Vertical Jump Training Update

First off let me apologize for the lack of updates over the last month of so, I ended up taking an sports training internship offer at the last moment.  It was a great opportunity for me and I ended up learning a lot from the experience, but unfortunately the residence I stayed in had no internet access, so I rarely was able to access email or the site.  While I did continue to work on my vertical daily, I must admit that I was not able to follow the Vertfreak101 program specifically, which sort of discredits this experiment as a direct testament to the Vertfreak program.  I did, however, continue to use many of the exercises and principles from Vertfreak101, so my gains can somewhat be attributed to what I have learned from the Vertfreak101 program.  The number one way I worked on my vertical during the last month was to simply get on a court and practice jumping and dunking.  I should also note that I dropped about five pounds of fat during this time period, and being lean has never hurt an athletes vertical.

I returned home last week, and this past Saturday was able to retest my vertical.  Here were the results:

Running One Foot Left- 31.5 inches (from 30)
Running One Foot Right- Stayed the same (29.75)
Running Two Foot- 30.75 inches (from 27.75)
Standing Vertical- 28 inches (from 27)

My gains ranged from 0 to 3 inches depending on the type of vertical measured.  None of the gains surprise me.  I didn't spend much time training one foot jumping, and when I practiced it I always jumped off my left foot.  I will probably start addressing the difference between the two this fall and try to catch my right foot jump up to my left.  As you can see my explosiveness has improved, my running two foot vertical used to be barely larger than my standing still, but is now almost 3 inches higher.

I have gained three inches on my running two foot vertical, which is about an inch a month this summer.  An inch a month is about what I have been gaining since January when I personally started back in to training my own vertical.  I think I could have gained 2-3 more inches during this time span if complications wouldn't have kept me from working harder on my training.  However, I am going to continue training my vertical and tracking my progress for everyone to see.  My next goal from my training this fall is to get my stats up even more, I am enjoying being able to dunk easily, and want to improve my vertical for bigger and crazier dunks.

Here are my goals for the rest of 2011 to be achieved by January 1st, 2012:

Running One Foot L- 34
Running One Foot R- 32
Standing Vertical- 30+
Running Two Foot- 34

I will retake measurements as close to winter as I can, at which point I will not measure again until spring.  Hopefully by spring my running measurements can be at 35 inches or more, and I can make the final push for 40 inches over next summer.