Creation of an Explosive Mofo - My Training Journal :)

[coolcolj]

Saturday 22nd December - Micro Cycle 4 - Week 1 - Day 2

Just BBall today - no weights.

Kinda overcast and wet. So I decided to try out the local indoor court complex. Cost money, but they are finally free all day.
I wanted to see if the springy wooden floors actually help my hops, and get a reference to a regulation court.

Still not really all that fresh. Felt kinda crappy today and hammies still sore from the last workout. That last session worked me over pretty good!

Bodyweight = 200.5lbs in shorts and t-shirt


BBall - Indoor court

Did some mobility work at home - then some dynamic warmup drills at court

15 mins warmup - 30mins of moderate effortcontinous moves/shooting and max effort jumping.

There was one group playing full court on one of 2 courts and 2 others playing on one rim in the first 20mins, but they all left after that, and so I was able to workout alone

Upper body mobility is not so good, quite noticeable when I do hook shots.
Ball skills and shooting rusty has hell.
Have to relearn jumping with the ball in my hands. I've learnt a new way to do running jumps, which is totally different to how I used to do it with the ball!

Well the floors are pretty springy, but I don't think it helped me jump any higher. I had my spongy Nike Free 7.0 trainers on, I probably should used the harder 5.0 trainers. Spongy shoe + springy floor = soggy feeling...
Made the landings feel cushioned though compared to an outdoor concrete court. Much nicer playing in Nike Free trainers compared to clunky and hot BBall shoes - I feel airy and fleet footed.

Warmed up real fast, I didn't have to do any jumping drills or anything.
Max effort on all jumps. Jumps were where I expected based on the lower of the 2 rims at the schoolyard court I have been using, so that lower side is regulation height backboard wise, but rim is 2 inches higher.


I was able to touch my head on the net off a 3 step jump. It's under 9 feet but above 8.5 feet and I'm 5'9" in my Nike Free shoes. So I know I can jump at least 33 inches off the ground.
Kinda sucks that lots of people can dunk with their heads barely clearing the bottom of net and their taller than me. Curse my stubby arms!!

I'm still down an inch overall from when I was 196lbs.
Not that happy with my hops, but this makes a nice starting point considering how fat and heavy I am! I should fly when I get under 180lbs...

 

[Tagio]

33 inch hops on a 200 lb man, not too shabby at all

 

[coolcolj]

Feel pretty decent today - no sapped or drained feeling, don't even feel that tired...that's a first after a BBall session! Granted I didn't play that long, but I did jump as hard as I could.

Not as sore as I expected either - my quads and hips don't feel that achey, feet, lower legs hammies do a bit. My shoulders and upper back are more sore, but my spinal erectors are trashed! Probably not used to the dribbling and quick moves in a bent over position.

I look leaner today than a few days ago. That BBall session felt like it chewed through a ton of calories and upped my metabolism a bit in a HITT manner.

Waist is 35.5 inches, down another half an inch since the last time I measured it, 2 weeks ago. Weighed 199lbs straight out of bed in underwear, down 3lbs.
According to this http://home.fuse.net/clymer/bmi/ Bodyfat % is now 16.4% down from 17%

Just gotta keep it up and things will fall into place....

 

[coolcolj]

Tuesday 22nd December - Micro Cycle 4 - Week 2 - Day 1

Gym was shut today, and tomorrow. So I had no choice but to BBall and jump. And I'm glad I did, since I hit some huge jump PRs, despite being way heavier from the Christmas lunch pigout!

Went to that outdoor court that has plenty of regulation courts with some 8 foot rims on the back.

Will have to do weights this coming Saturday instead of BBall, since gym will most probably be shut on New years - have to find out....


Bodyweight = 203lbs in shorts and t-shirt


BBall - Outdoor court

Did some mobility work at home - then some dynamic warmup drills at court

15 mins warmup - 30mins of moderate effort continuous moves/shooting, plus dunks on 8 foot rim, and then 15 mins of max effort jumping - some standing, and one step, but mostly running jumps

Fairly cool day today so it took a while to warmup. I wasn't feeling that great or that fresh, but once I got up a sweat, things did feel pretty loose and easy. Did a lot of drills and stuff to start off to get me sweating, and amazingly my timing, jumping with the ball, ball skills and shooting etc are just about all back since the last session!

Then I started jumping and shocked the hell out of myself! Not only did my jump move back up to where I got to when I was last here at 196lbs, but another inch or so above it!! All my jumps were up 2 inches or so.
Holy crap I really felt like I was floating up there effortless. I wasn't muscling things, or bending my legs a whole lot, and the running jumps had more speed and flow than I have had before.

Was able to maintain my new higher running jump for about 3-4 back to back attempts, before it started to dropoff back to my recent best.
Funny thing is even at the end I didn't really feel all that tired compared to the other jumping sessions and I did do a lot more....

The last time I was on this court, I have severe shin splints. No issues today, Nike Free Trainers felt awesome, so smooth and light. No knee problems either, landings felt like nothing. But my right hip socket seems to take a beating though with how I tend to land sideways towards the end, and I tweaked something in my right shoulder - gonna have to work harder to fix my crappy shoulder mobility if I am to ever throw down some hard dunks....

Overreaching a bit and then backing off the weights with just speed/explosive work is a good way to get your system to rebound and be light/snappy. But this is the first time I've been able to get it to work, even while I'm dieting! Maybe there is another inch or 2 left in a weeks time...
Now to consolidate my gains and build on it

 

[coolcolj]

BTW I think my standing Vertical jump is 33 inches now just based on how high I was getting with my reach - not sure though

not bad for a fat fart like me
when I lean down to 170lbs and regain my previous strength levels...

 

[coolcolj]

48 inch jump off the run is around where I'd like to be as my ultimate goal.

this is what a 50+ inch jump looks like at 1min 15sec in the vid - 5'9" dude getting his head above the rim!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=a3DzQU9oXtY

He doesn't even jump his max in the games, nice to have a 12 inch reserve....

anyway goal for this coming year is to get lean and mean, and touch my wrist on the rim with a standing vertical jump. That would be at least a 40 inch vertical jump for me

 

[coolcolj]

Thursday 27th December - Micro Cycle 4 - Week 2 - Day 2

Felt like jumping, and was keen to consolidate my gains, so I headed to the BBall court, even though another day of rest would have been better.
Didn't feel that great, but I'm glad I went as things have improved since the last session 2 days ago.

Went back to the outdoor court with the 8 foot rims at the back along with regulation ones.

Lost the 2.5lb food weight from the Christmas lunch pigout 2 days ago, so that had to help

Bodyweight = 200.6lbs in shorts and t-shirt


BBall - Outdoor court

Did some mobility work at home - then some dynamic warmup drills at court

1 hour total - 30mins of moderate effort continuous moves/shooting, plus dunks on 8 foot rim, and then 30 mins of max effort jumping - some standing, and one step, but mostly running jumps

A lot warmer today. Didn't feel that great, and dunks on 8 foot rims were crappy, but my jumps in the last half surprised me yet again!

I managed to improve my running jump another half inch, and I was able to maintain this for over 10+ jumps with only 30-40secs rest!
Same deal for my standing VJ, matched my last session PR, but could do it several times. Feels like I can jump another inch higher all round at least.
I did it on 2 different rims, just to make sure the one I have been using wasn't lower - just couldn't believe how much higher I was getting!
The rim just doesn't look as high now, when you can get up there so much easier. Feels freaky, like I can't believe my body is doing this

Got a better idea of my jumps today based off my reach.

Standing Vertical jump = 32 inches
One step jump = 33 inches
Running jump = 35+ inches

One step jump should be higher, it's usually 2 inches higher than my standing jump, but maybe form was not as good today, I didn't really dip down lower and force it out like I normally would. I was just doing this smooth relaxed style jump today. Running jump may be as high as 36 inches as my arm is always at a slight angle, I'm never directly under the rim unlike my standing jump. Technique on running jumps is getting pretty good with decent speed.

Now, how I can vertical jump 32 inches and yet be nowhere near a double bodyweight squat or deadlit for that matter, and on the fat side...? good question
Because there are quite a few people who are pretty lean with squats much higher than mine and they can't jump higher than me.... ratios don't always apply...

Today and in the last session, my jumps has this really strange smooth, "cushioned" type feeling when I dip down. Hard to explain in words, but it feels really smooth and effortless, and I just spring up. First time I've had this feeling, especially on my running jumps, feels like your running on a bed of clouds in bare feet or something
You can't discern any specific muscle group working, just this feeling of oneness. I guess this is what happens when you have good mobility in your ankles and hips, and everything is firing properly. And you can't feel the landing forces either.

That's probably why I don't feel as beat up and tired afterwards.
Although my legs are feeling it now and my spinal erectors have been feeling pretty trashed up today and the last session.
Also stretched my lats a lot, using a single arm, underhand cross body method. They feel much looser and I didn't get any pain in my shoulders today when hanging on the 8 foot rims after dunking em.

---


Got my fill of jumping now, best to take a break to keep yourself from burning out mentally. Will head to the gym on Saturday for some lighter explosive Sumo Deadlifts with 253lbs as I work my way back up to 319lbs x 3 in a couple of weeks. Maybe some paused squats as well like I have been doing. Should be easier without any jumping in the morning, especially core wise.

 

[coolcolj]

Work schedule has been really easy, thanks to Christmas and New Years coming, that really helps my recovery lately. Should gain some more jump inches and strength/power hopefully

 

[coolcolj]

Tuesday 31st December - Micro Cycle 4 - Week 3 - Day 1

Didn't lift on Saturday like I had planned, I went to the BBall courts instead and shot some hoops, and did a few jumps. Didn't do much though. Feel decent today, although a bit sleepy, and since the gym is gonna be shut tomorrow, I had to workout today.

Not having any jumps this morning sure made a big difference, with the gym session. Felt much better, although not being overreached has a lot to to do with that as well.....

Bodyweight back up again, very strange, even with all the BBalling...

Bumped into a some guy I got to know a while back who trains really hard, and does some wrestling. He used to be really skinny the last I saw him, he says he still weighs 81kg, but man has he put on some size! He's doing a Westside hybrid he tells me...although he has shoulder issues from speed benches he was rehabbing today
Said his squat went from 295 to 350lbs and deadlift from 450 to 500lbs. He's got long arms, way longer than mine, so he's built to deadlift.

Body weight at gym - 203lbs
Workout time - 1 hour
Workout rating - 8.5/10

General warm up -

1 set each of my usual dynamic mobility exercises

Behind-the-Neck Band Pull-Aparts x 8 + band dislocates x 8.
with green jumpstretch band held 3/4 x 1 set, then 1/2 length x 1 set

lateral deep lunge x 8

back extension x 4, + 4 twisting to each side

situp complex on swiss ball

45lb oly bar complex - slow clean pull, press, GM onto toes, partial snatch grip press, hang powerclean, power jerk - 4 reps each, 3 reps on powerclean and power jerk

single leg kneeling deadlift BW x5


Narrow stance Full Squats - Nike Free 5.0 Trainer shoes - no Belt

did these inbetween the deadlift warmup sets

warm ups - bodyweight x 8, 95lbs x 5, 135lbs x 3, 185x3, 225x1

controlled down, paused, explode up - 4 mins rest
1) 235lbs x 9

Squat were really good today, no aches and pains, and form was solid. Weights felt way lighter on my back, warmed up much faster, and I cranked more reps. Although I did do 1 rep too many, too much strain and bar speed way too slow on the 9th rep, form was starting to get shoddy as well.

Slight change in form, felt it in my hammies a lot more, but still quite a lot of quads and glutes
Without the pause, maybe I can do 13 reps, so that puts my 1RM around 345-365lbs I think. Maybe my squat strength ratio does correlate to my vertical jump
Won't know for sure till I use some heavier loads though...


Sumo Deadlift - Nike Free 5.0 Trainer shoes - doubled overhand hooked grip

explosive up, semi dropped down - 133lbs x 3, 198x3, 243x2

5 mins rest
1) 253lbs x 2
2) 253lbs x 3

Sumos didn't exactly move as fast like they have been in past workouts, perhaps the big jumps in the warmup sets didn't get my CNS firing the same way. Or maybe the jumps in the morning do help..... or just too tired from the squats.


Cool down, upper body and stretches


reverse hypers - BW x 15

bench dip shrug x 8

scapular dip shrug - 10sec hold + 3 reps, x12 reps

inverted rows - over hand slightly wider than shoulder width grip - 3rd lowest latch on smith machine - BW x 3, BW x 10

8 scapular pushups + push up plus x 10

Lat machine situp - progressively getting lower each rep - BW x 12,

dumbbell curls with a pause at parallel - 4kg x 8, 8kg x 8

Lying side external rotation - 2.5lb dumbell x 8 each arm
Bench supported face down subscap rotation - 2.5lb dumbell x 8 each arm


upper and lower body stretches

 

[coolcolj]

I feel a bit sapped from yesterday

not too sore though - mostly in my upper back, arms and spinal erectors. Some aches in my glutes, calves and upper hammies in the glute/ham tie in area ---> thanks to the change in squat form - I do a shallow eccentric good morning as I start to lower down