pretty sure FDL wasn't expecting a neg bomb with a POST like that lmao.
possible reasons for neg bomb:
- posting in the "News & Announcements" section
IMHO, that post is fine & i'm personally happy to see you contributing so much now, instead of just beef'n (like way back :d) .. but this is probably the wrong section. Going to move it to "Strength, Power, Reactivity, & Speed Discussion".
Also, i'd argue AGAINST the "bottom of the bell curve" statement .. most people on here come from the "average" part of the spectrum, with some components (coordination, strength, body comp) above or below, but everything evening out to "average". Then through hard work they get past avg and move upwards. "Bottom of the bell curve" to me means REALLY unathletic - serious coordination issues, major weaknesses, very soft/mushy. That's what i'd picture if someone used that to describe someone athletically. This forum hasn't had too much of that. For example, this one ~16 year old I tested once during a H.S. football clinic was of "normal build" and literally had a 4" vertical jump. It was pretty astonishing.. That's really rare. To me, that's the part of the spectrum you're describing. But regardless, that's kind of left up to interpretation.
As for myself, i'd say i'm NATURALLY:
- well above average on coordination
- above average on endurance
- average on strength, power, speed
- average on flexibility
- more subjective: below average on body composition (skinny fat)
I managed to get myself:
- coordination no change
- well above average on endurance
- well above average on strength, power, speed
- above average on flexibility until I hurt myself working on flexibility
- more subjective: well above average on body composition (lean + muscle - "athletic physique")
so overall, i've probably made "well above average" gains at certain stages of my athletic training, ie great gains .. most likely not "excellent gains". Excellent gains would probably have come if I had stayed more consistent for much longer, without getting hurt - which for dunking, I don't think would have happened. Seemed like I was really pushing the limit relative to my own limits.. kinda got a little scary sometimes toward the end. Looking back, I should have just backed off some and stagnated for a while, but it's hard for my brain to shift into that gear, especially when I was training so hard to progress. So that was a big mistake on my part.
My biggest athletic achievements:
1. Boxing (2005-2007.5)
Went into a boxing gym without ever having boxed before, and within two years was sparring in multiple gyms against all kinds of fighters, and was invited to train by Howard Davis Jr to his "Afternoon session", where he trained most of his pro boxers & pro mma fighters. IMHO, i've always had the boxing ability, seems like a very natural skill I have - just really slick, defensive, and can think fast with decent hand speed, so actually getting good with boxing wasn't too surprising. The achievement here is actually getting in there and fighting people who everyone is trying to coach to kill you. When I went to gyms (Warriors/ATT), everyone was coaching against me. Most times i'd be in the corner by myself between rounds. It was really odd.. To top it off, they mostly had me sparring guys who were like 170+ and here I am at mid 140's. Anyway, that took some damn guts IMHO. Wrecking my hand ended all of that.
2. Vertical Jump / Dunking (2009-2012)
Long story short, went from not dunking to crushing some dunks. Peak vert near 40", but I won't say 40", probably more like 38-39". Vertec official (well before peak vert) @ 36.5". That was for DLRVJ. For L-SLRVJ, probably got to 36-37" on a few jumps, that was a surprise at the end .. L-SLRVJ just "appeared", was kind of nuts. Half squat 405 x 1 @ < 150 & rested max 315 x 5 @ 145 or so. Definitely pushed it hard as fu*k during the vert years.
Also hit 225 x 45 half squat off pins (could have kept going, actually stopped on purpose) @ ~150 or so? That's just a demo of the strength/endurance/power I built to jump. Legs were bionic at that time.
3. Running (2016)
Don't have any official times when I boxed, but I got myself into insane shape during those years: literally 2-3 hours of cardio per day. Sub 5 mile & 18:XX 5k based on my measurements but I used things like mapmyrun & a stopwatch to measure, no track work. So really no idea if it was actually accurate. I'd imagine it was as good or a little better than my recent running addiction, where I got to low 18's 5k and low 5's mile. I was also way leaner when I boxed.
So aside from the boxing years, ~2016 became the running years. Got my official 5k down from 22:xx to 18:22? Just PR's everywhere. That was fun, really pushed it until eventually I got an injury doing LSD (long slow distance - lame shit).
4. Current: running part III & jumping part III.
who knows
If I had stayed completely consistent with jumping/running, id probably have reached alot closer to my ultimate goals. All of these "patches" are definitely a problem. Inconsistency, but more "changing my mind", becoming obsessed with "new things", is my biggest weakness. I guess i've always been like that.. I can go hard for years then eventually I get interested in something else and boom, just change things up completely. It can be good, but also bad. That seems to be more of a personality flaw+feature that exists throughout all aspects of my life, not just athletics.
pC
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