A Wannabe Athlete's Explosive Training Log

10-11-09: (A)

Unilateral stair hops: 3x12

Depth Jump:
5x3 16"

Deficit Deadlift (2.5"):
3x345
3x350
3x350

DB Split Squat:
2x8 75’s

Used a slightly lower platform (2 plates instead of 3) for the deadlift to make sure I wasn’t rounding when I picked up the weight.

10-14-09: (B)

Low squat hops w/ jump every 10: 3x20

Depth Jump:
4x4 16"

Box Squat:
3x4 325

Reactive Squat:
5x140
5x150
5x160

10-18-09: (A)

Reflexive Box Hops:
3x15 12"

Depth Jump:
5x3 18"

Deficit Deadlift (2.5"):
3x3 355

DB Split Squat:
2x8 80’s

10-21-09: (B)

Box Squat:
3x6 315

Reactive Squat:
5x135
5x145
5x155
5x165

Had a volleyball game before working out so I dropped the movement/plyo work. Reactive squats felt really good.

wanted to ask…did you go straight from undergrad to masters to phd? have you been working full time during this time? i just ask cuz i’m getting my masters at 24 right now and thought i was doin good. phd candidate at 24 stuck out as most impressive to me.

Actually I didn’t do a Masters, I just went straight to a PhD program after undergrad and got candidacy 18 months in (it’s a full-time position when you’re in engineering). I won’t be finishing for a couple more years, though.

10-28-09: (A)

Volleyball Match

Depth Jump:
3x3 18"

Deficit Deadlift:
3x3 355

DB Split Squat:
2x6 80’s

Had a deload planned for this week. Because of my volleyball schedule I’m scaling back on the depth jumps a bit and increasing the volume on the strength movements starting next week. I’ll probably only be able to manage a workout every 5-7 days, but that’s probably a good thing. Touched my head to a 9’ ceiling tile the other day after volleyball, which should be about 37" off the run.

11-4-09: (B)

Unilateral Stair hops:
2x15 per leg

Depth Jumps:
5x3 20"

Box Squat:
4x5 315

I measured the distance from my head to that ceiling and it’s actually 38", so it looks like I’ve gained a couple inches over the past several weeks due to the decreased lifting volume and increased jumping frequency. A couple days ago I had a pretty intense volleyball match, and afterward I tried to touch those ceiling tiles while I was still fired up and I was actually slamming into them so I might have been getting even higher than 38", although I’m hesitant to claim that since we’re starting to talk elite level hops at that point, which I don’t think I have.