I still hate planks.
My core is getting stronger and my Pilates instructor has noticed a difference so something is working. I have also noticed some more definition around my sides and front which is a nice added bonus.
Other than that there is not much to report today other than I am quite proud of myself to be on week 3 and not having missed any sessions, even though some days I didn’t feel like doing it or it was difficult to find time.
A big training day again today and everything felt easier and I was able to complete the session faster and with more weight – so progressing as expected.
I felt a little shaky in the legs after so I am still being pushed, however one thing I have noticed is that because I am doing this instead of my normal training routine (which I think will limit my gains as I may have been close to my limit already – that’s my fear anyway), I have noticed that my aerobic ability has decreased so I have added 3 of my sprint sessions a week back in to the training.
I do 5 x 60 m hill sprints on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Although the program advises against doing anything else, not doing this sprints has seriously effected my stamina in game and as such I feel I have to put it back. I cannot sacrifice every other part of my game just for a bigger vertical.
I will comment on how I think this effects things as I progress.
I felt a bit stiff pre-game so had to loosen out for about 10 minutes but I didn’t feel as shaky as last week so it seems that my body is starting to become accustomed to the training.
After the game I trying some dunk and I got one which could be classed as a dunk, although it was weak. I do feel I have some more air time and getting up to the rim seems easier so I guess it is working. I think I am being a little impatient too. I have only just finished two weeks, or one cycle. I want to be dunking now but I have to remain realistic soI am happy with the progress so far. I think that when my legs are stronger and I can lift my body weight in a squat, let alone 1.5x or 2x then I should see some major differences.
I have also been reading about squat technique and how form is super important to working out the correct muscles, as doing it wrong will see you lifting more weight but that won’t translate into speed or explosive power as the wrong muscle groups are firing and being trained.
Lets see where I am at after the second cycle.
Planks are hard. Core work today and it still hurts. But if it hurts then it need to get stronger so it has to be done. I can already see and feel a difference in the core area of my body, and not just the abs, all of it. The pilates really helps with this too though along with it providing a good full body stretching session twice a week.
Speaking of flexibility, I am touching my toes easily now and on a good day I can put my fingers flat on the floor, but not the palms too yet. Seeing as when I started I was about 4 inches from touching my toes I think the progress is amazing!
Anyway, game day again tomorrow so I will see if there is any noticeable difference again from this weeks work. I hope to be able to grab the rim from a standing jump, maybe that is optimistic for this week, but I hope to definitely do it by the end of week 4, and I might as well aim as high as I can.
My legs feel fine after yesterday, a little tired maybe but no real soreness in the legs to speak of which is nice. However my shoulders are sore, upper part of the traps to be exact which I think is from the weights when squatting. If it happens again next time I will take a towel to use for added padding.
Today was upper body work for me again mainly with a couple of light legs exercises. I am unsure as to whether I should up the weights as I don’t really want to bulk up to much but it is getting very easy now. Maybe I will just add some reps instead.
Second of the big workout days this week and I felt good going in. I really focused on pushing myself although the knees are taking a bit of a beating and I am struggling with one exercise, In Place Lunges, due to a problem I have with my left knee. It is a strange problem, if I can call it that. My knee is built strangely so that the outside tendon rolls over the joint of the bone on the outside when I bend the knee. It doesn’t hurt just feels horrible.
Anyway, the weights have been upped and it didn’t feel as hard as last time, so that appears to be a good sign. Onwards and upwards (hopefully).
I have fallen a little behind on writing this blog due to work so I am catching up today.
Today is an off day so I did my upper body routine again. I am not focusing on building size but more building speed with smallish weights (5 kg in each hand).
There are a couple of leg exercises though and my legs feel a little stronger but I will have to wait until Sunday to really test any results.
I left everything until about 10pm today, I really lacked motivation to do it but did it anyway and felt better for doing it afterwards. It was only a small day focusing on the core mostly. I find these days the hardest to be motivated for as I feel I am not really working on my jumping, but a strong core helps everything.
My left calf is feeling a lot better although I can still feel it slightly.
I have been feeling a little sore on the outsides of my glutes from Monday (week2 – day 1) but nothing to bad. The exercises are still quite draining but they are not killing me.
So here we are, the start of week 2. The week has flown by and it feels good to have started and got past the first week. I had been meaning and wanting to do a jump program for so long but just kept putting it off, so mentally I feel very positive too.
I still have a pulled muscle in my left calf but I decided to just push through it, don’t know if that was a good idea or not but I it didn’t hinder me during the session and I didn’t feel it at all after I started.
I have to keep remembering to push everything 100% as it is easy to become complacent and just go through the motions. I think I am going to print out a sign and put it on the wall where I train to remind myself before every exercise if I find I am losing concentration but I am pushing hard every time at the moment. It’s just difficult when your legs always feel tired and drained.
I still feel motivated to finish this program however and I am wondering if I will see the same gains at the end of this week as I did at the end of week 1. I hope I do.
Today was the end of the first week so I will talk about my feelings about the program and any visible results so far.
First off, to day was game day. My legs felt strong but still tired and still a tiny bit sore but nothing like the previous days, I have also had a pulled muscle in my left calf for a couple of days now but it wasn’t to bad.
Whilst I was playing my legs felt a bit shaky, like they had been worked out hard (which they have) and were not fully recovered. I don’t think playing will feel right again until at least week 4-6. I need to gain a lot of strength in my legs I think and it will take at least that long until they are comfortable with the work load and being pushed so much.
In terms of gains to my vertical, whilst I haven’t measured it yet with a tape measure I can mention what I have seen on the court. When I started, if you read back you will see, I could just touch the rim from a standing jump. Well today I my fingers around the rim. I would estimate I was about 1 -1.5 inches higher, which was a massive surprise if I am honest. I wasn’t expecting to see any gains after one week really, and even though I feel the pain of the work being put in I was still sceptical about the claims of gaining up to 12 inches, or whatever it is that the adverts say. If it continues like this however I will be super happy.
jump manual experience 