Sunday 19th February - Cycle 3 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 1 - Day 1 - BBall - Microcycle 7
Starting a new microcycle today. I just decided to go BBall, especially after seeing 5'9" Nate Robinson do some dunks at the NBA All star Dunk contest
Went to the outdoor court with the low ring. Didn't feel all that fresh or snappy, but I was pretty explosive.
Bodyweight at home in shorts and t-shirt - 204.5lbs
Workout time - 40 mins all up
Session rating - 8/10
Did some of my usual 20sec isometric holds and dynamic swings to warmup. Worked well, warmed up real fast. I was able to start going pretty hard from the get go. Some of the people there might have thought I was nuts, but I'm bigger than anyone there
Even though I haven't played in 2 months, all my skills and timing were like I hadn't take a break at all. Only thing that was kinda rusty was dribbling. As long as I do something athletic, I'm always amazed at how little practise I need to maintain things.
Went pretty hard from start to finish. Did a bit of everything
I noticed straight away how much better my upper body feels, way looser, from all the shoulders/cuff and lat mobility work. Upper body control just feels easier, and more powerful. I used to have trouble with hook shots and outside shots - felt restricted and even though I'm pretty strong, I had to heave the shoot to get some distance. Not anymore, my outside shots were way better than before (without practise!) and it feels very easy to launch the ball, smooth and flowing. Guess my tight lats have been shutting down things before.
Jump was up 2inches across the board - standing, one step, running off one leg. I didn't test my running 2 legged jump though. Dunk attempts didn't seem any higher though, probably due to a technique thing from lack of practise. I wasn't jumping as hard as before and didn't make any of em.
The main thing was that my technique has changed. I didn't feel anything in my knees or quads. Just my hammies and glutes. And my leg is far straighter on the running one legged jumps. Although my shin still aches when I do it hard. Looks like those Clean dead/RDL ISO complex sets are doing something. And those 20sec Squat hold warmups as well, I just hold the position I want my body to be in at the bottom of the jump, lots of hammies/glute tension, less knee forward bend and the CNS is starting to prefer being in that position
Both shins were aching towards the end. I should have stopped playing at the 30min mark.
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