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FWIW, I like it. If i had to correct something , i would say that the purely explosive phase III is too long, 4 weeks without any heavy strength training doesn't seem like a good idea imho. You could throw in some heavy singles like in phase IV or you could make the phase III shorter and IV longer. Just a couple of cents

Also, since you are into periodization , there was this awesome template that kellyb posted, i would have done it but was already in the middle my own periodization thing at the time it was posted. LBSS was also very tempted from it if i remember well. Take a look if you like , it's in the end of this article:
http://www.higher-faster-sports.com/trainingweaknesses.html

Yep fair point vag. I think it will end up being more like 2-3 weeks (what I meant by 4 weeks max). I will be doing heavy singles though in Phase III so hopefully my strength won't suffer too much.

I did have a look at that article a few weeks ago - it's good stuff and I got a few ideas from it. The reason I didn't just go with that template is because there was a lot of depth stuff from the start and I want to avoid that for awhile, at least until I'm 100% confident in my knee again. I thought I would just modify my last effort at periodisaiton (not really periodisation but a noob attempt at it) because it did give me some decent gains. But it will definitely evolve over time as all good plans should. Thanks for the advice, appreciate it as usual.

Gym - GPP phase Week 0 (warmup session/test out legs)

Foam roll warmup \ Gute activation (bridges and iso back ext holds)

Squat: Warmup, 2x8@70kgs, 1x5@90kgs, 1x8@40kgs --> strength felt fine, but will work back up slowly to give body a chance to adapt again

Back ext: 3x10@10kgs

SL leg press: 2x12-14/leg@40kgs --> because I have a bit of disparity between my legs now, will do this for a few weeks, just repping each leg til they feel about the same

UB: 3x6 pullups \\ 3x12 dips

Core: Med ball side crunches - 3x10/side@5kg

2013 plan

Goals:
- Stay injury-free
- 36-37'' SVJ
- 40'' RVJ (don't care which ut of SL/DL)
- Get a good squat (~2xBW) at ~80kgs, low BF (whatever is achievable without compromising strength etc.)

I think a 40'' RVJ is achievable this year. Got 37'' last year so adding 3'' on that will be challenging, but looking back my setup was not great by any means. Been reading some stuff from Joel Smith and Jack Woodrup (my two favourite vertical jump authors) and got some good tips. Will be following a proper periodisation setup:

Phase I (Preparatory phase)- Core stability/flexibility/reducing BW
Mon, Wed, Fri
- Core: Front planks, ab pulldowns, Roman chair crunches \\ Side planks, Roman chair side crunches \\ Back ext
- Flexibility: Foam roll/stretch everyday

UB:    - Push: Dips, DB shoulder press
   - Pull: Pullups, Conc. curls

LB: Leg curl, calf raise, squats (parallel), hip flexor/abduction/adduction cable extension - all low intensity/volume

Light cardio work occasionally

Checkpoint: ~81-82 kgs, 8% body fat

Phase II: Strength (6 weeks)
3x/week - gym
   - Squat: Day 1 & 3 (1x6, 4x10)
   - RDL: Day 2 (3x5) (Might do back ext (3x10) as well)
   - Calf raise: Day 1 & 3 (High volume Day 1, Low vol, heavy Day 3)

UB: Alternate push/pull on gym days, low volume.
Injury prevention: Proper warmup/activation exercises before workout. Do planks/stretch/foam roll at home every night.

Checkpoint/s:  1x6@140kgs/ 4x10@120kgs (Squat), 120kgs 3x5 (RDL)
              Ideal: 2x BW Squat @80kgs
 
Phase III: Power/explosiveness (4 weeks max)
2x/week - gym
   - Squat/half-squat (90-95 % for singles)
   - KB swings
   - Step-ups
   - Maintain calf work (less volume)

1x/week - Low level track work:
   - Short sprints
   - SVJs*
   - Consecutive broad jumps*
   - Box jumps (may replace with depth jumps after first cycle)

UB: Alternate push/pull on gym days, low volume.
Injury prevention: Proper warmup/activation exercises before workout. Do planks/stretch/foam roll at home every night.

* Will record and monitor for progress

Phase IV: Speed/reactivity(2-3 weeks)
1x/week - Gym
   - Squat (90% singles, low volume)
   - REA squats
   - KB swings (lighter, focus on speed)

1x/week - Track
   - Sprints: Pyramid of longer tempo sprints (e.g. 80m-120m-80m)
   - SL/DL bounds

2x/week - Jumps
   - Mix of SVJ/DSVJ/RVJs*
   - One low volume/high intensity session (2-3 jumps per style after warmup) // One higher volume (15-20 jumps total), submax efforts

* Will record and monitor for progress

UB: Alternate push/pull on gym days, low volume.
Injury prevention: Proper warmup/activation exercises before workout. Do planks/stretch/foam roll at home every night.

After 2-3 weeks, deload week, then test. Alternate between Power and Speed blocks.

Feedback welcome! Definitely expect some of it to change over time as I adjust to it.

+1 on the ww2 sit ups. the timing would be insane to finish them all. hip flexors killed afterward, abs were not limiting. kind of a dumb exercise.

Yeah I'm a little disappointed because I was looking forward to training for this as part of a GPP block once I start fully training again. But I can't really be bothered training the situps because they're stupid to do and don't seem to hit the abs like they should. I might do the rest though.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Been slack updating over xmas, basically have done two sessions similar to the last two. Also did an insane 50km bike ride up and down these giant climbs near my home with my dad and brother who are both into road cycling. Good for some cardio though. Got back to the gym yesterday and just did some really basic agility drills (line hops, single leg hops and some SVJs), 7x6 chinups and 3x10 GHR at BW.

My knee is feeling pretty good, I think whatever was wrong with it has healed, it just gets a bit stiff in the morning when I've just woken up but it gets better after a shower. I can squeeze my quad as hard as I can with either minor or no pain. I'm really hoping it responds OK when I start running/jumping again.

I'm considering sitting out basketball for a season because I think that's how I first got this little tear or nick in my meniscus.  Never really got injured when I was doing athletics year-round (except for some stress fractures in my left toe which was definitely an overuse/coach training me too hard for speed endurance injury), but I don't jump in the same controlled way when playing ball as I do when training or jumping. Not too mention all the little bumps and bruises and mallet fingers I get playing an average game, definitely adds up. My desire to dunk has never been stronger and if it means I need to sit out that one game a week to help it then that's what I'll do.

When I restart I'm gonna use a more long-term periodisation set-up. Start with a bit of GPP and drop my BW a bit before I start building strength again. Then do short power -> speed blocks to minimise the wear and tear on my body. Haven't got the exact plan yet but it's gonna be simple, just try and improve a few keys lifts, then bring in plyos when I'm strong and light enough.

Also gonna focus more on diet/nutrition than I have been in the past. Not that my diet is bad atm, I get enough protein , don't eat any sweet stuff and don't drink much at all. Just fine-tuning really. Probably will be doing what Mutumbo is doing atm, high protein, fruit/veg, moderate carbs (only around training/before bed). at around 86.5 kgs atm with around 11-12% BF (32'' waist), I think 80kgs at 7-8% with a 2x squat would be ideal for me. Just dying to get back to training!

"Gym":

Pull-ups (WWII fitness test form): 40 reps (7, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 3)

Situps (WWII fitness test form): 56 in 2 mins (I really do suck at these it turns out, I am just so slow at them. I don't know how you do the full ROM consistently in 1.5 sec to get 79 reps in 2 mins. I feel it burns my hip flexors out before my abdominals).

Dips: 40 reps (10x4)

Also did a few SVJs on my vertec, was hitting 30-31'', which is great considering I've been out for nearly two months. I feel that ~30'' is my "baseline" vertical when I'm not training specifically for it but am staying relatively active and not getting fat.

I know you never even acknowledge my posts but seriously, go easy on plyos in Vibrams if you're not used to them yet, it's just asking for trouble. I know people like Avishek use them for everything (jumps, squats) with good results but he does barefoot stuff all the time so he's well-conditioned. Try just walking around in them for a few weeks, apparently that's a good way to break your body into them.

Nice work man. For the lower back weakness, you could do a few things. Personally I would try more reps at lower weight for awhile before you try 325 again, and/or core stabilisation exercises (planking and glute bridges etc). Keep it up!

Quote from: acole14 on December 14, 2012, 05:40:26 am

I'm guessing you're meant to do the exercises one after another with no rest? I might give this a go when I'm 100% again. I know I could probably do the situps and pushups, 20 strict form pullups would kill me though.

i don't think it's quite with no rest. it was meant to be done with large groups, in waves. you can probably take 5-10 minutes between.

also, are you sure about the sit ups? they're to be done with legs straight, and elbow to opposite knee at the top of the movement. takes a bit longer than a regular sit up. i don't think i could get 79 in 120 seconds. or 54 push ups chest-to-floor, for that matter.

Ah, I forgot about the time limit for the sits, maybe not. It looks fun though. I reckon Nightfly, T0dday or Mutumbo would be amongst the best if everyone tried it.

Gym:

Foam roll/glute activation

TKEs: 3x20-25@20kgs

Leg curl: 1x20@low weight, 1x8@32kgs

Hip flexor/abduction/adduction leg raises w/cable: 2x12-14/leg@20-30kgs

Core: 2min front plank, 1min side planks (the problem I'm having with this is that my arms/shoulders are giving out before my abs)

Bench: 2x8@60kgs, 1x8@70kgs, 1x10@60kgs

Shoulder DB flys: 3x8@12,5kgs \\ Shrugs: 2x10@32,5kgs

Leg is feeling great today. See how it goes for next week.