Vertical Training Log (via Jump Manual)

[mkelsey]

Height: 5' 10.5"
Weight: 166
Bodyfat: Not sure, but low enough to see abs
Age: 22
Starting Standing Vertical: can jump up and hit box under rim with no steps
Starting Running Vertical: can grab rim on a good day

Training Method: Jump Manual Principles where I have one day of intense plyometrics and one day of explosive leg lifts every week. The plyometric exercises done change biweekly, but the explosive lifts should stay the same.

This training cycle will take about 12 weeks to complete and I will reevaluate my progress every 4 weeks. I will be adding in hang cleans to my explosive leg day during week 7 of training...

My overall training split looks like:
Monday - Chest / Tricep
Tuesday - Plyometrics
Thursday - Explosive Leg Lifts
Friday - Back / Bicep
Saturday - Shoulder work every few saturdays

My core work is done in between sets of exercises because I can't stand to do it after brutal workouts.

I will do static and dynamic stretches every day of the week with extra emphasis on the hip flexors.

My macronutrient ratios and caloric surplus have me bulking at about 1 pound of weight gain per week. I understand that this might hinder my vertical jump gains in the short term, but it will help me achieve a higher power to weight ratio in the long run after I cut down any extra fat gained from lean bulking.

Goal: Dunk a basketball... I probably need about 6 inches more inches of running vertical to do so.

Reason: I have seen countless vertical jump training threads on here that are very inspirational to me, but abruptly end without the poster reaching his goals. I will continue this thread until I achieve my goal or get injured and have to stop(I am very injury prone by the way).

[mkelsey]

All plyometric exercises are completed at MAX effort.

Box Jumps: 13 squares stacked up on each side and a flat stepup on top x 8 x 3
Side to Side Box Jumps: 2 squares stacked up on each side and flat stepup on top x 8 x 3
Weighted Explosions: 20lbs x 8 x 3
-Basically an exercise where you get into a squat position and hurl weights forward while jumping as high as possible
Med Ball approach: 6lb ball x 6 x 3
-An exercise where you approach basketball rim like you are about to dunk and jump as high as possible.
-I could only get the ball up to the foam side of the backboard.
-These were brutal to complete at MAX effort.
Zig Zags - 3 sets
Picked a line on the bball court and jumped back and forth over it while moving forawrd as rapidly as possible until my effort diminished.
Med Ball throws - 15lb ball x 8 x 3
- Dynamically go from standing into a squat position and immediately launch a med ball behind your head as you explode out of the squat position.

I also plan to add rim jumps and speed rope to this workout in week 3 of plyometrics.

[mkelsey]

All sets labeled as explosive have a certain pattern for the set in order to make it explosive.
Sets 1-3 are done as EXPLOSIVE as possible.
Set 4 is done slow and controlled in order to feel as much burn in the muscles as possible.
Set 5 is done explosive, but with a bit less weight than sets 1-4. Set 5 is a BURNOUT set.

*** All sets consist of a couple LOW depth jumps in between each sets in order to keep the muscles reactive ***

Explosive ATG squats
1-4 175 x 5reps
5 165,155,145,135 x 5 reps
--- Could barely walk after completing set 5

Explosive donkey calf raises (F***** up left ankle right now so I had to go light...)
1-4 45 x 8reps
5 45,40,35,30,25 x 8 reps

Explosive Deadlifts
1-4 195 x 3reps
5 185,175,165,155 x 3reps

Explosive ham curls
1-4 100 x 5reps
5 95,90,85,80,75,70... x 5

I plan to add lunges or glute bridges to this workout next week as well.

Yes I know most of my leg lifts are weak in comparison to what I see on this forum, but I will improve as much as possible over the next 11 weeks in an effort to throw down my first dunk!!!

My ankle was sprained badly a few weeks ago, and is about 70% healed. It is having a negative effect on my lifts, but I have been doing extensive rehab on it so it should be good to go soon.

I also encourage everyone to PURCHASE THE JUMP MANUAL before attempting to start any vert training program because it has taught me a lot about vertical training. Another good purchase would be the vertical jump bible by Kelly Bagget.

I also advise anyone new to working out or training for jumping to learn how to CORRECTLY do the compound leg movements such as the squat and deadlift. They are relatively complicated exercises that can easily lead to injuries if not performed properly.

[mkelsey]

I will try and post my upper body workouts on this log in addition to my lower body workouts. If anyone has any suggestions for my workouts, I would love to hear them!

***Played a couple hours of bball before workout***

Pre-workout: Beta-cret

Bench Press
155 x 6,6,4

Iso-lateral Decline Press
165 x 8, 170 x 8 x 2

Incline Dumbbell Press
50 x 8,6,6

Seated Dips
165 x 8 x 3

Tricep Rope Spread
42.5 x 10 x 3

Immediate Post workout - Chocolate Malt Gold standard protein shake w/ 1% milk & a banana for insulin spike

[mkelsey]

Box Jumps
14 squares per side of step up x 8 x 2, 15 squares per side of step up x 1

Side to Side Jumps over step up
3 squares per side of step up x 10 x 3

Weighted Explosions
20 x 6 x 3

Med Ball Approach
6x 6 x 3..... Feeling way more explosive during this exercise

Zig Zags
3 sets

Med Ball Throws
15 x 8 x 3

***Worked on shooting in between sets, and played a couple of games of 21 after I finished the plyo workout***

Taking progress pics on the first of every month so they should be posted by Thursday night.

Will add rim jumps and speed rope in a few weeks to this plyo workout...

[mkelsey]

Weight is up to 169lbs now!

Explosive ATG squats
1-4 185 x 5reps
5 175,165,155,145 x 5 reps

Explosive donkey calf raises
1-4 70 x 8reps
5 70,65,60,55 x 8 reps

Explosive Deadlifts
1-4 205 x 3reps
5 185,175,165,155 x 3reps

Explosive ham curls
1-4 105 x 5reps
5 100,95,90,85 x 5

I ran out of time for lunges or glute bridges, but will try and fit one of them in next week.

[mkelsey]

Pull Ups
10,7,5

Lat Pulldown
105x6,100x8x2

Iso-Lat Row
120x8x3

Wide Grip Standing Bicep Barbell Curl
70x8x3

Burnout set of 3 types of dumbell curls
25lbs - biceps roasted

Then I did a couple more sets of pullups using a narrow inward facing grip to target the biceps...

[mkelsey]

Height: 5' 10.5"
Weight: 167 ***Up 1 lb from last weigh in***

Reach: 87" - short arms lol
Standing Update: About 21"
Running Vertical Update: can easily grab rim now so I'm guessing around 34"
***If my standing vertical gets me up 9' in the air and my I can grab rim easily then it should be around 34"***

There is a huge discrepancy between my standing and running vertical. If anyone has any insight on why the difference is so large, please let me know! The good news is that I am trending in the positive direction, and I would love to be able to throw down an alley oop by January 1st if possible!!!

[mkelsey]

My wrist is really sore and made this workout hard to complete today... I'll be using epsom salt/ice/heat to get it better by Friday for Pull workout.

Bench Press
155 x 6,6,4 -previous
155 x 6,6,6
- weight felt a bit light but my wrist was bothering me quite a bit so I kept the same weight as last week
Iso-lateral Decline Press
165 x 8, 170 x 8 x 2

Incline Dumbbell Press
50 x 8,6,6 -previous
50 x 8,8,8

Iso-Lat decline press
180 x 8,6,5

Skullcrushers on decline bench/Close grip bench superset
70 x 6,6,6
-wrist was really sore by this time...

Dips-

bw x 4,4,2
-Triceps were roasted from the skullcrusher/close grip superset

Tricep Rope Spread
35 x 8 x 3
-A bit weight than normal because my triceps were obliterated at this point

Plyometrics at 7am tomorrow!

[mkelsey]

Sprints
4 sets of sprints the full length of bball court

Lunge Jumps
3x8x3

1 Leg Chair Rockets
3x8x3

Med Ball Throws
15 x 8 x 3
-I feel myself throwing the med ball way higher and in a much more explosive effort
-It also feels like my posterior chain is becoming better at working together as a cohesive unit

Zig Zags
3 sets

I planned on doing some rim jumps, weighted explosions, and then some more sprints to end the workout... But I got distracted with playing bball in the gym. I played for about 2 hours after the plyo exercises above. I hope all the in game jumping I did made up for the missed last 3 exercises.

[mkelsey]

Explosive ATG squats
1-4 190 x 5reps (Up 5lbs)
5 185,175,165 x 5 reps (Up 5 lbs)

Explosive donkey calf raises
1-4 80 x 8reps (Up 5 lbs)
5 70,65,60,55 x 8 reps

Explosive Deadlifts
1-4 215 x 3reps (Up 10lbs... I want to get that 300 lb deadlift soon!)
5 215,205,195 x 3reps (Up 30lbs for the burnout set)

Explosive ham curls
1-4 110 x 8reps
5 100,95 x 8

Explosive Hack Squats
I did a few light sets of these to get some quad stimulation and practice the form of the exercise. I will be adding these into my routine for the next few weeks. The ATG squats are roasting my posterior chain, but my quads were being neglected in the previous two leg workouts. This is because my posterior chain is a lot weaker than my quads.


***I have a total of 7 explosive leg workouts and 7 plyometric training days left before January 1st***

My goal is to throw my first dunk down by February 1st. By dunk I mean alley-oop, self alley-oop, or a normal dunk. I will post a video if I do... =)
---I am feeling way more explosive and reactive than when I started this program, and think that I could realistically throw down that first dunk by February 1st.
---If anyone is reading this blog, I made it to inspire other people that were told they would never be able to dunk. Anything is possible.

[mkelsey]

I will not be able to workout from Saturday - Monday so I had to switch the routine up this week.

I did my push workout Monday and then my pull workout Tuesday.

I had to skip plyometrics this week, but will continue next week.

Next leg workout is tomorrow morning and I will be adding in the hack squat.

My vertical is still going up!!! I will post a video soon(prob next week) of how high I can jump above the rim in order to better track vertical results.

Push
Bench Press
165x4, 155x6,135x9
---Went too heavy on the first set and it ruined the last two

Iso-Lat Incline Press
110x10,130x8,140x6

Flat Bench DB
55x9,60x5,60x5

Close Grip Bench
75x10,85x8,95x6

Dips
6,6,5

One Arm Cable Press
Light Weights

Pull
Typewriter Pull ups
6,6,4 - These were way more difficult than regular pull ups, but I will get better...

Iso-Lat High Row
160x10, 170x8, 180x6

Pullover
100 x 10, 110x8, 120x6

Standing Wide Grip Barbell Curl
70x10, 80x7. 90x2

Revers Barbell Curl
50x10, 60x8,70x3

[mkelsey]

Explosive ATG squats
1-4 195,200,200, 200 x 3reps
5 185 x 175,165 x 3 reps

Explosive donkey calf raises
1-4 90x 8 reps
5. * * 70,65,60,55x 8reps

Explosive snatch grip Deadlifts
1-4 225 x 3reps
5 215, 205, 195 x 3 reps*

Explosion Hack squats*
1-4 250 x 5 reps
1-5 240,220,200 x 5

[mkelsey]

military press*
95 x 10, 105 x 6, 105 x 6

Shrug
160 x 10, 170 x 8, 180 x 6

Rear deltoid*
65 x 10, 70 x 8, 75 x 6

Nitro lateral raise
65 x 10, 70 x 8, 75 x 6

[mkelsey]

Stacking beta-cret with con-cret
Fish oil and flaxseed oil
Multi
Osteo-Biflex
Protein powder for PW and upping daily protein intake - ON gold standard cinnamon graham cracker(it tastes great)

[mkelsey]

Explosive ATG squats
1-4 210,210,210,210(Hlp) x3reps
5 195, 185, 175x 3 reps

Explosive donkey calf raises
1-4 100x 8 reps
5 80,75,70x *8reps

Explosive snatch grip Deadlifts
1-4 235 x 3reps*
5 215, 205, 195 x 3 reps*
--- had to start using mixed grip today

1 second pause explosive Hack squats
260 x 5 x 3

[mkelsey]

Box Jumps: 16 squares stacked up on each side and a flat stepup on top x 8 x 3
Side to Side Box Jumps: 3 squares stacked up on each side and flat stepup on top x 8 x 3
Weighted Explosions: 5lbsx 8 x 3
Med Ball approach: 6lb ball x 6 x 3
-I am now touching the rim with the med ball, and started off only touching the foam underneath the backboard
Rim Jumps
3x8x3

Right shoulder is really sore from excessive amount of shooting in combination with my shoulder workout last week. I decided to skip the plyos that used a lot of shoulder movement to avoid further damage.

[mkelsey]

Explosive ATG squats
1-4 220,220,220,220 x2reps
5 205,195,185 x 3 reps

Explosive donkey calf raises
1-4 110x 8 reps
5 100,95,90 x 8reps

Explosive snatch grip Deadlifts
1-4 245 x 3reps
5 215, 205, 195 x 3 reps

1 second pause explosive Hack squats
270 x 3 x 3

[mkelsey]

I skipped my plyometric workout this week because my legs were still too sore from the last leg workout to go max effort on the exercises.

Explosive ATG squats
1-3 225 x 3 x 2, 225 x 1(spotter helped me push out 2 more reps)
4 205 x 2
5 175,165,155 x 3 drop set

Hang Cleans
55x6x3
---First time ever doing hang cleans, and they felt good... I really focused on the landing portion of the lift and absorbing all the shock from the clean

Explosive Ham Curls
1-3 50 x 8 x 3
4 50x8x1
5 50,40,30 x 8 drop set

Explosive donkey calf raises
1-3 120x8
4 100x8
5 100,95,90 x 8reps drop set

Lunges
15,15,25 x 6 x 3

Explosive snatch grip Deadlifts
1-4 245 x 3reps
5 215, 205, 195 x 3 reps

Explosive Deadlifts
1-3 255 x 3reps
4 225 x 3
5 235,230,225 x 3reps drop set

[mkelsey]

For the next 3 weeks I want to hit my legs with more explosive movements in order to help translate all the strength I have gained into vertical gains. I will also be increasing weight training frequency to twice a week during this phase.

Workout 1

Box Squats
205x3x3

Hang Cleans
65x6x3

1sec pause hack squats
280x3x3

Deadlifts
255x3x3

[mkelsey]

Wrist is sprained again, and I couldn't do deadlifts or hang cleans today.

Box Squats
215x3x3

Calf Raises
120 x 8 x 3

1sec pause hack squats
290x3x3

Bulgarian Split Squats
60 x 5 x 3 Per Leg

[mkelsey]

Box Squats
225x3x3

Calf Raises
130 x 8 x 3

1sec pause hack squats
300x3x3

Bulgarian Split Squats
70 x 5 x 3 Per Leg

*** Plyometric variations were done between sets ***

[mkelsey]

Box Squats
235x3x3

Calf Raises
135 x 8 x 3

Bulgarian Split Squats
70 x 5 x 3 Per Leg

Snatch grip explosive Deadlifts
265 x 3 x 3

-Wrist is finally feeling better!
-I'll hit my first 300# deadlift soon

1sec pause hack squats
310x3x3



*** Plyometric variations were done between sets ***
-mostly a couple depth jumps

[mkelsey]

Box Squats
245 x 2,3,3,2 x 4

Calf Raises
140 x 8 x 3

Lying Ham Curls
70 x 8 x 3

Snatch grip explosive Deadlifts
275 x 2,2,3 x 3

About 10 mins of core work after workout

[mkelsey]

During the med ball approaches I almost dunked a 6 pound medicine ball. So then I grabbed a basketball from the sidelines. I missed my first dunk attempt. Then I tried again and made my first dunk ever. It was not clean, but I was so happy I got it that I couldn't finish my workout...

Depth Jumps - 6 boxes
8 x 3

Side to Side Jumps over step up
3 squares per side of step up x 8 x 4

Weighted Explosions
5 x 8 x 3

Med Ball Approach
6x 6 x 1
Dunked after first set!!!

[mkelsey]

I will be doing 6 straight weeks of strength phase combined with a different plyometric day during the week. I threw down my first dunk this tuesday, and I look forward to making a clean one soon... My weights on all the exercises are going up quickly!

Explosive ATG squats
1-3 230 x 2 x 3
-barely able to explode off of ground on 3rd set
4 210 x 3
5 200,195,190 x 3 drop set

Explosive donkey calf raises
1-3 145 x 8
4 140 x 8
5 140 x 8, 135 x 6 - Calves were fried at this points and I couldn't complete the drop set

Explosive snatch grip Deadlifts
1 290 x 2
2 295 x 2
3 300 x 3 - Finally hit a 300lb snatch grip deadlift!!!
4 255 x 3 slow and controlled reps

Explosive Ham Curls
1-3 70,85,90 x 3
4 65x8x1
5 75,70,65 x 8 drop set

Hang Cleans
70 x 6 x 3

Bulgarian Split Squats
1 70 x 5 x 3 EXPLOSIVE
2 30 x 5 x 3 Jumping off ground

[mkelsey]

Sprints
4 sets

Lunge Jumps
4 x 10

1 Leg Chair Rockets
4 x 10

Medicine Throws
3 x 8

Zig Zags
3 sets

Rim Jumps
4 x 10

Sprints
1 set

[MikaHell]

Sprints
4 sets

Lunge Jumps
4 x 10

1 Leg Chair Rockets
4 x 10

Medicine Throws
3 x 8

Zig Zags
3 sets

Rim Jumps
4 x 10

Sprints
1 set

Hey man, great log!

I've just started the Jump Manual as well! So are you able to dunk easily now ?