I think my last post for jump training was over 2 weeks ago. But don’t let that fool you into thinking I’ve let my training go for 2 weeks. On the contrary, the training has only become more frequent and intense. It is just too boring and long to write out exactly what I do on a weekly basis for my jump training. Here is a summary:
1) Been going to the gym twice a week for my jump training.
2) One day is quick feet day and sprinting.
3) The other day has to do with more jumping and squatting.
To know the difficulty and intensity of my work out you would only have to go as far as to ask my work out partner (John Wu). Last week during one of the box jump exercises I pushed him so hard that on his last jump he had no energy left and basically jumped his shins into the metal box. But being the warrior he was, I just put a band-aid on his bloody leg and we continued the workout like it was nothing.
Yesterday, my workout was really intense. I played bball for 2 hours. Then went to the gym to work out and then finished up with rock climbing. I took the day off today because my body was really really tired and it needed the rest. Too bad it won’t be a long rest with this Thursday coming up. I’m heading up north to Davis to visit my boy Mako where I’m sure we are gonna be balling and working out all weekend. And finally, this weekend I will measure my hops to see if I’ve gained any ground on the two inches i have left before touching the rim. It is definitely an exciting time for me right now.
My goal is to jump and grab the rim. Its plain and simple. However, life is really never plain or simple. I recently joined my first basketball league since the days of UC Davis Intramural Basketball. Our first game was on Sunday. And boy, what a whirlwind day that was. I started Sunday waking up to the most beautiful woman I know (Pauline). Sorry, just wanted to plug that in because it was our late Valentines day weekend together. So from San Francisco I drove back to Morgan hill. Where I rested for half and hour. Then I continued my journey all the way south to Los Angeles. I ate a little bit, and was just too excited to study at home so I decided to leave early to Anaheim, which is where the game was being played at. Needless to say my body was a bit tired, but I think my overall excitement of playing in my first league game overtook my body.
My stats: 7 points, a few assists, 4 turnovers, and 3 steals. It was a decent game for me. However, I was just too excited to play. I think the next game should be a better showing from me. So yeah, this league does get in the way of my training a bit. Because I have to make sure my legs aren’t tired when I play on sunday. But we only young once. So i’m gonna meet the challenge headstrong and go forth. So here’s my schedule that i’m gonna stick to from now on:
Sunday: Game day
Monday: Stretch
Tuesday: Basketball
Wednesday: Intense upperbody work out
Thursday: Cardio or Plyometrics
Friday: Rock climbing and upperbody work out
Saturday: Rest
Thats all folks!
Its hard to sleep when you daydream all day. This will be my first of many entries on a goal that has not just eluded me for all these years, but actually an accomplishment that I once believed impossible for me. Dunking!!! No just kidding. That could be my next goal, but at the moment my eyes are on grabbing the rim. I don’t want to just touch the rim, but I want to be able to grab the rim with either hand and jumping off with either foot.
I know that this goal will take a lot of planning and dedication. But even before all of that, I have to be able to get over the mental block that I am not genetically gifted enough to reach the rim. I was always small my whole entire life. 5 foot 2 to be exact at the end of my freshman year in highschool. I didn’t have a huge growth spurt at any one time, but rather grew steadily a few inches every year until I reached about 5 foot 9 in my senior year of highschool. Even being 5 foot 9 didn’t make me feel entitled to the ability to grab rim. I thought anybody under 6 foot who could grab the rim must be genetically destined for such a thing. So how could I, the skinny 5 foot 9 Vietnamese kid even dare to reach for the skies. I was a 3 point shooter and was told to stick to what I was good at. And being the good boy I was, I listened. I listened until the voices no longer needed to say anything else because I knew my place.
Or so I thought I did. Once I left Norcal, nobody in LA knew of my past. They didn’t know or cared if I was short all of those years or that my specialty was shooting threes in basketball. I just got to play. And with that new found freedom to be more creative with my game I found a yearning to do more than just shoot…I wanted to fly. Thus begins a journey…..
