Archive for the 'Jump Training' Category

Weighing me down, but not holding me back!

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jumpDAMNIT
at April 14, 2008 in Fitness and Jump Training. 0 Comments

I’m about almost halfway through April and I can basically see the light at the end of the tunnel. School as I know it will no longer be a hindrance for any goals any longer. However, that doesn’t mean I will stop learning. On the contrary, one of my main goals in life is to continually be an active student in the school of life.

Now on to my jump training. Its been tough, to keep playing bball and doing jump training at the same time. All the research I’ve done has stated repeatedly that its not wise to do jump training while playing basektball, but I think they meant an actual season of basketball. And not my one time a week kind of scenario. So what’s been weighing me down? Well, simply, its weights!

I got a weighted vest about 1 month ago and this last Thursday was my first day actually using them in my jump training. The vest can weigh up to 20lbs, but I chose to start off with only 6 lbs. I basically did my regular routine for jump training, but added the vest with some of the exercises for extra excitement.

5 sets of explosive squats at 145 lbs with 10-12 reps

3 sets of sparq lunges with a 10 lbs weight, at 10 reps each set

3 sets of box jumps with 6 lbs vest, at 10 reps each

3 sets of depth jumps with 6 lbs vest at 10 reps each

3 sets of box jumps w/o vest, at 15 reps each

3 sets of depth jumps w/o vest, 8 reps ( I was pretty much dying at this point)

And well today is Saturday, and my legs feel like jello. I consider that success. My next way of improving my jump training is to be able to do this twice a week. Lets see if this will happen next week. Thanks for listening.

Back on track

Published by
jumpDAMNIT
at April 14, 2008 in Basketball, Fitness and Jump Training. 0 Comments

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.

Keeping it UP

Published by
jumpDAMNIT
at March 16, 2008 in Fitness and Jump Training. 0 Comments

Last time was about the jump start. The first work out that sets the tone for everything else to come. So this time around its only natural to go to the next step, which is “keeping it up”. So after my last entry I was determined to not only maintain but increase the level of intensity of my workouts. Unfortunately for me, after the basketball game loss on Sunday and other stressors involving my medicine rotation I wasn’t able to sleep a whole night. This of course threw off my whole entire schedule for the week.

It was hard, but everyday I had about only 4 hrs of sleep then went to rotations for 10 hrs. When I got home I was usually so exhausted I just knocked out for a few hours. This sort of sleeping cycle was tough, but when the clock struck 8:30 pm I knew it was time to get ready and go to the gym.

9:00 o’clock, time to do some work. I met up with my work out partner John Wu and gave him a look that I didn’t really want to be here. But I knew deep down inside I had made a commitment to myself and its going to take more than lack of sleep to keep me down. So here was the routine:

Squats: 135lbs x 10 reps, 5 sets. (these weren’t regular squats, rather they were explosive ones where you had to go all the way up to your toes and come down quickly)

Lunges: 15lbs x 10 reps in a forward and 10 reps in a lateral position for each leg. (my legs almost buckled on some of these)

Depth jumps: Standing on top of the highest box we could find, we jumped off and landed in a squat position and quickly jumped as high as we could. 5 sets x 10 reps.

Box jumps: 3 sets x 15 reps

Ab work out

Hamstring curl: 25lbs 3 sets x 10 reps.

I did all that on a wednesday and i’m still sore on sunday. So i’m thinking i’m doing something right. I think the weights and reps don’t even matter too much. Its more about level of intensity. When i’m trying to jump and grab that rim I need to be giving it my all. Therefore, it shouldn’t be a surprised if i’m working towards that goal I need to always be matching that same level.

On another note, 2 weeks ago I jumped for the rim and was about 2 inches off. I think sometime during this week i’ll give it another go and see how close i get. Wish me luck.

JUMPSTART

Published by
jumpDAMNIT
at March 8, 2008 in Fitness and Jump Training. 0 Comments

It has begun. In the last previous weeks i’ve been preparing to “jumpstart” my jump training. Lots of stretching and I would say mild workouts on my legs to get them ready for the battle ahead.

First, I did my HIIT (high intensity interval training) which consisted of me riding a bike for 6 minutes, where the last minute was a full out cycling sprint. From there, I proceeded to the treadmill where I sprinted and jogged in intervals for 10 minutes. As I was letting my legs rest a bit, I continued to do some workouts for my abs and back. Now once my legs got about a 10 minute break it was time to start the real training.

Plyometrics: Basically its jump training. All you are really doing is jumping, but the technique, speed, and balance is what gets someone to increase their vertical. I started off with box jumps. I did a total of 7 sets about 12-15 reps depending on how much energy I had. The key for box jumps is to try to tuck your knees into your chest at the highest point of your jump before landing on the balls of your feet onto the box. Then immediately hop back down into a 3/4 squat, then repeat. Its important to keep the knees bent as to avoid any knee problems. It should be noted that a 3/4 squat gives me the practice of getting down and jumping up as quickly as I can as opposed to just hopping off and resting before i jumped again. There are many different ways you can do box jumps to focus on different types of jumping. This particular method will help me with the speed of my jump.

The next jumping exercise was the “one legged to two feet plant on a box”. I know its a long title, but it explains what i’m doing. I started off on my right foot only and bent down to a comfortable low and jumped up onto the box (smaller box then the one i used in the previous jump training) and landed on it with two feet. Then I quickly hopped back down and landed on the right foot again and repeated. I did 6 sets of 12 reps. This jump exercise obviously helps with jumping one legged by increasing the speed, balance, and height of my jump.

And that was that. My quick little “jumpstart”. Expect more workouts at higher intensity as the weeks come, however, it is getting increasingly harder to get good workouts and at the same time provide the rest time for my basketball games. But hey, whats another challenge to my list.

Slow and Steady

Published by
jumpDAMNIT
at February 19, 2008 in Jump Training. 0 Comments

Slow and steady. Not exactly the words you want to use when your goal is to jump. In order to jump high its gotta be fast and explosive. Slow and steady is more of how I will approach this goal of mine. Its wayyy too easy to just dive into this and start jumping away until my legs feel like falling off. It’s actually harder to sit down and think logically about jumping higher.

How do I jump higher? Everything starts with a question and the answer evidently lies out there somewhere. Research!!! I’m a scientist, sort of. A soon to be pharmacist to be exact. So I know all about research and how it can help me achieve such a goal.

After days of research I’ve gotten many things to take into account for my jumping goal. Here is the list:

1. Stretching: it seems that if you are more flexible, you can not only recruit more muscle fibers, but have better control over them. So having good flexibility can improve your hops.

2. Technique: According to some papers I read, as well as a few hours of watching some of the best jumpers on youtube. I found a direct correlation with technique and jumping. Which of course makes sense, but the question is what is the proper technique. Well the answer to that is it depends. There is a generic technique that is stated and used for a lot of people, but there are lots of other variables people tend to leave out. For example, speed is a big issue, because some people can’t jump very high running fast. While others can harness the energy used in running to get extra lift. What about strength of legs, center of gravity, stride, one leg or two leg jump, and etc. Technique will be ongoing research for me, but at least I’ve realized some of the key issues here.

3. Recovery. Its just plain and simple. I know people want to know what is the best regiment for jumping higher. Whats the best exercise and all that, but the truth is if you overwork those muscles and don’t rest it properly, then in the end you might even lose some hops. So what does recovery entail? Basically, sleeping when your tired and having a good diet. It’s so simple, but we sometimes forget in our passion for reaching a goal.

4. The PROGRAM. Haven’t decided on what program to use. The same message that each program I’ve looked at so far is high intensity and low reps. I guess thats a start.