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
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