To quote from my log:
Went in the park and it was an AMAZING DAY!!!
So after I went to the gym and felt terrible, I went to the park and I was basically FLYING and moving incredibly well. It's like I was a world class athlete or something... never felt better... ever!
I really have to see what I have done in the last few days because apparently it worked incredibly well, but my guess is those 4x100m I did yesterday play a big role. Ever since I did them my entire leg feels, I don't know, very "flexible", it's like it supports "tension" really, really well.
There was no knee stress WHATSOEVER when jumping. It was like the entire effort was being taken by the posterior chain, and my hamstrings felt SO well.
My advice for those people that can't jump at high speeds or feel stiff is to watch from what I'm going to write in this other thread I'm making now.
So how this all happen?
I have to first say today I felt like my ONLY limitation was MAX STRENGTH. Nothing else. No flexibility issues, no recruitment issues, no movement efficiency issues, nothing. If today you'd have put muscles on me capable of generating 2x+ squat strength I would've gotten 40+ easily.
ANYWAY,
Here's what I did lately:
TWO DAYS AGO:Workout 382: Squat 3
24 kg KB swings: 10, 10
10 inch box depth jumps ++ Empty bar jump squats: 3++3, 3++3
HIGH bar squat: 20x5, 60x5, 80x3, 100x1, 120x1 (very hard), 90x6, 90x6, 90x6
Hip thrust: 60x10, 60x10 (good form)
Barbell calf raises: 60x8, 100x15, 100x15, 100x15
One-leg leg curls + Bilateral leg curls: 40x15+40x20
One-leg leg extensions + Bilateral leg extensions: 40x15+40x20
Rating: Very good
Bodyweight: 86.2 kg
YESTERDAY:Workout 383: Track 2
3km bike ride to track
Dynamic warmup
50m barefooted smooth accelerations: 1
Broad jumps: Pretty much all of them at 2.50m
2-leg bounds: did sets of 4, pretty much all of them at 10.60m (2.65m average)
6 inch box depth jump into broad jump: a lot of variation, didn't always land on the line so hard to measure, but around ~2.65
4x100m relaxed runs
Static stretching
3km bike ride to home
KB swings: 10, 10
TODAY:Workout 384: Chest + Pullups 2
Bench press: 20x5, 40x5, 52.5x12+8+6 = 26 reps
Pullups: 8+6+4 = 18 reps
Kneeling ab wheel rollouts: 10, 10
Dips: BWx10, BWx10
Chest supported wide grip pulls to chest: 27.5x10, 27.5x10
Ab machine crunches: 33x15, 33x15
Rating: Good
Bodyweight: 86.0 kg
So obviously I had 3 days of non-stop work, either at the gym or at the track.
And despite all this, today I was moving amazingly well. I played in my running shoes with no socks on, never did this before, but apparently that might've been important too, who knows?
My gut feeling is those 4x100m easy, relaxed runs and those jumps I did on the track BAREFOOTED (remember!) somehow made my body more "aware" if you will, I have a feeling my calves woke up and my hamstrings became very active doing these.
So the take home point is?
Well if you're a guy who struggles with running jumps or moving smoothly around the court, being fluid, silent etc while being powerful, try doing what I did: some barefooted runs on the track (try 100-200m in length for a few sets, being very relaxed, not maximal at all, I did them at ~20% or so) and try some good depth high bar squats the day before these (and some hip thrusts for 2x10 or so with a moderate weight (with a weight you could do 12-15 reps or so)).
I also did some heavy calf raises in the day before the track.
Also, I know it sounds silly, but if you jump in running shoes try not taking any socks on for that day, see how it feels.
Good luck!