VERTICAL LIMIT: Jumping higher and Bodyweight Skills

[teenathlete3030]

I've made great gains on my vertical in the past. I started with low 20" standing. Now I have 29" standing, 34" running 2 step and 36" running one step.

I am in football, basketball, and track (high and long jump). My goals for vertical by end of junior year are 34" standing vert, 40" running two step, and 42" running one-step.

I will be beginning a program by one of my track coaches. I will be olympic lifting of some sort about every day, and squats, and other exercises (not deadlifts though). Football is starting up, and then bball, and then track without much break in-between. It will be quite a challenge, but it's better to set standards too high than too low!

In addition to jumping higher I also want to be able to do a full planche pushup, and a full front lever pullup, along with other bodyweight skills like handstand pushups and various levers.

[sharkall2003]

Where are you located at in Wisconsin? What high school?

[teenathlete3030]

Video

Video date: 8/1/07

This isn't quite as high as I'm able to jump now. It was after track so I was a little tired and already cooled down some, but felt like doing a couple low dunks. Even so, my head is only about 4" or so from the rim on that second dunk. My head at 9'0" is 36" jump, which is about my max running vert.

[teenathlete3030]

Video

This is about the only bodyweight skill I can sort of do right now. I can hold it a few seconds, even though my body could be a little straighter.

[teenathlete3030]

FOOTBALL TESTING RESULTS:

40 yard dash (3 tries): 5.0, 4.9, 4.9

Bench press: 200# for 3 reps

Parallel squat: 245# for 3 reps

Speed endurance (8 100yd sprints all under 18 seconds w/ 45 seconds rest): Completed easy, barely breathing hard at the end

(12 50yd sprints all under 7.5 seconds with 21 seconds rest): again pretty easy. For the last one I went all out and got around 6 seconds.

[Jinkies]

FOOTBALL TESTING RESULTS:

40 yard dash (3 tries): 5.0, 4.9, 4.9

Bench press: 200# for 3 reps

Parallel squat: 245# for 3 reps

Speed endurance (8 100yd sprints all under 18 seconds w/ 45 seconds rest): Completed easy, barely breathing hard at the end

(12 50yd sprints all under 7.5 seconds with 21 seconds rest): again pretty easy. For the last one I went all out and got around 6 seconds.

You got alot of work ahead of yourself bro, your 40 is pretty bad concidering your weight and height.

Concider olympic lifting i've seen it boost many 40's and helped me run a 4.8 at 245 sophmore year

[teenathlete3030]

I was pretty disappointed with the 40 time too. We ran on grass with cleats but I think the main thing was I haven't really sprinted for a while beforehand. Even now when we do sprints if I really try I can take first out of the whole varsity, so I'm thinking that my 40 testing was a little inaccurate.

Btw, I am going to be doing a lot of Oly lifting, in fact, in every workout in some form or another. The only problem is that we lift as a team, and do squat and bench some days and on others deadlift and powerclean. So basically I will have to endure a lot of ridicule and explain to the coaches why I'm not following the BFS program.

[redFury]

First time in here bro... hope you can get things kicked off here. Were those 40 times using a stopwatch or electronic?

[Fuzzy]

How old are you man.

I like the athlete mentality.

Good luck.

[teenathlete3030]

I'm 16, about to turn 17 in a few weeks.

Here's how the 40's were timed:

2 guys at a time would line up side by side at the goalline. Two coaches stood at the 40 with stopwatches. We would both get ready, and then one coach would say "set, HUT" and we would both go off. So the stopwatches probably started a little before we did, maybe .1 second, I'm not really sure how long reaction time is.

And I found out, only two guys ran faster 40s. One was a 190 junior who took first in everything except the bench (he ran a 4.7), and the other was a smaller sophomore who is naturally gifted (also a 4.7). There were maybe 3 or 4 other guys with 4.9s.

I tied for 4th in the bench with a projected max of 225. All the guys that beat me outweigh me by 20 pounds or more, so I felt good about it.

I didn't make the top ten in the squat.

BUT I DID MAKE THE STARTING LINE UP! They posted early rosters and I was starting at split end over 3 guys with experience (including a senior who played all years) and one first year junior. It's not written in stone yet, but if I can memorize the routes better (we don't have playbooks yet) I should do alright. I think they gave it to me because of the athletic advantage over the other guys at the position.


At the end we did some endurance runs/pushups and the team got all fired up at the end, and don't ask me why, but after we all finished and officially ended practice, I felt like I could jump really high. So I took my big 64oz. waterbottle (empty) and tried to dunk it over the goalpost. Easy. I hit it a couple inches down my wrist. I'm not sure how high the goalposts are, but if they're 10ft that jump was probably 36-37inches.

[redFury]

Nice work on making the starting lineup!! What kind of school do you go to? Rural school by chance?

[teenathlete3030]

It's a D2 school... but it's private, so there's kids coming from all over the place within a 50 mile radius. It's about 600 total kids.

[redFury]

Cool... sounds about like my high school. Except private.. haha. A rural school with about 550 kids. Those boys could play football... let me tell ya. I had similar stats to you, except I was 5'7" and 135 lbs... the coach was after me every year to try out. You should do very well!

[PizDoff]

I like your goals, keep it up!

[schmitty199]

I'm 16, about to turn 17 in a few weeks.

Here's how the 40's were timed:

2 guys at a time would line up side by side at the goalline. Two coaches stood at the 40 with stopwatches. We would both get ready, and then one coach would say "set, HUT" and we would both go off. So the stopwatches probably started a little before we did, maybe .1 second, I'm not really sure how long reaction time is.

And I found out, only two guys ran faster 40s. One was a 190 junior who took first in everything except the bench (he ran a 4.7), and the other was a smaller sophomore who is naturally gifted (also a 4.7). There were maybe 3 or 4 other guys with 4.9s.

I tied for 4th in the bench with a projected max of 225. All the guys that beat me outweigh me by 20 pounds or more, so I felt good about it.

I didn't make the top ten in the squat.

BUT I DID MAKE THE STARTING LINE UP! They posted early rosters and I was starting at split end over 3 guys with experience (including a senior who played all years) and one first year junior. It's not written in stone yet, but if I can memorize the routes better (we don't have playbooks yet) I should do alright. I think they gave it to me because of the athletic advantage over the other guys at the position.


At the end we did some endurance runs/pushups and the team got all fired up at the end, and don't ask me why, but after we all finished and officially ended practice, I felt like I could jump really high. So I took my big 64oz. waterbottle (empty) and tried to dunk it over the goalpost. Easy. I hit it a couple inches down my wrist. I'm not sure how high the goalposts are, but if they're 10ft that jump was probably 36-37inches.

Just curious... whats the prospects of your team this year?

[teenathlete3030]

We one state in 2001 and have sucked since. There was a year that the soccer team scored more in the season than football. Last year we were 1-8 I think. We're going back to the offense of 2001 though, which has more passing. Basically there's no where to go but up. I figured it'll be fun so I'm giving it a try.

We're more of a basketball school.

[teenathlete3030]

Two a days are finally over. I'm still starting at SE and 4th string on CB. I know I'm better/faster/stronger than most of the guys above me at that position, but I suppose they want to give those kids a chance to play since I'm starting on O.

As I expected that first workout I took a lot of ridicule from the players for doing Olympic style lifting and weighted dips and weighted pull-ups while they all did bench and squat. So I decided from now on I'll just do what every one else is doing, and do my own stuff outside of team lifting before practice.

The last session I did
Squat 205x5, 215x5, 225x5
Bench 175x5, 185x5, 195x2 (supposed to be 5 but couldn't do it after first two sets and sore arms).

[teenathlete3030]

Today's Lifting: Power Clean and Incline Bench (5x5 with as many reps as possible on last set)

The sheet told me to power clean with these weights:

115 x 5, 120 x 5, 125 x 5

In reality I knew I could do much more, so I crossed off the numbers and did my own weights:

125 x 5, 145 x 5, 175 x 11

Yea, that's right, 11 reps on my last set of powerclean with 175. I was going for 5, but I was on a roll and just kept saying, "One more rep!". Well, on the 12th rep I could've gotten it if I caught it lower, but didn't feel like it and it wouldn't really be much of a "power" clean anymore. According to the chart that projects my max to be about 235. I don't know if I can actually do that much, but it definitely puts it in perspective.

By that time there wasn't much time left for incline, so I put on a 20lb weighted vest and put a 45lb plate in my legs and did 3 reps of dips.

[teenathlete3030]

After last nights scrimmage I moved up to 2nd string CB on D. Had one catch for about 10 or so yards, no drops, and a couple long passes thrown that would have been touchdowns but weren't catchable.

[Al3X]

This should be interesting. I'm going to start some plyo's to increase my vert as well. Right now for myself (6ft / 93 in reach) I can grab the rim on a power hop (not sure what it's called). My vert is 27". Hoping to get up to 30" in a couple months. Well anyways, i'll be following your progression! happy lifting!

[teenathlete3030]

Today's workout: Bench and squat

Bench: 185 x 5, 200 x 3, 215 x 1 New PR Almost squeezed out a second rep too.

Squat: 225 x 5, 235 x 3, 250 x 2

Also did a couple sets of light box jumps between squat sets.

Don't ask me why my bench is so far ahead of all my other lifts. I don't put that much consideration into it. Yet for my size I'm one of the best benchers in school. Too bad my speed and jumping couldn't just go up like that.

[teenathlete3030]

Tonight's football game. Close game from the beginning dominated by defenses. They scored off a run, then we ran a kick back. They scored off another run, and scored again later in the 4th. We were down 20-7.

I was thrown a pass for a first down. We ran a couple times (in red zone) and passed a few. We then decided to run a trick play. The wing went in motion to the left, the QB piched him the ball. In the meantime I sprint in as if I'm going to block a LB, then cut back and head for the corner of the end zone. The corner bit perfectly. The RB then set his feet and lobed me a wide open touchdown pass.

Unfortunately we still lost 20-13, but it was a better game than we'd played in years. The team that beat us had one state 3 of the last 5 years. They went to the final four last year and only were missing their starting QB, other than that it was the same team.

Me: 0 drops, 2 catches for +/- 20 yards, 1 TD

[teenathlete3030]

After practice I did a couple sets of fairly light snatches, low volume, a couple reps with 135, didn't go to failure. Also wrestled after practice, which may have been a mistake because now I have a kink in my back and a game tonight.

Also I'm starting to do some bodyweight stuff in the morning, which is the most convenient time for me.

[teenathlete3030]

Friday night's stats:

3 catches, 0 drops, about 50 yards, 1 TD

I still have yet to break a big one. Most of my catches are on routes slanted toward the sideline, so I catch them either unable to change the momentum back upfield in time, or get hit because the DB is behind me so I can't see him to make a move. It's just a matter of time I hope. BTW, we won 42-35, and beat the team on the inaguration night of their new field/stadium.

[teenathlete3030]

I think my vertical went down a little bit.
During the summer I could hang from rim with both hands off a running two foot jump. I tried jumping right after pump and praise (a circuit type full body routine) and ladders and I only got my fingers over the rim, not the pads of my hands. That's about a good inch or two lower. Hopefully it's just because my body isn't fully recovered.