Routine
Hello, dearest Dunk Day-er! Welcome back to the dunkumentary (I thought of this all on my own but unfortunately B*rstool Sports tried to do something similar (i.e. made three dumb videos) so no rebrand). Here’s hoping you had a great holiday season!
Late November to January always feels like a wash in terms of physical progress with travel, good quality time with friends and family, and of course excellent food and drinks. Not complaining, but it took a bit to feel like my vertical was back to where it was pre-holidays. I’m now back home and settling back into my routine, and there has been a modicum of appreciation in diving back into the day to day with this goal.
Speaking of the routine, I realize that I haven’t actually shared with you all what my new and improved gym time has looked like. Since chatting with Coach Doctor Andrew and moving to power instead of strength, it’s been a good few months of different gym time. Rocking my trusty weighted vest and no shoes, jumping on and off of boxes, and generally just flinging myself around, I never thought this is what my routine would look like.
Let’s dive into the actual exercises. I’ve split my ten lifts into two days, aptly titled “Power 1” and “Power 2” in my WHOOP app (anyone know anyone at WHOOP? I could definitely be an influencer. Dunk Day is read by over 30 people, just sayin). Each lift starts with a warmup of jump rope (unweighted) with emphasis on roughly 25 jumps on the right foot, left foot, and both feet, twice through. From there, each exercise gets five sets of five reps, and if any of the lifts emphasize a single leg, a set encompasses five reps on each leg. That’s ten reps, for those of you counting at home. The vest is weighted at 18 lbs. Okay, now that you’ve got all the necessary, vital, essential context, let’s jump in!
Power 1
This is an easier day in my opinion, and I’ll get into why in just a second. First up is the depth jump.
Easy peasy! I like this one. This exercise is meant to train your body to be used to handling landing from higher distances than you are used to, with the jump immediately upon landing for power. As with just about all of these exercises, I’m trying to jump as high as possible at the end.
This is the hardest exercise of the workout. Each jump off a single leg is intended to have both distance and height, and after a couple of those, exploding into that final max jump. This was also one of the most unnatural exercises that took weeks to get to an acceptable rep. You can see that first rep and how far off I end up on the side in that final jump. But definitely good progress in just a few months!
Weighted broad jump has turned into a fun one. I tend to imagine myself in a combine, whether the NFL or NBA, and this would be a strength in that workout which never would’ve been the case before this adventure! The goal is to get as far and as high in that single first jump, like a single static bound.
Next up is a classic. I try and incorporate power into this by alternating with a static jump one rep and a small hop into a full jump on the next. Box jumps are closer to a vanity exercise than anything else on this list, but pretty proud of a 38” box jump with an 18 lbs vest! I don’t think you need a description, but just in case, I’m trying to jump on top of the box.
We wrap up Power 1 day with weighted tuck jumps. In the words of Coach Doctor Andrew, it’s all about a sturdy, flexed foot on the landing of the first jump and into that immediate max jump. Something I’m trying to be more conscious of, especially after reviewing these videos. Legs should be tucked into my chest on that first jump, then jumping as high as possible.
All in all, a good workout but not too challenging, at least for me today. Those bounds will always be brutal, but other than that, nothing falls too far outside of the comfort zone. I’m always sore the next few days, which I’ve come to accept as a sign of a good productive workout. Let’s jump to day two!
Power 2
We’re off and, well, jumping, with the weighted split squat jump. The idea with this one is to start in a lunge, jump into a lunge-like position with the other foot ahead, and then jump as high as possible.
This was the one exercise I needed to drop weight in initially. Oh, you’d like some unnecessary context? This was part of the Wednesday plyometrics day for high school hoop and I really struggled to overcome those old habits on this exercise. Thanks for asking. These jumps weren’t quick in the beginning, but doing them today, I feel like a deer bounding around. It doesn’t have to make sense, but I’ve come to at least tolerate these #growth
If I feel like a deer doing the split squat, I feel like Bambi learning to walk with these bounds. I’m sure I should be better at a standard bound, where the landing leg alternates, in comparison to the single leg bounds from Power 1, but I’m not. Something about that trail leg and how it angles in, paired with the arms flailing, and it just looks like I’m frolicking. I hate it. Good thing this exercise was towards the end and you’ve probably stopped reading. If you’ve gotten this far, roast my form in the comments. Oh, and apologies for forgetting how to record decent video. We all know how I feel about growth, I’ll get there and look like this someday. But until then, next, please!
Much better, much less frolicking. Nothing revolutionary here, like the last box jump, you, ya know, jump on the box. This time off of one leg. A fun update from today’s lift (not captured on film) is I was able to hit a 24” box on these. Progress!
I don’t actually have a great name for this one, it’s actually in my WHOOP app as “Multi jump.” That aside, it’s a great example of the concept of power that’s been discussed ad nauseam, with several quick jumps into a higher box jump. This is one of my favorites, especially on the harder day. I feel athletic!
Let’s take it home with another nameless plyometric exercise. This has been difficult to adapt to with the weighted vest but when it goes right, I feel like I can fly. This one looks the hardest, starting on the ground, performing a jump-like motion to get to your feet and then immediately onto the box. From the box, it should be another quick jump high and off of the box. I would take this exercise over bounds any day. Forgive the second half of the video, I took a big step backward in my content creation abilities that day.1
Those are the workouts; that’s the routine. I am happy to talk through any and all questions, comments, thoughts, or concerns. I’m guessing this is the first time seeing anything like this for most everyone. It certainly was for me when I started! I hope that you are settling back into your routine in this new year. Next up, I’ll have a quick update on my dunking progress (that’s what this is all about, right?), it’s a glimpse of encouragement in this long, slow grind of a hobby/project/dream that I’ve taken on. Thanks, as always, for jammin with me!
The tricky thing with recording is I tend to do it on my last set, because I want the recording to interfere with the workout as little as possible. But you know what happens when you mess up recording on the last set? I’m not about to go against Coach Doctor Andrew’s advice and add another set it. Plus, this gets tiring. Hope you enjoyed this peek behind the curtain.
What discipline! I would have given up ages ago. Also, calf muscles are impressive 💪🏽