Got Bounce?
I had stupid crazy bounce for 300 lb shooting guard...
For as long as I can remember I’ve always wanted to be able to dunk. My infatuation with dunking began when my mom purchased my the Reebok Pumps back in the early 90′s unfortunately these shoes failed to provide me with the vertical lift necessary to take my game above the rim. Neither did the multiple Air Jordan’s I used to collect, talk about a sham. Spike Lee once said “It’s gotta be the shoes!” Well my four eyed brother it aint.
My inability to dunk is frustrating, besides the fact that I’m 5’11″ on a good day and my arms are short and compact, I should be able to dunk since my calves were designed by the Greek god’s themselves. So part of my new year’s resolution was to try and be able to dunk by June 1′st of this year. Part of that is getting down to 200 lbs im at 215 as of this morning, down 10 lbs from January 1st. The second Part is Plyometrics.
Plyometrics is a type of exercise training designed to produce fast, powerful movements, and improve the functions of the nervous system. The intended goal of this type of training is to improve athletic performance.
In plyometrics a muscle is loaded and contracted in rapid sequence, using the strength, elasticity and innervation of the muscle and surrounding tissues to improve athletic performance. The plyometric workout I have recently started using in my own workouts are designed to increase my jumping ability. I actually tried to plyometrics about a year ago, and the results were impressive. I blocked a kid’s lay-up on the backboard. Probably the highlight of my rec-ball career. Aside from the obvious athletic benefits, Plyometrics have been shown to help reduce injuries in the lower extremeties. After breaking my ankle in 2008, I think I would rather not have sex (not that it matters I’m a virgin) than lose the ability to run and play basketball.
So over the past 3 weeks, Ive changed my leg days to incorporate the flowing
Rapid Lunges- Using a 145 pound barbell I rapidly do lunges alternating my left and right feet.
- Calf Raisers-Maximum Load-not sure why I do this. It kind of sucks when I buy my straight leg jeans and my calves bulge out the back
- Weighted Box Jumps- using 25 pound parbells I rapidly jump unto a 36″ box and back down, 3 sets of 10.
- Power Cleans- The grand-daddy of all dynamic weight lifting. 185 lb power clean 3 reps of 10
- HIIT Training- To lower my body feight and get me down to my playing weight.
I havent noticed any particular improvement yet but I know it takes time. Hopefully by June 1′st I can dunk and declare for the NBA draft if this whole accounting and MBA thing dont work out.