospect i guess i dont know why i couldnt do a less arched bounce and pause before i run in but for some reason i felt the need to have the ball have the same momentum as me. i had maybe 2-3 that were sorta close but i wasnt thrilled with them and those were basically the only satisfying throws i got which is terrible. i went for a 2 legged dunk and nearly landed it. my 2 leg jump seemed pretty good although i didnt think it was a good idea to do any more.

i feel like this session though was more about jumping and figuring out single leg jumping than dunking. i felt so much more comfortable with technique leaving the gym then when i went in. i also had ONE jump i was really satisfied with. like all of my jumps for heigh i got half my hand above rim but once i cleared my entire hand above rim. i think i had my technique right there and i drove up more with my opposite leg and in effect got height instead of covering more ground and getting less height. i tried to duplicate that jump a little with no luck but i still feel that proves im not jumping anywhere near my potential. i feel like technique is much more important in SL then both leg jumping. i went on and off for probably 2 hours and still didnt feel leg soreness. my vert seemed to be a little less explosive though and there were little kids everywhere so i decided to call it a day. i have some footage. its not all that exciting but ill probably put it up when i get access to a computer i can insert my sd card in.

diet: biscuit, iced t with lemon, protein shake, NO xplode, ibuprofen, TRAINING, protein shake, biscuit, burger, chicken wrap, 2x fries, pretzels, tahitian treat (sometimes i care about my diet but i really couldnt care less currently)

training: probably busy with fiance tomorrow so most likely weights sunday. after this session i feel like i have a lot of single legged jumping goodness that is untapped into so im tempted to have a jump/dunk session tuesday even though i usually like to space them out as i usually dont or struggle to lift after.





heres the one video i have available. the last missed dunks at the end were the most recent ones when i got the injury :/..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJbWNtfRlE0

i have a few others on facebook including a single leg one but i dont really know any way to share them and i dont have the disk with them right now.

what are ur stats like your height, reach, vert, etc..

i remember you jumping max 1x/week, the only problem with that is this ^^^ if you have a bad session every week, that's your only session.. if you jump max 2x/week, you can redeem yourself.. plus jumping max 2x/week is a better stimulus than 1, for.. 3x/week is pretty much the max for most people, but 2 is optimal.

don't let it get you down man just heal up and stay focused.





i can't mix single leg max jumps and double like you did, one or the other is going to 'turn to mush'.. if i focus a ton on single leg, my two leg will feel 'weak' and 'unstable'.. same for the flip side.. you could do a single leg jump session in session 1 of the week, then double in session 2, or just stay submax on your single leg for both sessions as a warmup.. ie layup drills etc.. most people have problems mixing in MAX EFFORT single leg jumps & MAX EFFORT double leg jumps in the same session from what i've seen.

clean up that diet a bit if you want to slim down.. replace the poptarts with mixed nuts, and if you drink 'high sugar drinks' quite often during the day, try replacing them with something cleaner like propel and/or water with partially squeezed lemon added.

peace man

diet- 2 bacon egg and cheese biscuits (mcdonalds) 2 protein shakes (before dinner)

weight 162 down from my usual 166 average after drinking a fair amount and lifting (when i usually weigh in). even after 2 days of eating mcdonalds (2 mcdoubles both days). i think its because i havent eaten a lot of stuff like pretzels and have not really had much other then water to drink

single leg press- 250 x3, 255 x3, 265 x2, 275 x1, 280 x1, 285 x1, 300 x1 (300 at less angled)
lunges- 120 x8, 120 x8, 120 x8
45 degree hypers- BW x20, BW+25 x12, BW+35 17 (never done 35 before and did more then i typically do with 20/25 decided to not overdo it though)
reverse back extensions- 10, 10
single leg calf raises (leg press machine)- 230 x6, 240 x5, 240x 5, 250 x4, +double leg 415 x12
bench press- 125 x 5, 130 x5
simulated running with dumbells- 30 x16, 30 x16
pull ups- 5
bicycle crunches- 32

i dont expect to have gym access until friday. i wanted to do a dunk session asap as its been at least a week. i'm wondering how a dunk session after taking 3 rest days would go. plus idk if its a good idea as most times i dont get to lifting after a dunk session because i tire myself out too much. dunno what i should do. i wanted to really toast my legs especially today.

idk why ive started lifting upperbody again too. i hadnt done anything since prob november and had only done hallf assed stuff for a month or so then for my college basketball preseason. dunno if ill continue with it or not.

wow we both got some very short reaches lol.. I'm 5'9" wit shoes and a 7'0" reach

squatted for the first time in about a month and a week

training- squat 3x120, 3x 170, 1x 220, 1x 260, 1x 270, 1x 275, 1x 280, 1x 285 (FAIL), 1x 285 (above parallel but PR, didnt want to fail so went on the high side)

285
http://img860.imageshack.us/i/squat.jpg/
280
http://img846.imageshack.us/i/squat2.jpg/

considered doing some higher squats but decided i had done more then enough and was burnt out

glute bridges- 100, 100, 100

glute ham raise - 5, 5, 4 (JESUS CHRIST THESE ARE HARD)

bicycle crunches - 20, 20, 20, 20

crunches - 8 (lol)

10 push ups (lol)


diet- chicken biscuit, hash browns, orange juice, eggs, bacon, biscuit, grits, (ate breakfast for breakfast and lunch) chocolate chip muffin, chicken noodle soup, brownie batter, coffee/snapple iced t/NO explode mixed together (LMAO), training with protein shake/iced tea during, protein shake after, pretzels, bananas

not gonna dunk tomorrow

Finally, someone with a Shorter reach than me... Haha!

But ur like 2 inches taller, so hahah, yea do get it measured again man.

went to go play ball today. my legs were still sore but decided it might loosen them. about 20 min in my lower back just starts KILLING me. idk wtf this shit is about. i have a suspicion its from the squatting but i didnt notice it the past couple days at all or while squatting until it just randomly came over me. its not just mildly sore either like i sometimes get. im legitimately concerned about this. ugh