Manchild's Training Journal (2nd Edition)

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1

General Prep: Micro 1, Day 1
Monday, December 1, 2008

Starting Stats
Age: 21
Height: 5’10.5"
Weight: 200lbs @ 12% Body Fat
Bench Press: 330lbs
Full Olympic Squat: 405lbs
Deadlift: 500lbs
100m: 11.96FAT
CMJ: 33"

Goals

  1. Run Faster
  2. Jump Higher
  3. Increase Strength

Current condition
I’m just coming off of a pretty bad cold. I feel a lot better, but my chest is still congested and I’m coughing up nasty expletive every 5 minutes.

Dynamic Warm-Up
Jump rope 10 min, high knees, butt-kickers, lunges, carioca, A’s, B’s, etc…

Plyometrics
4-star drill
2 x 10

rhythmic lunge jumps
3 x 5/leg

1, 2, 3 jumps
3 x 10/leg

Weight training
Squats
5 x 170lbs, 5 x 210lbs, 5 x 255lbs, 5 x 290lbs, 8 x 300lbs*

The last set had me gasping for air…the weight went up easy though.

Bench Press
5 x 135lbs, 5 x 170lbs, 5 x 205lbs, 5 x 240lbs, 5 x 270lbs

Barbell Row
missed

Basketball
4-on-4
2 games up to 36pts.

5-on-5, full-court
3, 8 min. quarters

Notes
All in all, today went well considering my current condition. (chest cold) The weights went up very easy* and I felt very motivated to work hard. One thing I would change about today’s workout is playing basketball. Somehow I got caught up in a game and didn’t get to my barbell rows. no biggie though.

*According to the program I’m following, I should have done 334lbs for 5 reps on my last set for the squats. The only problem is, the weights at the community center only goes up to 300lbs. So that’s the reason I did 8 reps at 300lbs…Its almost the same thing as 334 for 5 reps.

2

General Prep: Micro 1, Day 2
Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Current condition
I felt 100 times better than yesterday when I woke up this morning. I’m breathing easier and my body feels stronger. Also, I got around 7 hours of sleep last night, which is pretty good for me–I usually only get around 6. My legs are a little sore from yesterday’s squats, but that’s to be expected. Its actually a good feeling…it means I’m finally back in the weight room where I belong.

Anyways, here’s what I did today…

Dynamic Warm-up
800m jog, high knees, butt-kickers, A’s, B’s, lunges, side squats, carioca, ab work, etc…

Tempo Runs
2 x 3 x 100m runs @ 70% with 50m walk between reps and 2 min rest between sets.

Cool Down
800m run/walk, light static stretching

Notes
Today was very easy, I’m almost tempted to up the intensity, but I have to stick to the plan. I will increase the volume for tempo 100m every week though. Can’t wait for tomorrow…time to get some very short sprints in.

3

General Prep: Micro 1, Day 3
Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Current Condition
Sore as hell, more so than yesterday. My ass cheeks hurt (no homo). I did some self massage with a tennis ball…that seemed to help a bit.

Dynamic Warm-Up
12 laps around the gym, high knees, butt-kickers, lunges, carioca, A’s, B’s, etc…

Acc. Development
Sprints: 5 x 10m with 45 secs between rep, 5 x 20m with 2 min. between reps.

Weight training
Squats
5 x 170lbs, 5 x 210lbs, 5 x 250lbs, 5 x 250lbs

Bench Press
5 x 140lbs, 8 x 185lbs, 8 x 205lbs

Notes
I’m not totally satisfied with today’s workout. My energy level was non-existent. I didn’t get to the deadlifts, because I was dead after the squats. Actually I was pretty much dead after the sprints too. Right now I feel like I can barely walk. Depending on how I feel when I wake up in the morning, I’ll decide if I should just take tomorrow off or not.

4

You’re pretty stong. What sport are you training for?

5

mainly football

6

General Prep: Micro 1, Day 4
Thursday, December 4, 2008

Current condition
Got around 7 hours sleep last night…Also I’m still feeling sore from Wednesday’s workout.

Core Work (8 min.)
Decline board leg thrusts - 2 x 8

Lying leg thrusts - 2 x 10

Reverse crunches - 1 x 10

Ab scissors - 1 x 8

Stability ball hip flexion - 1 x 12

Ab bicycles - 1 x 30

Stability ball crunches - 1 x 12

Alternating crunches - 1 x 20

Bench crunches - 1 x 20

Notes
I skipped the easy runs today and just rested for the most part. I did do some self massage though and I got some core work in. Tomorrow I have weights and plyo.

7

General Prep: Micro 1, Day 5
Friday, December 5, 2008

Current Condition
I’m feeling pretty good at the moment. Nothing hurts, nothing is sore and I feel refreshed…Last night I got around 8.5 hours of sleep. Also for some reason I’m getting skinny. My body weight is around 194lbs. Anyways, here’s how today went…

Dynamic Warm-up (short)
12 laps around the gym, high knees, butt-kicker, etc…

Plyometrics
4-star drill
2 x 10

Ankle jumps
3 x 15

Rim jumps
3 x 10 each side

Weight training
Squats
5 x 170lbs, 5 x 210lbs, 5 x 250lbs, 5 x 295, 7 x 300lbs, 1 x 255lbs

Bench press
5 x 135lbs, 5 x 170lbs, 5 x 205lbs, 5 x 240lbs, 3 x 280lbs, 8 x 205lbs

Barbell row (from the floor)
5 x 135lbs, 5 x 135lbs, 5 x 185lbs, 5 x 185lbs

Barbell Curls
3 x 10 x 80lbs

Notes
Today’s workout was excellent to say the least. The jumps felt good and the weights went up easy. Especially the squats, my last set was nowhere as difficult as I anticipated. My first week back is coming to a close and I feel pretty good. Tomorrow I’ll get some easy runs in and some core work. Basketball is a possibility as well.

8

General Prep: Micro 1, Day 6
Saturday, December 6, 2008

Current condition
Didn’t get as much sleep as I should have last night…things got a little wild.

Here’s how today went…

Tempo (No warm-up in street clothes)
2 x 3 x 110yds @ 70% w/walk-back recovery between reps and 1 min between sets

Ab work
Decline board leg thrusts - 2 x 8

Lying leg thrusts - 2 x 10

Reverse crunches - 1 x 10

Ab scissors - 1 x 8

Stability ball hip flexion - 1 x 12

Ab bicycles - 1 x 30

Stability ball crunches - 1 x 12

Alternating crunches - 1 x 20

Bench crunches - 1 x 20

My thoughts
I planned on playing ball this morning, but no one was at any of the gyms I go to. On the way home I decided to stop and get some runs in at the high school. It was super cold out and I didn’t feel like changing clothes so I ran in my jeans. not a big deal though, since I only ran (6) 110’s.

So as this first week comes to an end I feel very good about what I got done. Now its time to sleep all day, party tonight and church in the morning.

9

Judging by height and size, runningback/safety???

Big numbers bro. Keep it up!

10

Haven’t decided yet…this will be my first time playing ball in 3 years.

11

General Prep: Micro 2, Day 1
Monday, December 8, 2008

Current condition
I was feeling well rested yesterday, but last night I messed around and went to bed extremely too late. Also, for some reason, I kept having these crazy dreams. All in all, I probably got around 6 hours of sleep, if that much.

When I woke up this morning my eyes were hurting and my body was achy…at least I had a pretty good breakfast.

Here’s how today went…

Dynamic warm-up
12 laps around the gym, high knees, butt-kickers, lunges, side squats, a’s, b’s, etc… and some light static stretching

Plyometrics
4-star drill
4 x 10

Running Jumps (for maximum height)
6 reps with 2 min rest between each

Basketball
3 games of 1-on-1 up to 36pts 1W, 2L
4 games of “36”(it’s similar to “21”) 3W, 1L
4 games of 4-on-4 up to 24pts 3W, 1L

Notes
My initial plan for today was do some easy jumps and some heavy weights, but things didn’t go as planned. After finishing my running jumps, I couldn’t fight the urge to play ball. It was mainly due to the height of some of my jumps. I got extremely close to hitting my head on a rim that was 9’10". (PR) That got me psyched up.

After the basketball games were over I attempted to get some squatting in, but my legs let me know very quickly that was out of the question. I probably could have still benched though. I’ll just move today’s workout to Wed. Tomorrow is tempo and core.

Right now, my legs are in some serious pain…all over and I have no idea what to do about it. Maybe some epson salt will do the trick.

12

General Prep: Micro 2, Day 2
Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Current condition
Had another late night studying for these final exams. I’m feeling good though.

Today’s workout…

Core work (7 min)
Decline board leg thrusts - 2 x 8

Lying leg thrusts - 2 x 10

Reverse crunches - 1 x 10

Ab scissors - 1 x 8

Ab bicycles - 1 x 30

Stability ball crunches - 1 x 12

Alternating crunches - 1 x 20

Bench crunches - 1 x 20

Notes
No comment. I have heavy weights and some jumps tomorrow. I WILL NOT PLAY BASKETBALL!!!

13

General Prep: Micro 2, Day 3
Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Current condition
I got around 7 hours of sleep last night. Its not as much as I would like, but I feel good.

Today went like this…

Dynamic warm-up
12 laps, high knees, butt-kickers, etc…

Jumps
4-star drill
4 x 10

ankle jumps
3 x 15

Running jumps for height (1-leg)
3 x 5 each leg

Broad jumps
5 reps (10’, 10’2", 10’4", 10’4", 10’2")

Bench Press
10 x 135lbs, 5 x 285lbs

Notes
I promised myself that I wouldn’t play basketball today and I didn’t for the most part. Somehow I ended up practice my jump shot for about 2 hours.

My jumps today went very well. I was getting pretty high off one leg and actually threw down a couple of dunks as well. The only problem is every time I jump off one leg my left knee hurts like hell. With a little more practice I can see myself getting a lot higher.

I really had nothing left in the tank for weights today. I did get a set in on the bench though. I don’t really know if that helps at all.

14

General Prep: Micro 3, Day 2
Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Current condition
I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night and I paying for it at the moment. Also my right ring finger hurts like hell. Yesterday I jammed it pretty bad in a basketball game and now its freakin HUGE!!! This could pose a problem.

Here’s how today went…

no warm-up today

Squats
5 x 180lbs, 5 x 215lbs, 5 x 265lbs, 5 x 300lbs, 10 x 300lbs

Bench Press
5 x 150lbs, 5 x 185lbs, 5 x 220lbs, 5 x 265lbs, 1 x 290lbs :mad:

Basketball
3 games of full court, 5-on-5
5 games of 4-on-4

Notes
I didn’t get 5 reps at 290lbs and I pissed to say the least. I lost my grip on my 2nd rep and almost bit the dust. Luckily I had an excellent spotter.

15

How did you lose your grip :confused:

16

I had a weird grip on the bar with my right hand. My pointer finger my thumb were wrapped around the bar while the rest of my hand was left open…similar to an “ok” sign. My first rep went up fairly easy, but midway through my second rep I began to struggle slightly. I tried tightening my grip, this time using all my fingers, but it was so painful I had to open my hand immediately, almost dropping the bar on my chest.

17

Holy cow . . . good that you had a spotter. Sounds like that finger needs some attention.

18

General Prep: Micro 3, Day 3
Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Current condition
Got around 8 hours of sleep last and felt well rested when this morning. I’ve been icing my finger and the swelling has gone down a ton. On to the training…

Tempo Runs
missed the workout because I’m a lazy bastard*

Core Work
Decline board leg thrusts - 2 x 8

Lying leg thrusts - 2 x 10

Reverse crunches - 1 x 10

Ab scissors - 1 x 8

Stability ball hip flexion - 1 x 12

Ab bicycles - 1 x 30

Stability ball crunches - 1 x 12

Alternating crunches - 1 x 20

Bench crunches - 1 x 20

My thoughts
*It was cold and I guess I need to buy some sweats. On another note, I need someone to help me solve this problem I have.

I’m starting think that I just don’t know how to dunk. I thought the problem was I wasn’t getting high enough, but that can’t be the case. After checking out some NBA pre-draft measurements, I saw Nate Robinson’s reach (7’7.5") and his running vert (43.5"). That should put his highest touch at 135". That’s 3" from the top of the square. With that height on his jump he can 360 with 2-hands, go BTL, windmill with ease and jump over Spudd.

Now I don’t know what my running vert is exactly, but I can touch the top of the square (138") and get my elbow at the rim. I also measure my forearm and from finger tip to the elbow is slightly over 20". So my question is, why can’t I dunk btl or at the least throw down a windmill with some consistency. Should I just practice dunking on the days I lift instead of plyo from here on out?