Adarq.org

Thanks man! I'd set a goal of 405x1 by New Years and I'm close, hopefully it'll happen.

Hmmm. I may try that on Monday. I usually do some tuck jumps before squatting but I'll go a little heavier on the KB swings and see what happens.

Yea, I know I have a LOT left in my RDL. The difference is I've been squatting for 9 months now and deadlifting for 4 weeks so I'm still concerned with form on the RDL as I'm still not 100% comfortable with it. My grip was slipping pretty bad on the 305 lift so Monday I'm going to a switch grip and see if that helps. The KB's I do as more of an assistance thing. I do them right before my SVJs/RVJs to make sure my hips are firing right. Once my RDL/squat sort of plateau I'm planning on using the KB swings a lot more to try and bust through it but I don't want to do to much right now and wear myself out lol!

If the switch grip doesn't work out any one know some good exercises for grip?

Played 2.5 hours of full court ball Wednesday night, ankles were sore Thursday so I skipped mu usual off day sprints/jumps. Body weight staying between 186-188lbs in the mornings, around 188-190 at night.

Mon Dec 10, 2012

BW at 186lbs this morning, 188 pre workout. No soreness. Took a nap after work today and was a little groggy tired but snapped out of it pretty good on my warm up squats.

Decided it was time to work on peaking my strength for a few weeks and getting some quickness back so more pylos than usual/less volume on the lifts right now.

Squats:
225x5, 275x3, 325x1, 345x1, 365x1, 375x1. Huge  I may have had an extra 5-10lbs in me but my back was a little weak on the 375 so I'll wait.

RDLs:
205x5, 225x3, 245x1, 265x1.  If only because I've never 1RM'ed on them lol! Definitely think I can get more I'm not 100% trusting that my form stays good over that though.

Box jumps:
10x4

Split squat jumps:
10x4

Jump squats:
10x4 Used light weights on the first 3 sets, BW on last set. Focus on quick transition/GCT

kettlebell swing:
6x2 w/ 35lb bell

Depth jumps:
x6

Pogos:
x10

Ham curls:
120lbs x6

Calf raises (500lbs):
10x2

The hamstring and calf work is mostly assistance/maintenance work right now. Also did some approach work for the RDLVJs and my upper/core circuits. I think I'll focus more on my back and core on 'off' days as I feel thats whats holding my squat back a little. Overall I'm pretty psyched about tonights workout!

Went and shot some hoops today for an hour or so. Played ok, still very rusty but it started coming back slowly. i jumped a few times before the games and for about 20 mins afterward and I have to say the games REALLY helped my speed in the plant. Before the games I felt my body still slowing down a lot coming into the plant, it felt unnatural. After the games I felt more natural in my jumps and carried more speed, which resulted in much better jumps. By my rough estimate most RDLVJs were around 42" with a few being a bit higher, i really need to get a cam so i can see the differences in my jumps. I'm hoping working on some pylos and playing league games will translate into some decent gains later as my movement efficiency comes back.

BTW, no dunks in the games.

Thanks man! Got to put in the quality work to see results!

From what I've seen/experienced your starting SVJ/RVJ is pretty good. You sound like me alot honestly, never lifted before, good reactive qualities but lacking in strength. I started around a 225x5 squat in April and just reached the 325x8 mark last night. I've noticed on here lots of the beginners have great gains in strength and vert for the first couple months then they plateau for a while, then gain again. The key is not getting discouraged and sticking to your training IMO. The only 'con' I've noticed while getting strong is my efficiency/quickness in the plant has gone down dramatically. Mostly from focusing on strength and not playing very often, I'm hoping I'll see good gains when I begin working on my quickness again.

You should be VERY close to dunking. I've always been relatively bouncy, I could dunk in high school with zero training (just playing everyday). It was usually weak one handers but occasionally I would bang a two hander off a lob or oop. Even tho I jump a bit higher now, my dunking is worse. I have a few theories on this: 1) I'm trying to murder ever dunk. so most of the time I overpower the ball and lose it since I cant palm a ball. 2) I don't try or practice dunking very much. In high school me and the guys would always lower my goal to 9' or so and just have dunk offs. I feel like that made a huge difference because it taught my body (arm/hand) exactly what was needed so even on a subpar jump my technique would get the job done. Currently I feel lost with the ball occasionally while attempting a dunk. Once I get that sorted out I'm sure I'll be more consistent.

Keep lifting and it'll come, I'd venture to say the league games may help you with all the jumping involved!