One of my goals for the winters months it to increase my vert. I just went through a 4 wk block with accelerated depth jumps(AMT), and now Im beginning a block of lower level plyos as set out in your KEAT article. Would box jumps fall into this category…like today I did 2x10 single leg box jumps, 3x8 double box jumps, and then 8x3 jumps from sitting position on low boxes.(Chad Waterbury style).
Is this too intense?
What would you suggest??
During the previous 4 wks I did 4-6x6 of 24" box with purple jumpstretch bands, after 2x10 tuck jumps to get warm.
What are you doing as far as weight training (what are your strength levels)? The reason I ask is that, for example; if athlete A and athlete B both have a vert of 30in ,and their goal is a 36in vert, but athlete A can only back squat 300lbs, in contrast to athlete
B who can squat 400lbs, than athlete A must become stronger, whereas athlete B must work on RFD.
James Smith
Right now I cac squat 400lbs to just above rock bottom at a weight of 205lbs. My preprogram testing was 22inch vert with CM and 20.5 from static crouch.
Well your strength is relatively good, so more time must be focused on RFD. Thus, you are on the right track with the plyo’s. You stated your preprogram vert, what is your vert now? And how are you incorporating the plyo’s into your weight training microcycles?
James Smith
well my vertical has improved by abt 4 inches. As a part of the AMT program you test after pretty much every set and I was consistently above my old mark by 3". I figure even three inches is a fairly good start considering I only did AMT twice a wk for 3 wks.
As far as my lifting goes Im using a slightly modified Westside program. For the last 4 wks I did heavy squats, GMS and squats jumps on MAx Effort day. 4 days later after AMT I did box squats w/bands@60-70% and sqauts jumps.
This cycle Im doing my box squats without that bands and using lower intensity plyos as described twice a wk. Then I plan on repeating this 8 wk plyos cycle with AMT then back down to low plyos. I think I may add some olympic lifts from the hang, the jerk, or dumbell swings. Im still debating whether I want to incorparate Olympic lifts or not
Slowman, sounds like you have a pretty well thought out plan. Although I am not specifically familiar with Christian’s Plyo protocol. I would, however, choose to incorporate the plyo’s as part of the strength training sessions, as opposed to an extra session on another day.
Concerning the Olympic lifts, unless you can already perform them with absolutely sound technique, I would advise against them. They are tremedouse, with respect to RFD in the vertical plane, however, if you are not proficient at their execution then you are asking for injury.
The Westside Template is an excellent one, with respect to your goal.
Make sure you are fast on Dyn SQ day and don’t use too much band tension for your strength (i.e., unless you squat over 500 then use the light bands for Dyn SQ)
Yes, plyo should be part of the strength sessions, well high intensity plyo should (not so much low intensity bounding).
A workout that has worked quite well is the Canadian Ascending-Descending protocole. It’s basic principle is to use one exercise per specific form of strength.This is mostly for off-season training,
E.g.
Monday: Upper body ascending
Plyo push ups
Ballistic bench press (or med ball throw from chest, or speed bench press with 45-55%)
Push press
Bench press
Chins
Tuesday: Lower body ascending
Depth jumps
Jump squats (15-25% of max squat)
Power clean from blocks
Back squat
Glute-ham raises
Thursday: Upper body descending
Bench press
Push jerk
Speed bench press (45-55%)
Plyo push-ups
Chins
Friday: Lower body descending
Back squat
Power snatch from blocks
Jump squat (15-25%)
Depth jumps
Hip extension
During in-season training you can keep the same fragmentation but reduce the daily exercises to two or three.
Oh I do my plyos right before my lifting in the aerobics room at the gym. Most of em I do on the floor and dpeth jumps I drop onto a 1/2inch workout mat for some cushion.
I dont think I d need that much practice. Ive done them for yrs now, but I pretty much stopped doing them once Igraduated from college. I dont like to do cleans in a busy"healthclub". I feel like some idiot is going to wander into the path of 225lbs being snapped to shoulder height.
I feel that “motor morons” (those who have a hard time learning the olympic lifts) can benefit from romanian deadlift jumps. You perform a regular Rom deadlift, but you lift the bar explosively and jump upward at the end, without bending the arms. Loads of 45-65% of your max RD should be used.
This question prompted me to read CT’s KEAT article. I found it very informative and I think I will start to implement the training blocks CT outlined in that article. My question is similar to that of slowman (I think), which is what exercises or plyo’s constitute the low intensity jump training?