Jump Training Blog

Here's a link to another cool blog dedicated to jump training and improving overall athleticism. This guy is more of a track person, but he still knows his stuff.


Enjoy.





- Max

Switching to a Full Body Training Split

For some time now (at least a year) I've been usually following a 4 x week training template with an upper/lower blody split. For most of that time I was using Joe DeFranco's Westside for Skinny Bastards program (or least something pretty similar) and it definitely has worked. Lately, I've been a little frustrated with my lack of improvement (especially with gaining size) and I've just been a little bored in general with my training. The more I read about ectomorphs (those with thin bone structure and long limbs), which I am, the more I'm starting to think I might do better with a 3x a week full body split. I've noticed that I tend to gain more mass with more frequent training, as opposed to going 3-4 days before I work the same muscles again. I 'm still going to have a specific emphasis on each day (max effort, dynamic effort, repitition effort) like WSFSB did. Here's what the basic layout for each day would look like:

1. Explosive Movement
2. Squating Movement (inculdes single leg variations like step-ups, lunges, etc.)
3. Horizontal Press/Pull or Vertical Press/Pull superset
4. Posterior Chain/Hamstring Movement
5. Abs/Grip Circuit

And here's what a typical week of training might look like:

Day 1 - Max Effort:
Dynamic warm-up/Joint Mobility drills
1. 1 arm DB Snatch 8 x 2
2. Box Squat (heavy) 6 x 3-5
3A. DB Bench Press (heavy) 5 x 5
3B. 1 arm DB Row (heavy) 5 x 5
4. Barbell Goodmorning 3 x 10
5A. DB Farmer's Walk 3 x distance
5B. Back XT 3 x 10-12
5C. Ground Ab Circuit 3 rounds

Day 2 - Repetition Effort/Accesory
Dynamic warm-up/Joint Mobility drills
1. Barbell Hang Clean 5 x 2
2. DB Bulgarian Split Squat 2 x 10
3A. Chin-up (medium) 4 x 8
3B. 1 arm DB Military Press (medium) 4 x 8
4. 1 leg DB RDL's 2 x 10
5A. DB Hex Holds 3 x 10 sec.
5B. Woodchoppers 3 x 10

Day 3 - Dynamic Effort and Rep. Effort
Dynamic warm-up/Joint Mobility drills
1. Box Squats w/ Bands (speed squats w/ heavy band tension, light weight) 10 x 2
2A. Push-up Variation (light) 3 x 10
2B. Inverted Row (light) 3 x 10
3A. Rack Pulls 6 x 2, 1 x 15
3B. Deadlifts w/ added ROM 2 x 3
4A. Farmer's Walk 2 x distance
4B. Back XT 2 x 8
4C. Ab Plank Variations 1 x each variation as long as possible

I'll try this for 3-4 weeks and let you know how it goes. My diet will stay the same so I know how well I respond to this type of training. Everyone needs to switch it up every so often... Remember that your body adapts to anything in a few or even a couple of weeks. With WSFSB, I was switching up the volume every week and changing exercises every 2-3 weeks depending on how I was feeling. I never though of changing the number of days I lift a week.

Always try to improve. Never become satisfied.



- Max

Playgrounds, Kettlebells, and Stones...Oh My!

Since the weather was nice today, I hit up the local playground to get some work done. Here's what my training looked like:

Upper Body Rep. Effort - I hit all these in circuit style fashion, resting about a min. between rounds

1A. Pull-up variations x 6, 5, 4
1B. Push-up w/ feet elevated x 18, 15, 12
1C. Kettlebell Snatch x 6 l/r, 7 l/r, 8 l/r
1D. Stone Military Press x 10, 10, 10 (I found a nice heavy one @ my house and brought it with)
1E. 1 arm Recline Body Rows x 8, 6, 6

Conditioning - 3 rounds

2A. Bear Crawl x 100 ft.
2B. Jump Rope x 100
2C. KB Swing x 25

And for good measure:

3. KB Swings x 100







Train outside when you can. Just be resourceful and use your imagination. Bodyweight training can be brutal and there are thousands of variations of basics...










Train hard. Be creative.

- Max

Contrast Showers

If you've read my past posts, you know that I'm a big fan of Contrast Showers (Hot/Cold Showers) or baths. As far as I know, scientific research isn't conclusive on these as far as how much they help with recovery. All I know is that when I utilize them, I feel great.

This guy is also a fan.










Train Hard. Recover Hard.


- Max

Today's Training

I was feeling a little under the weather for a couple days this week, so I decided to make up for it with a little higher volume than usual today...


Dynamic Warm-up and Mobility drills

1A. 1 arm DB Snatch 70lbs x 2, 75lbs x 2, 80lbs x 2, 85lbs x 1 (all reps with each arm)
1B. Broad Jump/Vert. Jump 4 x 2/2
Rest: 60 sec.
2A. Box Squat Pistols (with DB's) 40lbs x 8, 70lbs x 8, 80lbs x 6
2B. Back XT 45lbs x 8, 50lbs x 8
Rest: 60 sec.
3A. Barbell RDL 135 x 10, 135 x 10
3B. 1 leg Back XT BW x 5, BW x 6 (with each leg)
Rest: 60 sec.
4. Ab Circuit - Sprinter Sit-ups, Toe Touches, Hip Thrusts, V-ups all x 10 for 2 rounds
Rest: 30 sec.


Later:

KB Swings x 200 no rest

Kettlebells!

I've been on a kettlebell kick and have been using them more than usual lately. I like kettlebells for several reasons:
a) They teach you to explode through the hips, which is possible the single most important factor in all athletic endeavors. Explosive hip drive is something a lot of athletes lack and can have a hard time learning through traditional barbell lifts. Not to mention, the kettlebell version of the classic olympic lifts (clean, snatch, jerk) is much easier to learn. Pretty much every kettlebell exercise out there is a full body lift, which if you haven't learned by know, is a good thing.
b) They are great for conditioning OR power development. As far as conditioning goes (they're tremendous for power/anaerobic endurance, which is they energy system primarly used is basketball), there is many ways to train for power/anaerobic endurance (hill sprints, stair sprints, killers/suicides, etc.), but kettlebells can be much easier on the joints.
c) You can train pretty much anywhere with a kettlebell (especially outside) versus traditional gym equipment.
d) I would say it's hard to find an exercise that mimics the vertical jump better than the kettlebell swing.


Now, after saying all that....Kettlebells are just a tool. They are not the magic training equipment that many make them out to be. You'd be a fool to use only kettlebells in your training. But, they are a great instrument and if you can afford them, why not? For beginners, they recommend men start out with a 35 lbs. kettlebell and women 15 to 25 lbs. It will seem much heavier than 35 lbs though. There are a lot of great sites to order them through and they are also at places like Dick's Sporting Goods and Sports Authority.

Here are some great articles on how to use kettlebells for power and explosiveness:

How to Combine Kettlebells and Bands for Explosive Sports Performance

How to Improve Your Vertical Jump With Kettlebell Training ?

- Max

How to Make Progress Every Time You Train

The reality of life is some days you just feel like crap. So how do you make progress week after week, even when your feeling down or just having "one of those days"? I discovered this simple chart as a way to easily moniter (besides just listening to your body) how hard you should go that day:

1) How Do You Feel?
- Fantastic: +4
- Good: +2
- Average: 0
- Bad: -2
- Awful: -4
2) Are You Motivated to Train?
- Beyond Belief: +4
- Yes, I'm Psyched: +2
- I Wanna Go, But That's It: 0
- Do I Have to?: -2
- I Really Don't Want to: -4
3) How Did You Sleep?
- Great Night: +4
- Pretty Good: +2
- Average: 0
- Had Trouble Sleeping: -2
- Barely Slept: -4

Add up your score and use this chart to see how you should train today.

Interpretation Chart:
> 10 to 12: Increase daily training load a lot (intensity and volume)
> 6 to 9: Increase daily training load (volume only)
> 0 to 5: Stay with planned training load
> -6 to -1: Decrease daily training load (volume or intensity)
> -12 to -7: Skip it


Hopefully you are are following some sort of program or have an idea of what you want to do throughout the week. This chart will help you make progress even if your having a rough week or not feeling your best. There's no point in pushing yourself when you just don't have it....and if you feel great, there's no point in holding yourself back just because that's what your program says to do.

Happy training.


- Max