Another first!!

This past week I worked out after school, usually I lift twice a week in school doing squat and power clean and once a week after school doing squat, leg press, and ham curls. I did 300 on leg press which is 60 pounds more than I could do when I started training in July. Anyways, went to the outdoor court a little bit ago and slammed 9'10 dirty style!!! It seems so much easier to dunk it now!! I also dunked it on the 10'1/2" goal three times and I have never even dunked on that goal before!!!! So lets just say today felt pretty awesome and I felt like I was getting up there!! I dunked my wrist easy on 9'10. Plan on going to the gym on Sunday to make another video and see where im at. I feel like I am making progress though, not real fast but fast enough!! Got to get even higher though!!!

Getting better!

I went to the gym today and jumping around a little bit. I was able to grab rim pretty easy off of standing vertical, my guess is im about a 27.5" right now. Running vertical is probably 34"-35". I also was able to grab with 2 hands off of 1 step. To my surprise I was able to dunk it 4 times in a row!!! I missed a few times but I am getting it much more consistent than I was 2 weeks ago when I got 3 dunks down out of about 15 attempts. Today I got about 6 dunks down out of about 10 attempts. Still wanting to get higher and be able to slam it hard!!! Need to get it off the dribble to. What yall think!?



Progress

I have not been to the gym to try some dunk attempts at 10' so I do not really know how I will do. I have been making progress dunking on 9'6 though! I can dunk 2 hands off of 2 feet which I used to not be able to do. I can also alley oop myself off the backboard and dunk with 1 and 2 hands. Definitely getting better jumping off of 2 feet as I do it more because it hurts my shins jumping off 1 leg. I am getting stronger too!! We lift weights at school 2 times a week and today we did 6 sets of 4 reps. On squat I did 205 which I thought was pretty good as I weigh about 145. I am just going to try and keep getting stronger and just keep doing dunks as it seems to be helping. Hopefully as project graduation at the end of May when I graduate, I will be able to throw some dunks down at 10'. Project graduation is an over night lock in at the gym and everyone in high school goes! It would be pretty cool to be able to slam some down with everyone there!!! Plus I will just have gratuated and that would be an awesome graduation gift!! 6" in 8 months possible!? Guess we will see.

First Goal.....Complete!!!

 

Ok so I have not been doing any jump manual at all. All I have been doing is lower body lifting and jumping dunking 9'6 and 9'10 trying to get higher at all times and dunk it even harder!! I also drink a whey power protein shake after lifting and jumping nearly every day. So everyone knows my goal has been to dunk 1 hand by September 17 which would be Monday. I went to the gym a little bit ago with a friend to see what I could do really not expecting much. I tried dunking many times and failed many times often boucing the ball off the back rim. Finally I got it for the first time but no vidoe!!!!!! So my friend grabbed the phone and I tried about 3 more times and failed before getting this one on video!! So I finally accomplished the goal of dunking with one hand and I did it before my set goal date. Just got to get even higher now where I can dunk it harder and more consistent!!

 



Week Recap

Well this week I really did not do any jump manual like I had planned. I just can not seem to motivate myself to do it after school because usually I have homework and I am tired. I am going to try and get a little weight lifting in a day a week and also just jump and try dunks. On Tuesday I went to the gym and I did squats, calf raises, and ham curls. Those were the lifts I thought would benefit me the most and I wanted to have time to shoot some hoop in the gym before I had to leave. I also jumped yesterday and dunked 9'6 left handed pretty hard which I have never done and also got it with 2 hands pretty hard. I made several attempts on 10'1/2" and ALMOST got it down twice but just could not get it. Maybe this week I will get it down for the first time!

New JM schedule for start of week 9

I took last week off from the JM to see how the school workouts would be. At school we are lifting the core lifs (power clean, squat, incline, bench) twice a week. On Tuesday we do each lift at 6 sets of 4 and on Thursday we do each lift but at 6 sets of 2. I am planning on doing the strength and explosion workouts after school on Tuesday that way I can have Wednesday off. Thursday I will do off day exercise and Friday I will do core and upper body. Saturday I will do the plyometrics, Sunday core and upper and Monday off day exercise. I think this schedule will be easiest for me to follow for now anyways. I am going to try and stick with this schedule until about a week before Thanksgiving when basketball starts. I have completely dropped the goal of dunking with 2 hands as it will be impossible to do before basketball season starts and I have to quit workouts. I just hope I can get it with one hand and a little force before basketball season. At least I could dunk in pre game then!!  I should have started with the plyo workout on Saturday to start week 9 but I am going to start week 9 tomorrow with the weight lifting. I am pretty busy with school and everything but I am going to try and stick with it and hopefully have a video put up this next week. Good luck training to all!!!

End of week 8

Got both the plyometric workout and the weight workout in as long as a day of core and upper body. I have not been testing my verticals each week like I should because of no way to video. I did go to the gym yesterday and jumped a little. I did get 2 "dunks" down if you can call it that. It was more of a very very weak dunk. I felt like I was high enough to get it down but I just could not get it down witout bouncing it off back iron. Hopefully I will get it down soon!!!! Im so close I can freakin taste it, just got to get it. I am taking this week off from JM to see how the weight lifting is going to go at school before I schedule for next week. Been trying everything to ease the shin splint in my left leg but can not find any cure. Just need to layoff from jumping so much I guess. Hope to get some video once my "dunks" dont look pathetic haha Good luck to all training!!

No birthday dunk

I went to the gym yesterday with hopes of dunking on my birthday which was my goal from the very beginning. I was not able to do this but I feel like I am pretty close and should get it down within the next 3 weeks. Things are going to change next week when school starts and it will be hard to train. We hit the weights hard 3 times a week at school so I am not sure if I can do jump manual after school without overtraining or being too worn out to so it. Jump Manual says not to incorporate jump manual with any other weight training so I am not sure what to do. Anyone have any suggestions or thoughts about this? Anyways back to what I was talking about. I feel like I am pretty close to getting a dunk and I actually grabbed rim off of my standing vertical for the first time!! There was also a basketball about the size of a girls ball but it was a little flat where I could have a good hold on it. I missed several dunks due to the rim popping and hitting the ball but I did get it down once pretty good. Once again I was in the gym alone so no video and no adrenaline. Right after I dunked that ball the first time a friend walked in and I said "watch this" I went up and jammed that ball!! Not just a dunk but a dunk with some force behind it! Now I just got to get where I can dunk a fully aired up mens ball. The new goal is to dunk 1 hand by September 17 which is 4 weeks. Next week I am not sure I will get any workouts in being the first week of school and I am going to try and see how the in school workouts are going to be and how I can incorporate jump manual. So actually I should have about 3 weeks to get the dunk down. Hope all goes as planned, need to get there soon!

End of week 7 -_-

Well week 7 is basically done with. Lets just say it was basically a whole week off for me. I was too sore to do the plyo workout on Monday. I did do the core and upperbody workout on Wednesday and planned on going to the gym today to do the weights but they had the gym closed due to waxing the floors. I usually test my vertical jumps on Monday so I did not get to test week 6 because the floors being waxed all this week. I may get to go to the gym this coming Monday and test my verticals for end of week 7. So lets just say this week was a week of rest. I did jump some on Tuesday and Wednesday night but my shin started hurting pretty bad. My goal of dunking by my birthday which is Monday is not looking too bright. I did get video of me dunking 9'10 again. A friend of mine threw the ball up in the air and I dunked it off his alley oop but not on video. Sorry about the video angle. I was alone and had to put my phone on the ground to record. Lets pray that week 8 will be a magical week and for the first time I will gain 1" in one week.



End of week 6

Sorry for waiting so long to post. Week 6 is now done and in the books. I missed one day of core and upper body workout and a day of off day exercises. In my last post I said I was going to miss the weight workout because I was getting sick. Well the next day I felt better so I went on to the gym and did the weight exercises. I did it on Friday and I was very sore until about Tuesday! I have no idea why, possibly because of the squats which I just started doing recently. I also went very hard with as much weight as possible. The floor in the gym is being waxed so I was not able to go in and get video. I have dunked 9'10 a few more times but have not been able to dunk it as hard as I did in the last video. Must have really been jumping good that night. My goal has been to dunk before my birthday which is on Monday!! I am not feeling confident about this and will likely have to bump that date a few more weeks. School starts in a week and a half which is going to make it harder to get workouts in but I will try and see what happens. Kind of starting to lack in confidence and I need something to light the fire again...

Current Vertical

Sorry I have not been posting the measurments of my verticals lately. A little bummed today because I have somewhat of a cold and have to skip the weight workout today. My whole body is sore, I have a cough and just feel plain tired! Anyways based on my last 2 videos my running 1 foot vertical was a little different when I dunked 9'10 and when I touched the 10' rim. I looked to be about 2" higher when I dunked 9'10 than when I touched the 10' rim. Take a look yourself. My reach is 7'11 and the goal is 9'10 so that is a 23" difference. From my middle finger to my wrist is 8" and I am several inches below my wrist over the rim.
Standing vertical: 27" (1" gain since starting JM)
1 step vertical: 30" ( 3" gain since starting JM)
Running 1 foot vertical: 32" in the gym & about 34" when I dunked 9'10 ( 3" gain since starting JM)
Running 2 foot vertical: 31" (1.5" gain since starting JM)

End of week 5

Week 5 is over and I missed both days of the core and upper body workouts. One day I was sick and I dont remember why I missed the other day. Like I said I dunked on the 9'10 goal at the outdoor court prettty hard but did not get video of it. Well I went back up there Sunday and just so happened to get a dunk down with a little bit of force. After watching the video scroll down and compare it to the first time I dunked 9'10 a little over a month ago. Looks to me like I am about 3" higher now. Based on the video I should be able to dunk 10' but as Candyman and JW Dunk stated I think it is a mental block for me. The 10' goal looks soooo much higher than the 9'10 goal and I think my mind tells me that it is too high for me. I totally agree with JW Dunk that once I get it for the first time then it will not be that way because that is how 9'10 used to be for me until I got it for the first time. I went to the gym yesterday to do all of my vertical tests but I was a little sore and not jumping my best. I did grab the rim with 2 hands which I can do basically whenever I want now. None of my other jumps seemed any higher than when I started the program. Let me know what you think about the jumps!



I like the outdoor court!!:)

Last night I went to the outdoor court (the same one I dunked 9'10 for the first time and grabbed rim with 2 hands on 6-25-12) After playing a game of 2 on 2 I went to the 9'10 rim and grabbed with 2 hands EASILY!! So easy that I even grabbed it with 2 hands on my one step vertical!! I was not very confident at all with my one leg jumping but I thought what the heck. I grabbed the basketball and dunked 9'10 off one leg about like I did a month ago but I was happy because I had not been able to dunk it in the past weeks. One of my friends walked over and I told him I was going to try and put some force behind it and I may not make the dunk. Needless to say I dunked it harder than I ever have!! There was no bouncing around in the rim, it went straight down and hit me in the chest before I ever hit the ground!!! Oh and by the way...I grabbed the 10' 1/2" rim with 2 hands also for the first time. Based on last night my running 2 foot vertical has increased about 2" and my 1 foot about 1". Last night was the first time I have actually felt like I was jumping higher since starting the jump manual. It was a great confidence booster and it came at just the right time. Ready to add on some more inches theses next few weeks before school starts!!

End of week 4

I missed the weight lifting and one day of core and upper body workouts so I missed 2 out of 6 workouts. We had to do some running and weight lifting for school and I was too sore after that to do the weight lifting. Went to the gym yesterday and was feeling pretty good. Did not get video because I was by myself and had  nowhere to set my phone to record. On my standing vertical I felt like I was jumping a tad bit higher, maybe 1/2". I was getting my fingers over the rim but could not quite grab it. My one step vertical was about the same, I was hitting rim a little below my fingers. Running and jumping off of 2 feet I grabbed and hung on the rim with 2 hands for the first time which is an accomplishment. I also dunked a very small ball about the size of a soft ball. Running and jumping off of 1 foot was terrible. I am jumping about 2" lower than I was before I started the program. I personally think it is because I do not jump as much as I did before the program and that has hurt me. Maybe the Jump Manual just is not for me and I need to do like Steven @stevendunks on youtube. He mostly just jumps a lot and has seen great progress over the months. Not sure what to do but I have not seen the gains I thought I would...

End of week 3

Sorry I am late posting as week 3 ended on Monday. I was hoping to get video in the gym but ended up playing 3 hours of basketball games instead. I got all workouts in except one set of off day exercises. Still have not really seen any increases in any of my vertical jumps. I know I am getting plenty of rest and I only jump when my legs are feeling good and warmed up. Not sure what is going on there. Like I said in my last post I am going to start doing squats. I plan on doing the first 4 sets of 8 on the squat and doing the 5th set (burnout set) on the leg press machine. I did get some video on Sunday but nothing great. I have a portable goal off the road a few feet and there is a drop off from the pavement of about 2" so I have to jump a little early to avoid a twisted ankle. You can really tell on my 2 foot running vertical how I have to jump far out and then reach out to grab rim. Anyways comment away with any tips or advice!!!

Based on this video stats are as follows:
Standing vertical: 26.5"
one step vertical: 28"
Running vertical off 2 feet: 29"
Did not test running vertical off 1 foot, I felt weak jumping off one foot for some reason...

Change up!

When my weight workout approaches on Thursday I am planning on making a small change that will hopefully result in BIG changes. I am going to take leg press out of the workout and do regular squats instead. I think regular squats will work out more muscles and help my vertical jump out better. The last time I squatted was when I fractured my vertebrae so I am a little nervous to squat again. I think once I start doing squat again I will see better progress in my vertical jump training. Week 4 starts tomorrow and I am going to do my best to get a video put up no matter how good I am jumping. If anyone has any advice or opinions please post them!!

Rest Maybe?

So far this week I have done all but one day of exercise and that was off day exercises anyways. Yesterday I skipped the off day exercises because of a sore throat and allergies. The throat felt better today so I went on and did the weights even though I did not feel like it. Went up 5-10 pounds on every lift! I jumped around some but like Monday I was jumping at least 1" lower on every vertical jump!! Contemplating taking the rest of the week off and start strong on Monday. I have no clue why my vertical would drop other than me having allergies and possibly fatigue? Maybe if I take the next 3 days off I will be feeling great on Monday and will be jumping where I was at the end of week 1. I can not afford to be losing inches, I need to gain inches FAST!! About 6 weeks until school starts and I HAVE to dunk by then....

End of week 2

I have now completed 2 weeks of the jump manual and did all of the exercises. I went up at least 10 pounds on all of the leg lifts and my legs definitely felt it, that is good though!! I went to the gym yesterday and was planning on videoing my vertical jumps but ended up playing basketball instead. Once we finished our games I was completely dead so I did not video. I went to the gym today to try and video but I was jumping way lower than usual and did not want it on video!!!  I am hoping the reason for this is from playing lots of basketball last night which I am not used to. I also have a sore throat and my whole body just felt tired. Hopefully this sore throat goes away fast, cant get sick!!! I am going to let my legs rest today and tomorrow so I can hit the weights hard on Thursday! I definitely plan on videoing my vertical jumps next Monday. Hopefully I will be jumping HIGHER and not lower!!

Little Motivation!!

I was a little discouaged that I did not gain anything on my running vertical this past week. I know it was only the end of week 1 but still I WANT GAINS!!! I got a tape measure out and put the end of the tape about where my hand regularly hits the rim. It got me pretty pumped up to see where my arm could be hitting rim if I gain these inches!! As you can tell about 2-3" I will be dunking for the first time and 6-7" I can not even imagine what would be going down! Got 11 weeks to get there...lets do this!



End of week 1

One week down...11 to go!!!!! Did all of the exercises and followed everything the best I could. Today on the workout I skipped the sprints because of my shin splints but did everything else. I went to the gym today and tested my 4 verticals and didnt really see or feel an increase in any of them which was disappointing. I did pop the rim with 2 hands once but that was basically all. When I got home I zoomed in on the computer and saw that actually did gain a little bit on a couple of the jumps!! Im going to start testing the verticals every Sunday or Monday in the gym that way I will know its the same rim and wont have to worry about lighting like I do at the outdoor court. Hopefully next week is better and I get a 1-2" gain on all verticals. Legs felt a little tired today also so that may have had something to do with the no gain on the running, not sure though. Praying for gains this week!!!!

Standing vertical: 26.5" (1/2" increase)
One step vertical: 29" (2" increase)
One foot running vertical: 31" (No increase)
Two foot running vertical: 30.5" (1" increase)



The Beginning!!

Today I started the jump manual and most of the workouts were 4 sets of 8 reps. I wanted to ease in to it because of my back so I did 2 sets of 8 reps. The workout went well though and my legs felt it esepcially on the weighted explosions and the medicine ball approaches!! Plan on doing the same for the weights on Thursday as far as the sets go. Maybe next week I will do all sets. Hopefully I will still see gains even though im not doing all the sets. Last night I measured 4 different verticals but it was dark outside and the video quality wasnt very good. Dunked on 9'10" again also! The journey has begun and there is no turning back now! Up Up and away!!

Standing no-step vertical: 26"
one-step vertical: 27"
one foot running vertical: 31"
2 foot running vertical: 29.5"

Stats: I touched the top of my palm on the rim with my running vertical and got my finger tips over the rim on my standing. I also touched the rim with 2 hands.

Rim in video is 1/2" taller (10'1/2")



6" would be AMAZING!!!!

A few nights ago I was really warmed up and was dunking on my basketball goal which I had set at 9'6" ( actually 9'5.5") I can throw it down one handed pretty hard I must say, my wrist is about 4"over the rim or so. I also dunked off of 2 feet and I am a much stronger one foot jumper. I dunked with 2 hands also but not very hard. I can slam it pretty hard with one hand off of the dribble also. I just keep thinking to myself...6 more inches and I will be able to do all of these dunks at 10'!!! That would be AMAZING and then all of my friends would go insane when they saw it. I'm hoping to increase my running vertical at least 4" in the next 7 weeks which would put me at about 35" but would be much happier with more. By November 1st I am hoping my running vertical has increased at least 7 inches and my vertical is near 38". I'm still having pain in my lower back muscles but the vertebrae is completely healed. Hopefully this won't hold me back and I can get some work in. Follow along with me as I try and dunk by August 20th. Would be a nice birthday present for sure!!

A couple of firsts!!

Last night 6-25-12 my cousin and I hit up the court. We were about to leave but I wanted to try and dunk on the 9'10" goal I had almost got about a week ago. I jumped quite a few times and just couldnt get it and then my cousin told me to grab rim with two hands. I knew I could not do it but I said oh well. I ran and jumped off 2 feet and grabbed it with both hands!!! I was pumped so I tried it off 1 foot and got rim with 2 hands again!!! I was shocked to say the least so I decided I would try and get the 1 hand dunk again. Well I tried it and I got it down for the first time ever! but was not videoing as I was not expecting to get it down :(  Well my cousin got the phone and started recording and I got it down AGAIN!!! This is only 9'10" but it is definitely progress even though I still have not started the jump manual due to my back. Sorry for the poor video quality. It was off of a cell phone and it was dark.

Progress even though I've done no workouts!?!?!

I was at the local outdoor basketball park and there are 2 goals, one that is 9'10" and another that is 10'. I decided to try and dunk the 9'10"for the heck of it and I almost got it!! I got the bottom of my palm at the rim and got the ball over but it hit off the back rim. My guess was that I was about 2"from getting it. I had never been that close to dunking on that goal even before the back injury so I was super shocked. All the kids said "ohhhhh" cause they thought it was going down!! Of course I didnt have the camera rolling but hopefully I can get the dunk down and will be recording then.

9'6" Dunk

This dunk was the hardest I have ever thrown down at 9'6" so I was pretty pumped. My wrist is up over the rim pretty good if you pause the video at the right time you can see. I did get it down with 2 hands one time but it was weak and i wasnt recording at the time.