I know we used to have these type of discussions back on the old board. Not sure how many of you guys play ball regularly or anything.

In the past month or so, I've started doing some power lifts in the gym (power cleans, power clean jerks) and I've noticed my two foot vertical jump has increased in a fairly short amount of time. I'd been doing legs (not super intensely, i can't stand the leg pain for a week after) for the past year, so i'd build up some more strength than before, and maybe these exercises have just geared my body towards creating more upward force.

now i can't wait for my muscles to be ok so i can get back in the gym and giver

one side effect is that i've neglected my ball handling for so long that it's just pathetic these days. my shooting is pretty good, but ball handling and my hands in general are terrible. i'm sure the drinking doesn't help, because after drinking, i get shaky hands sometimes. try to play ball when you have the shakes, a grade 8 could dribble better.

The first two or so months of uni I didn't get any form of education, and I'm a guy who played ball everyday back in highschool pretty much. Just recently I began playing a lot again. When I first started again I was horrible. It took me a week or so to be somewhat productive again. Now I'm pretty much back to normal, although I can't jump for sh*t anymore. But I've been playing atleast 3 hours about 4-5 times a week the last 3 weeks. The bad part is coming back to rez all sweaty and getting funny looks from girls. But I stopped working out. I decided that I will never be that strong, so I'll rather use my time actually playing ball. This summer I'm doing Air Alert though. I just hear that it could be bad for your knees. I started it the last week before school, but decided to wait with it until I have time and space.

Are you in season or off season? I could recommend some very good workouts depending on your needs.

ps: Nice to see you doing Olympic and compound lifts, not just sissy machines =)

Oh sh*t! Wrong word in my previous post. It's supposed to be exercise, not education lol. Can you tell I was tired last night?

i'm not playing league ball or anything this year, so it's more offseason than not.

if you're doing air alert, watch what kind of surfaces you're doing it on (not concrete) and make sure your knees are warmed up, specifically your patellar tendon. otherwise, you'll end up like me with lumps of what i think is scar tissue right below both kneecaps. i rested them enough recently so i don't hurt after hooping anymore, but i used to have problems doing anything that put strain on the knees.

mjfan, i'm interested in what you've got to recommend. i'll just give you a brief idea of where i'm at. i can squat 225 for reps, deadlift 250-275 for reps and power clean jerk 135-145... prolly lame but at least i try

Any advice on how to improve your hops? A quick way to make you jump higher?

work on you calves thats all. I play basketball almost everyday and work out if I have time and one thing im very scared of doing is to over work my arms and completly lose my shot.

the stronger your triceps are, the better your shooting range is gonna be. you won't be able to shoot when your arms are sore, but it'll help out your jumpshot on the long run.

it's not just calves though, although they are important. hamstrings and ass muscles are important, as are quads and even lower back. and exercises that require lots of upward force being generated (power cleans) also get your body tuned up to jump high.

i naturally have pretty good vertical, and i did air alert partially in high school, but hitting the weights is the only thing that's increased my vertical lately, and that's after i've gained 20 lbs over the last year or so.

one word of warning, don't overdo it on the calves. super sote and tight calf muscles is the worse muscular pain i've ever had. it's also tricky because they don't feel strained when you do them, but the next day, it's hell.

Yeah, I'll try some of that out. I don't know if I can hit the weight room, I don't have the dedication to keep at it. All my life, all I do before playing ball is just stretch and go. I mean, improving your handles and shooting accuracy can't be taught in the weight room. But I think its about time I workout a bit, it can only help my game I guess.

Air Alert: Pretty much a sham. It has only been successful due to its marketing. Like Jumpusa etc. But if it works for you, more power to you.

Anyway a very simple trick can save your knees <and other joints>. Before your workout rub something like tiger balm around your knee <my knees arent the issue, elbows are so i do it for elbows whenever i have to train early mornings or do GPP outside in the cold>. It really helps warm up the area well.


Handsome,
How tall are you? And how much do you weigh? I cant tell you if your big lifts are impressive or sissy without your stats.

Pick one of these three workout progarms and follow them over the next 4-6 weeks.
1)Pendulum training:
http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?art...04-013-training
2) Westisde for skinny bastards <harder than pendulum and doesnt appear to be that directly related to sports, but trust me it is!>
http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=311west2
3) Renegade <Hardest of the bunch and not basketball specific, but my personal favourite and i am going to start another custom renegade 8 week progarm starting feburary>:
http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?art...=05-138-feature <a good primer of the actual workout and logic behind it>
http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?art...04-096-training Good tests of your current functional strength =)

Pregame meals guide, vertical jump, 40 yard dash, etc info:
http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=body_128high

Quickest tricks to improve vertical:
http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=306dirt2

Calves:
http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=1cp

Agility training <basketball specific>:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/henkin27.htm
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/henkin28.htm

Jumpshot tips/drills:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/eteam8.htm

i'm 6'1, about 190

when i've got more time, i'm gonna go check out those workouts and read those links. thanks homey

HB...where is that video of you dunking?? That was WACK. Please repost it.

you're wack... i'll have to find it for ya

As I recall, it was some sort of attempted windmill or something.
Regardless, it was 'wack', in a good way.

mjfan, checked out those workouts, it's some pretty extreme stuff. i checked out westside for skinny bastards a while ago and thought about doing it but didn't end up actually getting down on any routine or program.

i'll definitely take some lessons from each one of them, but i don't think my recovery time (without hammering down on expensive supplements) is good enough to be able to follow any of the set routines to the letter.

i'm not a high level athlete, but unlike most people in a weightroom or gym, i'm looking to make myself better at sports and stronger, not just to look good or gain some sort of self confidence-- so i think i'm on the same page with the guys who created those workouts, at least in that respect. i am, however, looking to kick things up a notch and i think those programs should be a good start. i also need to get down on some more core strength activities. if you're just using body weight, there's no risk of overtraining if you just go at it every day, right?

suffering boy and efman, still looking for the vid. i've got three computers, so it can get tricky to find individual files.