Thoughts on different exercise programs

Over the years, I have tried numerous training programs and have had some measure of success with each of them. While not all of them are specifically vertical jump training programs, I used each of them with the idea of becoming more explosive. My ability to succeed with these programs has varied because my ability to recover and handle physical stress has changed as I've gotten older. I'm not advocating for certain programs and trying to trash others, I'm just giving an honest report of what happened when I tried each program. Each of these programs, if you believe the advertisers and videos on YouTube, have brought success to at least a few individuals.

Here is a list of some of the different training programs that I’ve used and my experience with them: 

• High school program: While there wasn't a name for it, I had a program that I performed the summer after my junior year that put some inches on my vertical. The success of the program came mainly from the fact that I had never really trained with any kind of organization and because I was so weak that any strength gains immediately increased my vertical. I didn't, however, receive any coaching on diet, stretching, or recovery. I developed tendinitis in my left knee that made it miserable to sit at a desk or in the backseat of a car for longer than a few minutes at a time without extending my leg to relieve the tension in my knee.
  
• Jump Soles: I used this program between my senior year of high school and my first semester of college. I became a lot quicker, could run a lot faster, but didn’t notice much of a change in my vertical. The program, at the time, was a single sheet of paper without a video to explain the exercises. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t performing some of the exercises with proper technique. Later versions of this program have included instructional videos.
• Air Alert: I had an initial increase in my vertical over the first 2 weeks of the program that was very significant. However, further progress did not occur and I actually had some regression in my vertical.
• Squat/Depth Jump program: In my early 20’s, I put together a program of squatting three times a week with depth jumps being performed prior to each of those workouts. Dunking was easy. The program ended when I went away to a college that had a weight room that was only open to students early in the morning (the sports teams used it throughout the day). I was lazy and didn’t get out of bed to exercise. 
• Science of Jumping by Strength Through Science: I was jumping really high with this program. I was in my mid-20’s at the time and was able to dunk without much effort. When I tried using this program later in my mid-30’s, tendinitis in my knees prevented me from continuing the program. 
• Powertraining by Robert Dos Remedios: This is a book that is published by Men’s Health magazine.  I liked the information in this book and its focus on overall fitness. The program incorporated a lot of explosive movements and multi-joint exercises. I saw some progress with this, but I didn’t like the recommendation to lift all-out every exercise session, to change rep ranges every week, and then switch ex ercises every few weeks. I didn't see significant strength gains.
• Bigger, Faster, Stronger: I first saw this program at my high school but never used it because my basketball coach was against heavy weight training. I started using it in my thirties but burned out with it: The program had you performing some type of lower body exercise on Monday-Wednesday-Friday with plymetrics and running performed on Tuesday-Thursday. This probably would have worked for me when I was younger. 
• Jump Manual by Jacob Hiller: Good information. Lots of people seem to have success with this program. It provides all of the theories behind the training and includes information on recovery and diet. To be honest, I really liked the training but I could never get through all of the exercises because I would get too tired. He really pushes the idea of stopping when your performance for the day slows down and I would start to slow down about halfway through the routine. I spent time figuring out which exercises to cut out. 
• Stronglifts by Mehdi (www.stronglifts.com ): I used this program twice to really increase my squat and to put on some weight. I added some depth jumps once a week and other, less intense plyometric jumps on other training days. When my squat went up to more than I had ever previously lifted, my vertical was awesome. However, I pushed myself too hard with this program and ended up with a strained right hip that prevented me from training for a while. My vertical also suffered because of this. I have used his intermediate Madcow program and was seeing good results (squat PR 370 lbs for 5 reps) right up until I had umbilical hernia surgery. 
• 5-3-1 by Jim Wendler: I used this program right after my hernia surgery and it was great for recovery. While I quickly brought my strength back up to pre-surgery levels, I was getting too big. While this may not be a problem for some, I still wanted to become more explosive for basketball. Overall, I liked the compliments people at work started to give me. 
• Work for vert (www.Workforvert.com) : This program was similar to a program I used in high school in that they both used a lot of jumping and weightlifting using 10-rep sets. I used this program in addition to 5-3-1 right after my surgery and my body wasn’t ready for it. I ended up with Achilles tendinitis that prevented me from doing any jump training for a couple of weeks. It may have worked had I been in better shape at the beginning. However, as per my own experience, I do not think 10 rep sets build explosiveness like 3-5 rep sets do. 

 Here's a summary of what I've learned over the years:

1. Being younger is better. I've had to add additional recovery time as I've gotten older. Recovery time, however, does not always mean sitting around and doing nothing. Stretching, foam rolling, light running, and lower intensity sets of exercises performed on other days. For example, Madcow has a light squat day that allows you to work on form while getting you ready for your next heavy lifting day.
2. I need more weightlifting and have to be careful with plyometrics. I need to perform depth jumps on lower boxesand always make sure I jump off of soft surfaces (i.e. grass, sand, etc.). Weightlifting using mainly deadlifts, squats, and power cleans at lower rep ranges (3-5 reps) have helped me in the past. Also, I've had more success using programs where the weight on the bar is increased systematically with either programmed deloads or a 10-20% deload when progress stalls. 
3. I have to practice jumping. Practice time can include all-out, max jumping attempts along with days where I jump at 80% of my max while really focusing on form. 

In future posts, I'll talk more about each exercise that I perform and include some progress reports.

C