The Radmoor Centre

Jump Programmes 2 by James Walker - fitness instructor at the Radmoor Centre

2011-11-22T13:51:00.000Z

Hello again! I hope you found my last article interesting and maybe thought of trying some of the techniques yourself.

Now I want to share with you the last half of my training programme. After finishing on the strength phase of the training, I wanted to maintain the strength I achieved and the muscle mass I gained. So, I chose to continue with my weight training but added some plyometrics in with it. My thinking behind this was to maintain the strength but add speed, which together should result in an improvement in power.

For the first month of my second half of training, I continued with the same structure of my training, but changed and adapted the exercises to allow for the speed element to be incorporated. So, I kept Monday and Thursday as chest, shoulders and triceps training and I kept Tuesday and Friday as legs, back and biceps training. Wednesday was always going to be a core day and a stretching session.

This time I kept to two core exercises but added two extra exercises for the speed part. For my chest day I did flat dumbbell presses (3 sets of 3) as heavy as possible and then straight after this I did six press-up jumps on a med ball, which equalled 3 on each arm (see video below for visual demonstration.) Then I did Pec Fly's on a cable machine (yet again 3 sets of 3 as heavy as possible), then 3 med ball “throws in the air” when lying down. Then I continued a similar pattern for my shoulders and triceps.

Exercise	Sets/Reps	Weight	Comment
Dumbbell Press with Press up jumps on med ball	3x3 (+6)	45.35kg – 50kg	No rest between the 2 exercises
Cable Fly with lying med ball chest pass	3x3 (3)	50kg cross, 9kg ball	No rest between the 2 exercises
Shoulder press (smith machine) with single arm sitting med-ball pass above head	3x3 (6)	70kg, 5kg med ball	No rest between the 2 exercises
Arnold press, Basketball windmill with med ball (no jumping)	3x3 (6)	50-60lb dumbbells, 5kg med ball	No rest between the 2 exercises
Tricep dips, med ball basketball shooting lying down	3x10 (6)	Body weight, 3kg med ball	No rest between the 2 exercises

For my legs and back, I continued with the same format but this is where I really wanted to focus my attention. I had to think of different exercises that would effectively achieve my goal, but at the same time I didn’t want to put any pressure on my joints, especially my knees. So I did exercises that didn’t involve many repetitions and that I made sure that the landing was soft.

Exercise	Sets/Reps	Weight	Comment
Narrow Squats, Jump Squats	3x3 (+3)	160kg	No rest between the 2 exercises
Leg Extension, Lunge Jumps	3x3 (6)	Full stack	No rest between the 2 exercises
Pull up claps	3x6	Body weight	No rest between the 2 exercises
Partial Deadlift’s, Depth Jumps	3x3 (6)	140kg	No rest between the 2 exercises
Barbell Curls, Basketball Rip through	3x10 (6)	40kg	No rest between the 2 exercises

With this type of training, I knew that I wouldn’t increase my vertical leap by much but I knew that it was going to prepare me for the final month of my training, which I knew was going to be crucial. As part of this training, I continued to take my protein and creatine supplements but I decided to introduce Glutamine to help with my recovery and absorption of protein.

Now for my final month of training. This has been the most important part of it all, but I found that it wasn’t as exhausting as I thought it would be (but it sure did fatigue me quickly!) I split my training up so that I did pure Plyometrics on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. On Tuesdays I maintained my weight training and on Thursdays I did basketball training. With this last part, I wanted to focus on the actual technique and ensure that I was jumping at my full potential and not just going through the motions. So, I only did a maximum of 10 reps but I put maximum effort into each rep, not just the first rep. From doing it like this, I noticed that I wasn’t getting that tired, although my legs were fatiguing very quickly.

Exercise	Sets/Reps	Weight	Comment
Skipping	2x1min		Small jumps switching between single and double leg
Squat Jumps	2x10		Pause between each rep, maximum height on each jump
Tuck Jumps	2x10		As soon as your feet touch the floor, straight into the next jump
Depth Jumps	3x6	24inch height of bench	Minimum time on the floor
Single leg jump onto bench	3x6 each leg	Hip height bench	Ensure knee is pointing forward
180° Jump onto Raised Bench	3x5 each direction	Hip height bench	Start sitting on the bench that you desire to jump onto.
Jump stop onto raised bench	3x5 each leg	Hip height bench	Jump off one leg, land onto 2, and then jump onto the bench, minimum time on the floor.
Seated jump onto raised bench	3x6	25kg bar normal bench and hip high bench.	Sit on one bench, and then jump onto another. Start off with feet off the floor and then just explode up.

From a period of 4 months intense training, I am now able to jump to my targeted height and just need to now implement that into my game...and that will be the hardest part.

Here is a summary of my training:

	Date	Height	Weight	BMI	Fat %	Fat (kg)	Lean %	Lean (kg)
Protein	07/06/2011	1.84	71.6	21.14839	9	6.5	91	65.1
Protein, Creatine	28/07/2011	1.84	74.7	22.06404	13	9.7	87	65
Protein, Creatine, Glutamine	01/09/2011	1.84	75	22.15265	12.1	9.1	87.9	65.9
Creatine, Glutamine	01/10/2011	1.84	74.4	21.97543	11.8	8.7	88.2	65.7
no added supplements	01/11/2011	1.84	73	21.56191	9.2	6.7	90.8	66.3

BEFORE TRAINING

AFTER TRAINING

Thank you for taking the time to read this - any further comments, questions, suggestions are welcome.

Fundraising Event at The Radmoor Centre

2011-11-14T11:33:00.001Z

The Radmoor Centre are undertaking a charity event this weekend on Sunday 20th November, where we are hoping to raise money for bone cancer sufferer, Sue Saul who lives in Pensby, Liverpool, whose parents reside in Leicester. The Radmoor Centre are holding a spinbike challenge of 120 miles, from Leicester to Liverpool as well as free classes all day, from Zumba, Aerobics, Body Pump and Body Combat.

For more information on Sue Saul, read here:
http://www.aboutmyarea.co.uk/Cheshire/Neston/CH64/News/Local-News/207785-More-Fundraising-Events-Added-for-Save-Our-Sue

For more information, or to register onto a class, call 0845 166 2959

Jump Programmes by James Walker at Radmoor Centre Gym

2011-11-08T14:14:00.000Z

Jump Programmes

Hello, my name is James Walker and I thank you for taking the time to read this. I am a Personal Trainer and Gym Instructor and I have been in the industry for six years, working at Radmoor Centre Gym in Loughborough. My passion is Basketball, which I have been playing since the age of 14 and is now a big part of my life. My ultimate goal is to improve my performance as a Basketball player and help others to achieve their potential in the sport too

I have decided to write this article to give my views on Jump Training (or Power Training.) Of course, I do not claim to offer the only “right” way of achieving results but after experimenting with many different styles of Jump programmes and training over the last eight years, I would like to share my experiences and what I have found to be most effective. Currently, I am half way through my latest attempt at improving my vertical leap and, after years of frustration with slow and ineffective training, I am finally experiencing massive gains. Hopefully, you will find this insightful and be able to take something away from this and experience the gains I have.

When you’re young and you play any sort of sport and you aspire to be like your idols, the first thing you want to do is train to get where they are. Obviously, the most readily available source of information is the Internet and is often where most people start. - When you’re young and inexperienced, you tend to go for the first thing you find. For me, it was statements saying ‘increase your vertical jump by 8 to 14 inches’. Obviously, that was my goal and I imagined dunking on everyone on the court when playing ball. However, I hadn’t done enough research and readily accepted the first thing I read. In reality, it did nothing for my performance.

After parting money for the various programmes, (please note that some are well known and do work,) all I seemed to end up with was less money in my pocket and an injury, which set me back a few months. This has been happening for a few years now; trying different programmes and not getting the results I desire. So, after doing bits and bobs for myself and training other people, I have finally hit on something which actually works.

Now, most Jump programmes out there are all based on Plyometrics. Plyometrics is an effective way of training and is really beneficial. The only negative is, it can be very dangerous (something I wish someone had told me before I tried it!) Nevertheless, when you’re young and want to jump high so you can dunk like Jordan, this form of training is very appealing and you do see results. In retrospect, I believe it’s the worst thing I ever did.

What I will generally say to people before the age of 23, is to focus on three things: their game play, stretching and core training. So many people forget or ignore the flexibility side of things (and in my eyes, flexibility alone can give you massive gains.) With regards to core training, everyone thinks it’s as simple as, ‘oh, I will just do 300 sit ups and that’s all I need to do.’ WRONG!

I find that keeping the muscles more flexible, you will be able to generate a lot more power and by improving your core strength and core stability at the same time, you will be able to move the body more efficiently and quicker.

I decided to start my training at the beginning of June, which has given me four months of intense training, ready for my basketball season. I have broken my training down into two parts: Strength and Power. My downfall in the past was focusing on power training but failing to achieve optimum results because I was doing no strength training to support this. As a result, I also- ended up injuring myself alot.

In order to work on strength I set myself the following goal: to be able to squat twice my body weight and bench 100kg. By the end of July, if I wasn’t able to achieve -this, I knew I wouldn’t be ready for the power phase of my training.

I then broke my Strength training phase into two parts. I spent the first month doing a type of training called ‘Edwards Power Matrix’ which is based on your one rep max and tells you what sort of weights you need to lift with the amount of reps, according to your one rep max. So, I did a 2 day training programme, split over a five day period. I worked on my chest and shoulders in the same session and then legs and back on the other and rotated that over the five days. -This meant that I alternated the training each week, doing three sessions on my chest and shoulders one week, then three sessions on my legs and back on the other week. I had one base exercise for each muscle that I wouldn’t change during this phase and then chose another exercise at random, that worked that same muscle group. For example, my base exercise for chest was a Bench Press, but then I would either do a Dumbbell Press, Incline Fly’s, or a Decline Bench Press. With this complimentary exercise, I didn’t need to do the power matrix. (Only three sets of six.)

When I completed that phase, I then changed my training completely and did three exercises per muscle group, still working the - chest and shoulders, and legs and back. Instead of alternating the days, I added a separate session on a Wednesday of Core training and flexibility. I kept the same base exercise, e.g. Bench Press, and then I did a core strength exercise, e.g. A Single Arm Dumbbell Press, then one more complimentary exercise, e.g. Incline Bench or Fly’s. I have kept with this for one month.

So far, my gains have been really significant. I am now benching 100kg, three sets of six reps, and I am now squatting three sets of six on 150kg. Despite the positive results, there has been a downside. During the first phase of my strength training, I was noticing that my legs weren’t developing as quickly as everything else and that I had major back pains. In an attempt to resolve this, in the second phase I stopped doing Deadlifts and I didn’t - squat as low, )instead I was making my squats a lot “narrower” than usual to imitate the jump technique I would normally adopt in Basketball). This appears to have worked as during this phase of training, my back pains have stopped. Also, I wasn’t gaining much leg strength - because my glutes weren’t firing up to assist on the movement and my back was taking all the strain. So, I listened to my body and adjusted things accordingly.

To complement my training, I have started taking some supplements. From day one, I have been taking a Protein supplement every training day before I go to bed to help my body repair. I didn’t notice much difference at the start but I know that protein is necessary for muscle repair and growth and since I wasn’t getting enough through diet alone, I decided to continue taking it. In the second phase of training, I decided to do something new and something I have never done before and started taking Creatine. There are so many controversial about Creatine but since taking it I have increased in size (something which other have commented on). It has had no bearing on my energy levels or strength though. I am aiming to stay on both Protein and Creatine supplements during the power phase of my training and see if I notice any further changes. Hopefully, I will maintain my strength and increase my power with the aid of these supplements. I am hoping that when I come off the supplements for the start of the season, I will lose all the water retention, and consequently any weight, but maintain power and strength. So hopefully I will be jumping over people on the court! -

So, to sum up my advice: -make sure you set yourself clear goals on what you are aiming to achieve and try to break down your training into phases which will help you to isolate particular things that you want to work on, which is ultimately much more beneficial. -

One really insightful article I have read recently on vertical jump training, which supports the training I have been doing and the views put forward in this article, can be found at:- www.verticaljumping.com (Jack Woodrup).

Look out for my next article which will be looking at the review of my 2^nd phase of training, the hardest part of all: the plyometrics phase.

James Walker

27/7/2011