8-23-09: ME Lower Body (deload)
Bilateral speed hops: 3x15
Parallel Box Squat:
3x325
3x335
3x345
1x345 - not feelin it…
Split Squat:
3x5 50’s
8-26-09: Deload
Stair hops: 3x15
Parallel Box Squat:
3x5 295
Reverse Lunge (4"):
3x5 45’s
Just takin it easy this week since my back was bothering me a little. Should be able to start hittin’ it hard again next week though. I’m gonna drop the DE Box Squats and start doing some reactive squats on DE day if the ankle allows. I’m also gonna start box squatting heavy twice per week to try and get the squat strength up to where it needs to be (well over 400 for these box squats I think). Volleyball’s starting to pick up again, which will serve as jumping practice so I’ll basically have 2 days of lifting and 1-2 days of jumping per week.
8-28-09: Volleyball/Jumping
Just a little progress update… tried a couple of 1-step jumps in between games yesterday and got about 34", so that was pretty encouraging. That leaves about 2" left to hit my goal of 36" by 10/10, which would mean hitting the base of my hand on a regulation rim with a one step approach. Ankle has been iffy for the last few weeks, but I think as long as I don’t try to squat deep again (without a box) it’ll keep getting better. I’ve been doing some light mobility exercises as my ROM allows as well.
8-30-09: ME Lower Body
Bilateral speed hops: 3x15
Parallel Box Squat:
4x310
4x320
4x330
4x340
Split Squat:
3x8 55’s
RDL:
8x285
8x290
8x290
I’m having an operation on my arm this week so I might not be able to do anything that requires me to hold a heavy weight in my hands, so no RDL’s for a week and a half or so before the stitches come out. I’ll probably just substitute good mornings or something.
how tall are you that 36 would have you hitting the rim with the base of your hand?
5’10" with a standing reach of 7’7" + 36" = 10’7"
9-4-09: Random
Stair hops: 3x15
Low squat hops: 3x20
1-step vertical jumps: 34"
Well I got a nice little chunk taken out of my arm (side of the bicep) two days ago so I can’t do any real lifting yet (even squats are a problem at the moment because of the way they stretch the skin there), so I just did some movement efficiency drills and some jumps today. I’ll try some squats two days from now when I’ve had a chance to heal up a bit more.
9-6-09:
Bilateral speed hops: 2x20
Low squat hops: 2x20
Box Squat:
4x6 305
Barbell Reverse Lunge (4"):
8x95
8x100
8x100
9-9-09:
Stair hops: 2x15
Low squat hops: 2x20
Box Squat:
4x6 315
Barbell Split Squat:
8x105
8x115
8x125
Played some low key volleyball afterward. I get my stitches out tomorrow so I can start doing RDL’s again. I’m gonna shy away from the dynamic box squats for a bit and try Box Squatting heavy twice per week using sets of 6-8 one day and sets of 4-6 on the other since I seem to respond best to this sort of thing. I’m also gonna start doing either a jump (for height) or a jump squat variation with relatively low volume each workout so it’ll look something like:
A:
Movement Efficiency
Jumps 10-15x1
Box Squat 4x6-8 @ 75-80%
Unilateral 3x8-10
B:
Movement Efficiency
Jump Squat 4x3-5
Box Squat 4x4-6 @ 80-85%
Heavy Posterior Chain 3x6-8
Another thing I plan on implementing is more aggressive stretching of my quads and hip flexors, which seem pretty tight most of the time and are probably hindering my jumping. I have an obvious anterior pelvic tilt that probably contributes to this (and my huge rear-end, but i digress…). Joe DeFranco has a pretty thorough stretching regimen for these areas that I will probably start following, maybe every day if I’m ambitious. I’m hoping to get my box squat up to 2.5xBW within a few months (need ~45 lb) and ultimately higher to try and approach a 40" 1-step vertical jump.
9-13-09: (B)
Lateral speed hops: 2x20
Low squat hops: 2x20
Reactive Squat:
3x5 165
Box Squat:
4x4 335
DB Split Squat:
3x8 60’s
Ended up doing split squats instead of RDL’s since my back was feeling pretty tired after all the squatting. I wasn’t really sure how much weight to use on the reactive squats (where you free fall into a half squat and really hammer the eccentric to concentric switch). I’ve heard people throw 50% around as a good starting place, but I don’t really know what my free back squat max is right now. I would guess that it’s higher than 330, but 165 felt like plenty of weight on this exercise.
9-16-09: (A)
Stair hops: 2x15
Low squat hops: 2x20
Depth Jump:
3x5 8"
Box Squat:
4x7 315
RDL:
2x10 265
9-20-09: (B)
Low squat hops: 3x20
Reactive Squat:
4x5 135
Box Squat:
3x5 330
DB Split Squat:
3x8 65’s
Stat update
So I’ve put on a couple of pounds over the last few months, but I’m still probably around 10% BF. I’ve done a few jump tests recently and it looks like I’ve gained about 3 inches for the summer putting me within an inch or so of my all-time best. I’ll probably keep hitting it hard for another few weeks and try getting to 420 for the box squat before tapering off the heavy stuff for a little while.
Updated #'s:
Weight: 175
Box Squat: 400
SVJ: 30
1-step VJ: 34
9-23-09: (A)
Low squat hops w/ jump every 10: 3x20
Depth Jump:
5x4 12"
Box Squat:
3x5 315
RDL:
3x8 285
Took it easy on squats today because by back wasn’t feeling 100%, but I still wanted to get comfortable with three plates on the bar. Played some volleyball afterward (after eating a decent meal).
9-27-09: (B)
Reactive Squat:
4x145
4x150
4x150
Box Squat:
2x315
2x335
4x315
Split Squat:
3x8 70’s
Played volleyball for an hour before lifting, which might not have been a good idea seeing as I felt like crap on box squats and ended up stopping half-way through my first work set. That’s two workouts in a row where I’ve felt weak when squatting. I might have to cut back to once per week with these and do a deadlift variation on the other day just to change things up. Of course, playing volleyball 3 out of the past 5 days probably hasn’t helped with recovery…
9-29-09: (A)
Low squat hops: 3x20
Depth Jump:
5x3 12"
Box Squat:
2x335
2x355
6x335
6x335
Knew I was going to be playing in a sand volleyball league afterwards so I made this a short workout. Felt really strong though, even on the hops at the beginning. Got my goal of performing sets of 6 with 335 on the box so that was a plus. Strength is gonna be on maintenance for the next two months or so and I’ll start doing depth jumps twice per week to try and peak my jump for volleyball season (Oct - Nov). I’ll start at 14" amd work my way up to 20" over the next several weeks. After that I’ll probably stop doing depth jumps for a while and get back into a strength-focused template.
what are low squat hops?
Basically you get into a full squat position but up on your toes and start hopping up and down trying to rebound of the floor quickly and without much voluntary muscular contraction. This is a video of a guy doing them, although somewhat slower and less relaxed than how I do them. I cross my arms parallel to the floor as if I were doing a front squat, but that’s more of a style thing 
10-4-09: (A)
Unilateral stair hops: 3x10
Depth Jump:
5x3 14"
Deficit Deadlift (4"):
3x3 325 (~85% maybe?)
DB Split Squat:
2x8 75’s
OK this is the first day of my new “reactive” training phase. Basically the big lower body lifts are on maintenance while I emphasize depth jumps and jump squats. The schedule is:
A)
Movement Drill
Depth Jump
Deadlift Variation
Unilateral Lift
B)
Movement Drill
Depth Jump
Reactive or Jump Squat
Squat Variation
I’ll also be playing volleyball at least twice a week so I’ll be keeping the volume fairly low with moderate intensity (75-85%). I’ll be in this phase for 7-8 weeks (seriously this time…).
[quote]xstarjammerx wrote:
Basically you get into a full squat position but up on your toes and start hopping up and down trying to rebound of the floor quickly and without much voluntary muscular contraction. This is a video of a guy doing them, although somewhat slower and less relaxed than how I do them. I cross my arms parallel to the floor as if I were doing a front squat, but that’s more of a style thing
ah, I see. I may complex these with my squats.
had my first open gym of the season saturday. everything is sore. on the plus side I got picked up to be a sub for an exclusive indoor league.
Good stuff. You play OH/Opp I assume?
10-7-09: (B)
Low squat hops w/ jump every 5: 3x15
Depth Jump:
5x4 14"
Reactive Squat:
5x135
5x145
5x155
Box Squat:
2x6 305 (75%)
The reactive squats really took a lot out of me today, making box squats harder than they should have been. I’ll try switching their order around next week.