Week 3 - Feeling good!

Another week of Jump Manual training and my knees are feeling good. I played basketball Monday morning and then performed my plyometric routine in the gym after we were done playing. I had a rec league game that night and my legs felt pretty good while I played. During my lower body weight training session later in the week, I switched from regular deadlifts to snatch-grip deadlifts. I had to use less weight but I like how the exercise felt. For the next 2 days, however, I could hardly bend down to tie my shoes because of how sore my glutes and legs were. I'm liking the combination of Bulgarian split squats and snatch-grip deadlifts.

My results for the week were:

• Vertical jump: I didn't measure my standing vertical, but I was able to grab a 9'11" rim with two hands, jumping off of two feet, using a two-step approach.
• Bulgarian split squats: Best set was 145 pounds for 5 reps.
• Snatch-grip deadlifts: I used 225 pounds for 3 sets of 5 reps. I lifted the weight pretty explosively and should be able to increase the weight next week.
• Hang power clean: 205 pounds for 1 rep.
• Bench press: Best set was 235 pounds for 2 reps. 
• 45-degree incline bench press: I maxed out at 225 pounds for 1 rep.

We lost our city rec league game 88-82. I shot the ball well and my knees felt good during and after the game. 

Week 2 - Switching it up!

We had a big snowstorm recently that left a ton of snow that isn't going anywhere. This has caused me to go completely indoors for my training.
I was happy that my knees didn't hurt after my plyometric training on Tuesday. I switched from back squats to bulgarian split-squats on my lifting day on Friday. I love squats, they are my favorite exercise, but I switched so that I could work on any strength imbalances between my legs and, hopefully, get over my knee issues. From what I've read, a lot of strength coaches love bulgarian split-squats for improving one's vertical leap and have had success increasing one's back squat PR using bulgarian split-squats as the main lower body exercise. Per the Jump Manual support desk, I added leg extensions to help strengthen my knees.
In the past, my left leg was always my stronger leg. To my surprise, I could handle more reps with my right leg than I could with my left; it was a significant difference.

• Vertical jump: I focused a lot on jumping form and didn't get a good vertical jump measurement. I'm trying to start out standing tall with my arms over my head, drop quickly into my jump stance, and then explode upwards with forceful arm swing. Habitually, I start out low before I jump upwards which has worked for my sore knees but has limited my progress.
• Depth jumps: I was able to drop off of a chair and then land on the 5th step on my staircase. 
• Bulgarian split-squats: 95 pounds for 5 reps. I handled this weight pretty easily and should be able to increase it by a lot next week. 
• Deadlifts: 315 pounds for 5 reps. 
• Hang power cleans: 155 pounds for 5 reps. Normally, I start with the weight at my knees. This week, I started by holding the weight from a stand, moved the weight down to my knees, and then immediately exploded through the lift so that it feels more like a vertical jump. 
• Bench press: 205 pounds for sets of 5 reps

Week 1 - Need to work on jumping form

Even though I've been training consistently for a while, using the Jump Manual has made my legs more sore than they've been in a while. The plyometric exercises felt great but the weightlifting kicked my butt.

• Squats: 290 pounds for 3 sets of 3 reps. I did a fourth set with less weight at a slow pace: 4-count down and a 4-count back up. I need to lower the weight more for this set because I only got to 3 reps when I was trying for 5-8 reps.
• Deadlifts: 315 pounds for 3 sets of 3 reps. Similar to my squat, I did a fourth set with less weight at a slow pace: 4-count down and a 4-count back up. I need to lower the weight more for this set because I only got to 2 reps when I was trying for 5 reps.
• Hang power clean: 160 pounds for 3 sets of 3 reps.
• Depth jumps: Jumped up onto a 41" platform. I increased the height that I dropped from (I stacked 3 chairs), but I think I'll go back to just one chair; my legs aren't ready for a greater height just yet. 
• Standing vertical: Best attempt was about 25.5".
• Standing long jump: Best attempt was 8'5" about two weeks ago.

I'm going to spend some time working on my jumping form. I found a vertical jump calculator that estimates where your vertical should be based on your body weight and 1-rep squat. Based on that calculator (I don't know how accuarate it is), I should be jumping 27-28" without an approach.

My knees are also pretty sore today. I don't mind sore muscles, but having sore knees concerns me.