Creation of an Explosive Mofo - My Training Journal :)

[coolcolj]

video of some jumps - not my best of the day unfortunately. I seem to get spooked way to easily, and then tighten up, lose power/technique. Definitely need some mental and visualisation training. Well, when I get stronger and get much higher over the rim, it probably matter so much I guess
I could probably bend my knees a bit more too...

Mpeg (better quality) - right click on link and save first to avoid errors
http://www.members.optushome.com.au/coolcolj2/Movies/CCJ_Jumps_OutdoorCourtLC_9'10_12July08.mpg

you tube - wanted to upload a large video and enable the high quality option, but it didn't work
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25r4v6O8tZU

Sucks, because I didn't get my best jumps on video, and I was in for a big running jump increase. I only got off 2-3 good jumps. Not all bad though, since it will allow me to squat well this coming Tuesday, unlike last week with the huge volume of jumps in over 40mins

remeber the above videos I posted from last weekend?

I remeasured the rim today, and it's actually 9'11.75" instead of 9'10" like I had thought!
Not sure how I got 9'10" when I first measured it 2 weeks ago.....!

So I'm jumping a little better in the video than I thought

Vertical jump in video = 29.25 inches
3 Step jump = 32.75 inches
Running jump = 33.25 inches

A little better, but not as high as my best of the day. And I was jumping 0.5 inch higher off a run 2 weeks ago on the same rim for many jumps

 

[jiggagold]

Nice journal I remember 2 summers ago I was jumping and getting my wrist/lower forearm above the rim and I'm 5 10, now i can just grab the rim but i dont play ball anymore and im not working on jumping

 

[coolcolj]

Nice journal I remember 2 summers ago I was jumping and getting my wrist/lower forearm above the rim and I'm 5 10, now I can just grab the rim but i dont play ball anymore and im not working on jumping

that's my next goal - gain another 6 inches on my VJ so it hits 36, and my running jump will hit 40 inches, putting my wrist on the rim with my 7'4" reach.
Enough to start practising dunking with a small ball

eventual goal is a 44-46 standing VJ though - need a 455-525lb fullsquat for that depending on my bodyweight. 165-190lbs
That will put almost my whole foreram over the rim standing, good for my goal of a 2 handed dunk standing under the rim, and getting my head within an inch of the rim off a run 50 inches


Sunday 20th July 2008

Feel ok, a little achey all over, feet and lower legs are pretty hammered.
I will go back to 7.0 Frees for BBall
I just don't like the feeling of the 5.0Trainer shifting your weight to the side of the foot, and running one leg jumps don't feel so crash hot in em

bodweight was just under 86kg 189lbs this morning, holding water
Waist = 33.5 inches

so waist is still the same from 2 weeks ago. I've been eating a lot more, so that is about maintenace for me. Cool, I thought I was getting fatter. I still want to get down to 80kg 176lbs and a 30 inch waist at least, but I'm in no hurry.

If I can't hit a 40 inch vertical jump at my current weight then I have no hope of hitting a 44-46 inch at a lower bodyweight since I only gain an inch for each 4-5lbs of fat I drop.
Need a 455lb full squat at 190lb bodyweight for that 40 inch VJ
365x8 on the rep calculator. I've been pretty close before!

I think my max is around 355lbs. I'll see how much I can squat with 295lbs this coming workout. But in a low bar full squat style though. I should be able to squat 285x8 high bar full squat style now by then. It should show how much stronger I am in low bar, but my form is not as fluent in low bar style

25 min walk today - and maybe some foam rolling and release work. Been slacking off this a bit lately.

 

[coolcolj]

Foam rolled and released my arm, forearm, shoulder, neck chain yesterday

I'm going to split up my body into 4 major areas and roll/release them on 4 days of the week I can do it. THis will cut down the time to 30 min sessions
These are more intense and longer type work - just once a week for each area.
Now that I have ironed out most of the major problems and tightness, this will be ok, since it takes a while for tightness and scar tissue to build up.

some areas will still be getting more frequent easier/short work before I train and BBall

off course if I feel a knot building up anywhere, I'm gonna hit it ASAP

 

[coolcolj]

Tuesday 22nd July - Micro Cycle 9 - Week 2 - Day 1 - Workout B Heavy

Pretty crap workout. felt pretty crappy after the deadlifts, and so I skipped my usual upper body work and went straight home. Didn't even do my usual post workout stretches!

Looks like my nervous system is still fried. Need to make some changes. Every time I get close to 2xBW on full squat strength levels, everything falls apart

Will have to cut back on the max effort jumps on my BBall/Jumps session. I am definitely underestimating the impact of low and moderate effort jumps/layups, and under reporting the volume of total jumps. I certainly felt beat up after last Saturday's session.

Bodyweight up a lot! Water weight I hope

Body weight at gym - 194lbs in winter clothing
Workout time - 1.5 hours
Workout rating - 6/10

General warm up -

3 min moderate speed walk on treadmill
foam roll routine

1 set each of my usual dynamic mobility exercises
behind the neck band pull aparts - green mini-band help 3/4 length 2x8
lateral deep lunge x8
situp complex on swiss ball
single leg RDL mobility + psoas activation walk

A few sets of hops in place - 2 legged and then single legged
3x10 seconds rope skipping - 2 legged then 5 reps single leg each leg - 30secs rest

45lb oly bar complex - slow clean pull, GM onto toes, high hang powerclean, military press - 5 reps each


Low bar Full Back Squats - shoulder width stance - Oly Shoes - no Belt


warmups
in Nike Free 5.0 trainer - Bar x5, 95x4, 135x4
switched to oly shoes 135lbs x4, 185x4, 225x3, 255x1, 285x1

controlled
Back Squat - 295lbs x 5 --> gut busting grind on last rep

first time doing all back squats, and low bar style.
295lbs was freaking hard! Was shooting for 8 reps. I should have been capable of doing at least 6 reps based on the 285x6 I did last week after also doing 285x6 high bar before. So my nervous system is fried. Warmups did feel harder as well.

If your supposed to be stronger on low bar, then I'm not much stronger based on today's result...
What I liked about the low bar style was that last rep with 295 I leaned forward more and grind-ed it up, and there was no lower back stress. Not like what you would get in a high bar squat when you GM it slightly when you strain - lower back gets fried!
Hamstrings were screaming on that rep too!

I felt like I didn't have the same control on the way down though, and pretty shakey on the way up. Guess my hamstrings are just weak, since low bar style does use the hamstrings more. Quads and glutes are used just as much though. But it seems to depend on the style you do it. Earlier in the warmup sets I used a more upright, wider stance, feet pointed out, sitting between my legs style and my VMO and glutes were worked a lot more.

Knees felt achey after that 295lb set. All that balls to wall straining is the problem, because the warmup sets and that 285lb single were fine.
Been straining on my main worksets for 3 months straight. Time to back off and go sub-maximal every 2nd week at least to allow my connective tissue to recover. Just as well it was a low bar squat. If it was high bar my knees would have been shredded!

video of main workset - shakey compared to a my high bar style
Doesn't look that hard, but it was gut busting, balls to wall for me!
I guess since I'm a speed dominant lifter, everything tends to look easier than it does.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM3A4iSXJ9k

rested 15 mins before deadlifting - usually 10mins, but platform was getting worked on


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

3-4mins rest
explosive up, semi dropped down - 111lbs 2x3, 161x3, 198x3, 243x3, 293x3, 353x1, 363x3

293 felt ok, 363 was hard, but went up fast. Upper back was really rounded though on the first rep. Legs/hips strong enough, but upper body is weak.
I haven't dead lifted in 3 weeks and it felt a lot heavier than 3 weeks back when I blew up 353lbs and it felt light. I should have stayed at 293lbs and called it a day

This might be the last time I deadlift in a while. They tax out the body the CNS, but don't do a lot more my jump. So what's the point of doing them?
Plus it just makes the workout longer and prolongs recovery.

 

[coolcolj]

a picture is worth a thousand words

You have to crunch the back like your doing a rear double bicep pose and pull the elbows back and up to form a shelf for the bar. The bar sits above the rear delts, or a little higher if you want.
Might wanna foam roll the pecs, lats and cuff muscles as per that youtube video I linked with my workout above to make it easier to get into this position if your tight.

The bar position will make you lean forward and look downwards, don't fight it, it's best to look down to get the hip to fire properly

and watch this squat RX video to see the difference between high and low bar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eZ1HzoH0Rw


and Mark Rippetoe coaching this type of low bar squat, but I use a narrower stance and go ass to the floor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g22-uQqP4us
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yha2XAc2qu8

Mark Rippetoe giving a seminar on the low bar squat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgpCXvhWvTs

 

[enigma4dub]

Mark Rippetoe giving a seminar on the low bar squat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgpCXvhWvTs

sweet!

 

[coolcolj]

Dog was barking, just after midnight and woke me up, had that hot feeling and CNS felt drained as hell, but I managed to go back to sleep and when I woke up, I didn't feel as bad.
Just a slightly sapped feeling now

needless to say my whole lower body is sore. Glutes, whole hamstring, adductors quads, feet and calves too! Spinal erectors and upper back as well.

25 min walk - will need it for active recovery

 

[coolcolj]

My plant, before I jump on a running jump

pretty interesting leg angle, like a 45 degree jump stop, to redirect horizontal force into vertical
Not too much leg bend, even just before I lift off. I'm basicly bouncing myself upwards, without actually jumping.
Not all my jumps look like that though. My form varies quite a bit.
Some of them look more like a proper jump with more knee bend.

In any case, I can't see the quads being used a whole lot to provide vertical force. Looks more like a RDL/Deadlift.
Pretty much all hip extension.

 

[coolcolj]

Saturday 26th July - Micro Cycle 9 - Week 2 - Day 2

Bodyweight = 86.9kg 191lbs in partial winter clothing

freaking bodyweight is up heaps!! Maybe eating more is not such a good idea after all, time to tighten it back up.

Did some easy and light foam rolling before I headed out - feet and lower body, plus lats and cuff

Headed to the court I played on the last 2 weeks, but it was overtaken by Netball league games
Now that school holidays is over, the girls are back... grrr...
I decided to head to a court I haven't been to in a while. It has a low rim, but the court is sloped to one side pretty steeply and it's right next to a road.


Outdoor BBall court - sloped court with a 9'7" rim- Nike Free 7.0 Trainer


50 mins total

1) did some dribbling, shooting and some low/medium intensity moves/jumps for 25 mins.

2) did max effort jumps of all types for another 25 mins, resting about a 30-40 secs between jumps. And around 1-2 mins between clusters of 3-4 jumps.
Around 18-20 total jumps

I measured the rim at the start and it was 9'7". Used to think it was 9'8", but now I know.

Thought I would get my hands over the rim easily, but this is one of those rims I just don't jump well on for some reason. My body jumps scared here, and shuts down. Could be the environment, it's right next to the road and maybe the weird slope on the court that freaks out my nervous system from allowing me to jump at 100%....

So if I can get my finger over a 10 foot rim off a running jump, then a 9'7" should allow me to get 3/4 of my hand to it. Well The highest I got was a couple of fingers over
I did manage to get my fingers over the rim on a running 2 handed jump, which is 3 inches higher than I've ever jumped here before. That was the only jump I got near 100% height

Standing jump should be able to grab rim, but only just got my fingers over, 1 step jump not much higher. Running one leg jump just nipped the bottom of the 2 layered rim - ouch.

Oh well - at least I didn't injury anything and tire myself too much. Extra bodyweight and maybe fatigue from the last workout doesn't help. But the highest 2 handed jump is encouraging. I will revisit this court when I get my vertical jump up to 35-36 inches and running jump to 39-40 inches.
So another 5-6 inches needed in each case, about when I'm full squatting 405-415lbs. Should be able to dunk this rim by then