I haven't posted in this thing forever, in fact I forgot about it.

My vertical continues to slowly but surely improve.  I've been focusing primarily on strength, and I can see the difference.

My squat is up to 315 for 5 reps.  My goal is to be at 385+ and then hit plyo hard to see how high I can get.

I'm still dirty dunking at the moment, so I probably need a solid 8-10 inches to really put it down with ease.

Back to it

After weeks of resting my toe, it seems to be good to go again.  It'll feel good to finally start working out again.  Who knew an injury to a toe could set me back so far.  I need to rest more this time around- I jumped for the first time in 3 weeks and got higher then I have in a couple years.

Still Grindin

Despite my lack of posts, I'm still working on my vertical.  My squat weight has gone up and I'm definitely increasing my explosiveness.  My big toe is badly sprained(hopefully not broken) so that will set me back for a few days.

Still Squatting

I haven't updated this in quite awhile, but I'm still working on my vertical fairly regularly.  My squat weight is consistently improving but my vertical is remaining the same.  More intense plyo work is in my future.

Marathon Ball

I finally started vertical training again last night.  This last weekend I played in a tournament- we made the championship game and as a result, we played 6 forty minute games in less then 24 hours.  Brutal.  The soreness was strong in this one.  Surprisingly, squats and deadlifts felt nice and smooth despite my body being worn down.  I'm hoping to really workout hard the rest of the week.

Ball Every Day

I haven't had a good chance to work out for a couple weeks now.  I'm playing basketball almost every night.  It's getting me in good shape, but not increasing my vertical.  There is a big 2 day tourney coming up, after that I'll try to get started with my weight training again.

Finally

After not having the time or the energy to workout, I finally got back on the grind.  My legs are incredibly sore, it's a good feeling.  I played ball Saturday morning, and couldn't miss for long stretches- it felt great.

No Progress

Pretty discouraged, I haven't had a chance to workout for over a week.  Hopefully I can get it going tonight.

Squats

Good leg workout in yesterday.  I struggled with 245 lbs for deadlift because my hands kept slipping, so I had to make up for it with squats.  I've been doing 225 fairly easily because of equipment reasons and form, but I stuck 255 on last night and hammered it.  Hoping to get that number up well above 300 soon.  Jumping was nonexistent afterwards so plyo is needed tonight.

Week 5 recap

I had 2 tournament games to coach last week, so my workouts and sleep patterns were greatly interrupted.  I did manage to get one weight and one plyo session in.

Saturday, I did the following-
Hamstring curls- 3 sets of 8-10 with 125lbs
Leg extensions-3 sets of 8-10 with 125
Hip flexor- 6 sets of 10
Deadlift- 2 sets of 5 with 225, 1 set with 245
Squat- 3 sets of 5 with 225- these are fairly easy, still trying to get my form correct before I start adding weight.

I played in an open gym on Sunday, and despite being sore I was getting up and hanging on the rim fairly easily.   This week my workouts should be fairly consistent and I'm looking forward to some major gains.

Finally getting up\

I've murdered my body for the last month.  I had temporary gains and then my vertical declined to where I started and stayed there.  Wednesday, I did max jumps and lifted.  I was only grazing the rim with my finger tips.  I played ball for a couple hours on Thursday then did Yoga on Friday.  Today, I dunked a baseball and could hit the rim with my fingers on layups.  I also could touch the rim with my standing vertical.

One Month Progress
Start-Now
Standing Vert- 22"- 28".  Squats and deadlifts were obviously huge here
One step- 24"- 29"
Running- 26"- 30"

Second month goals are to keep increasing my squat strength steadily while making sure my body can use the new muscle.

I finally uploaded my first vertical test video.  Its horrible- can't wait to record my one month progress

Progress?

My workouts have been going well- I'm making nice strength gains and I feel much more springy.  Unfortunately, my vertical has remained the exact same.  I'm consistently touching the rim but nothing up from there.  It seems that I'm going to need to do alot more max jumping as my body apparently doesn't know how to use the new strength.

I did some new hip flexor lifts and leg curls\leg extensions before my squat and deadlifts last night.
It seemed to make both much easier.

Hopefully I'll suddenly shoot up a few inches in a week here soon.

Smooth

In the last week I got some good workouts in despite being sick.  Last night I played some ball and everything felt much smoother then it has for quite awhile.  I was getting up for rebounds, blocking shots, blowing by guys and finishing at the rim.  I didn't attempt any jumps at the rim, I'll probably try some tonight.  I switched to my brother's shoes because I burst the Nike Air bubble in mine.  His are a size and a half smaller, so I had to curl my toes, but I felt wayyy quicker.  Next pair of shoes will definitely be much smaller.  

Tonight, I'll be doing the following workout-

Squat- 3x5.  Most likely with 230 lbs, as explosively as possible.  I bring it up into a calf raise on every rep.

Deadlift-3x5. 225lbs- I feel like I could lift more but my hands keep slipping off the bar.

Split squats- 3x5- not sure how much weight on these, we'll see

Sprints/Bounds- whatever reps I can do while still being explosive.

Sick Sauce

Haven't done any workouts since Thursday.  A great combo of business and being sick will do that.  Hopefully I'll get back on the grind tonight.

This struck me as funny for some reason.

Progress after Rest

I was feeling incredibly worn down and tired a few days ago, so I forced myself to take a couple days off and concentrate on resting with proper nutrition and sleep.  After one day of rest, my standing vertical went up to within an inch of my running vertical.  That's a solid increase of 3-4 inches after around 12 days of workouts.  Apparently I've been squatting and deadlifting with the proper form.  I can't wait to see the progress I make the next 12 days.  At some point, I'll finally upload my first test tape.  Its not pretty, I could barely nip the rim.  Super excited about my progress since then though.  If only I could jump like Ziani.

Overtraining

Day 12:
I have a burning desire to dunk.  Unfortunately, this desire is slightly sabotaging my chances at achieving that goal.  Everything I've read says to take breaks, to let my body recover.  I'm not sore(perhaps because of excessive amounts of fish oil) and it makes me think I'm not working hard enough.  So I continue to push.

Last night, I did chest and back then went straight to basketball practice.  Afterwards, I practiced finishing at a high level.  Not close to dunking yet, but the body control feels far better then it did and explosiveness is there that I haven't had in awhile.  I'm getting my fingers over the rim on my one-step, but I'm still a couple inches short on no-step.  My brother is getting within an inch or so of throwing it down.  The kid has hit 9 threes in a game this year and scored 42 to help pull out a tight overtime game.  He'll be dunking after the season is over without a doubt.

I did deadlifts and squats, and ran short burst sprints in the winter cold.  It felt refreshing.  Maybe tonight I'll take a break, I have a couple of games to coach.

Great Workouts

Recap of the last few days
My wife's parents were in town for the weekend but I still managed to get in some great workouts.  I've been alternating days between plyos and strength training.  Squatting and deadlifts went really well, and my legs are feeling lighter and quicker.  Unfortunately, I also hammered down some unhealthy foods so I'll have to make up for that in tonight's workout.

I'm coaching two 6'4" guys who can throw down with ease in practice- but have never pulled off a dunk in a game.  There are only a few more games left this season for them to hammer one.  Really hoping it happens.

Quick Gains

Super encouraged today.  I have door frame at my job that's right around 10 ft.  I wear non athletic shoes and clothes to work(office job), but every day since starting  my dunk quest I've tried to jump and hit it.  I went from probably an inch below it, to 2nd knuckle today.  Can't wait to get to the gym and see how high I'm getting.

I've worked out my legs twice, and it appears I've already gained 2-3 inches on my one-step vert.  

Fist pump coming up.

Lazy Sauce

Day 7?
Enough of missing workouts and feeling weak.

P90x 3- Arms and Shoulders\ Ab Ripper:  Went maybe a bit to hard, ended up with a bruised left bicep.  Ab ripper felt good though and my core is tightening back up

Vertical:  I did hyper extensions, burst ups, quick jumps, and squat jumps

My bad knee has been killing me so this morning I woke up early and knocked out 30 minutes of Yoga.  The knee feels much better already. Yoga needs to be a big part of my progress going forward.  It seems to stabilize my tendons and take away joint discomfort.

I'm going to attempt some Olympic style lifts tonight- crossing my fingers that my knee holds up.  Hopefully I can also get around to uploading my vertical test video.

Fish oil has been highly effective so far in preventing muscle soreness.  I refer to it as WD40 for my body , everything just seems to run more smoothly.

Pizza and Bad Refs

I was unable to fit in a workout last night.  Having three games to coach in one night really cuts into my available time.  To make matters worse, I ate most of a frozen pizza after getting home late.  Hopefully tonight's workout will burn off all the unnecessary calories.

On a separate note, the refs last night were awful.  We played a school 4x as big as ours.  Unfortunately for them, we're the superior team.  They decided to get physical and it was an ugly game.  Despite winning by double digits, the refs left a sour taste in my mouth.  Our guys were getting hit in the head, tackled from behind, and flat out shoved on jump shots with no call.  Any complaint to the refs was met with a head shake and a smirk like the coaches had no clue.  I've reffed before and still can't understand why they operate in such an elitist manner.  Oh well, rant over- looking forward to working out tonight.

Looking the Part

Day Whatever
Already losing track of days?  That didn't take long.  Regardless, I still got a good workout in- even if it was upper body and core.

P90x tape 1: Chest and Back-  I knocked out 150+ pushups and 40 or so pullups right after work.  It felt great to finish the workout off with Ab Ripper.  I'm hoping the core work helps improve my vertical.

Right after working out, I headed off to coach varsity practice.  I threw on a Nike Pro Combat shirt and some And 1 sweats with my Huaraches.  My players commented on my "swag"; I sure felt like I looked the part of an elite athlete.  Unfortunately, that misconception was quickly dispelled with my attempt to grab the rim.  I could barely nip the bottom with one finger.  I realize when just starting a workout, its common to see performance dip, but *whew* that was rough.   Oh well, at least I can still shoot.

I have to coach three games tonight.  Hopefully I can get home in time to knock out a decent leg workout.

Dunk with Chocolate Milk

The league game went well.  My legs are already feeling quite a bit better then before.  We won 111- 90 and hit a bunch of threes.  I'm slowly getting my game back.  My new postgame\postworkout drink is chocolate milk. http://www.askmen.com/sports/bodybuilding_200/247_fitness_tip.html
Suprisingly really good for you and backed up by research.  I need to be careful not to over indulge though, its good stuff.

Also, I tried some jumps and had absolutely nothing.  I revised my initial test numbers accordingly.  Realizing my test was from before my achilles decided to pop every time I elevate, was quite the sobering experience.  Also, maybe I'm overtraining but ehhhh trial and error.

As a motivational tactic, I'm watching this video over and over.  He's in his thirties and still flies. Kadour Ziani

Weak Vertical Workout

Day 3:
On day 2 I had a game to coach so I pulled off a few depth jumps and thats it.

Day 3 I coached another set of games.  After a couple of brutal losses I did the following workout-

Weighted squat jumps- forget the reps
Weighted Burst jumps- 2x20
One legged weighted burst jumps- 2x10 per leg
Weighted jumping lunges- 1x20
Quick weighted jumps- 2x30
Side to side weighted quick jumps- 1x20

Pretty lame workout but I didn't have much time.  I play in a league game tomorrow so I didn't wanna kill myself to much.

P90x\Vertical training

Day 1

Workouts: P90x: Chest and Back, Ab Ripper, half of Plyo
    I ripped through the first two.  My goal is to keep a strong core which can only help my vertical.  I tried Plyo barefoot and it was going great until I ripped the skin off the bottom of my toes.  I'll try shoes next time, salty sweat on an open wound was not pleasant.  I also did 6 or 7 high box jumps at random times to train my CNS to be more quick twitch and explosive.

Recovery\Supplements:
     Fish Oil: I take up to 10 fish oil pills a day for various reasons.  One benefit is vastly decreased soreness.
     Contrast Shower:Going from hot to cold is supposed to cause blood vessels to expand and contract     flushing out inflammation.
     Castor Oil: After my shower I rubbed the oil into my feet, ankles, and calves.  Check out earthclinic for the many ways this stuff can help.
      Water: I try to drink at least 100 oz a day, and will be increasing.
Progress:
    This day was about laying the framework for the future.  My legs already look and feel a bit different from the Plyo

Random Notes:
I had to get a background check for coaching this morning.  The lady said my finger prints were perfect and I'm still confused as to what that meant.  There isn't any confusion about the perfection of Blake Griffin's posterizing of Kendrick Perkins.  Perkins decided the chest shove was a good plan but Griffin just kept rising.  Beautiful.

I will Dunk

My Story:
   I was a decent athlete growing up; I played basketball non stop.  Running the point and jump shooting were the extent of my offensive game.  Dunking was a constant dream for me but I never quite knew how to accomplish that.  Biking, running, and lifting were basic parts of my fitness for basketball.  Plyometrics were tricks with fire for all I knew.
 
  I tried "Air Alert 1" for a few weeks and had a quick gain of 4-6 inches on my vertical.  I could no-step two-hand dirty dunk a basketball barefoot, so I thought it was only a matter of time until I pulled one in a game.  I lost motivation though, and sure did love shooting the 3(I mean its worth more right?).  I also tore up my ankles pretty badly playing on a bad surface after graduating so my vertical gradually decreased.
 
  In my early 20's I decided it was time to get "Big".  I ate huge and lifted hard, went from weighing 185 to 210+ in a year or two.  It was fine until whenever I tried to play basketball.  Slowwwwww, and it felt awful.  I could barely snap the rim anymore.
 
  It was time to lose weight.  I got P90x and dropped 30 pounds down to 180.  Being quick again felt great on the court.  My vertical was getting back to old modest heights until one Saturday morning open gym.  I planted on my left foot to elevate in the lane and a defender decided to run into it from the side at full speed.  It collapsed and hasn't felt the same since.  That was a year ago, I should have gotten it checked out but I've had mostly poor experiences with surgeons and hospitals.  I've been starting to feel my age lately- I'm 26-and have been realizing that dream to dunk may never come to fruition.

  This is my one last attempt to live that dunking dream.



Measurements:
Height: 6 ft Weight: 183 lbs
Standing Reach: 7'8"
No-Step Vert: 22''
One-Step: 24"
Running: 26"
All jumps are two foot.  My one foot is considerably worse.
I thought it'd be worse my left knee and ankle hurt on every jump.  I'm also not in very good shape so overall the results are very encouraging.  Much room to grow


Goals:
Dunk
Dunk in a game
Be able to pull off multiple dunks not just basic one hand


Workouts:
I'll be doing as many different things as I can.  Initially, I will attempt to achieve my goals without buying a specific vertical program.  Maybe ironic since I did buy P90x, but that was just for the motivation.
My process will also most likely take longer then others.

Diet:
I'm going to be sticking with what has kept me light.  High protein with healthy carbs.  If this curtails my gains, I'll switch things up



My main objective for this blog is simply a self journal, I may even make it private if my lack of results are too embarrassing.