The White Man Jump Challenge continues. I'm now one week into the Advanced Phase of the Strength Shoe training program and the net gain to my vertical leap is currently at just over two inches.

I know. It seems like a rather modest gain for almost two and a half months worth of three-days-a-week workouts. But it's a gain nonetheless. And I have to tell you, even though I'm only jumping a couple inches higher, the training has improved my game in ways that I didn't originally anticipate. I haven't measured my foot speed, but I can tell you that my first step is faster and I'm breaking to the hoop with greater force and authority. Some of that is psychological -- I've become more aggressive off the dribble to test the results of my training -- but some of it is physical as well. I'm getting by and around people easier than I was. I'm finishing stronger.

The funny thing is, my game had been regressing for some time without me realizing it. That is, I had been shooting from distance more and more and driving less and less. Naturally, I had been making excuses for the change in style -- the lane was too clogged, the floor was too dusty, my defender was just going to foul me anyway, etc. -- but in reality I had lost a step and simply had no idea. I wasn't really choosing not to drive. I couldn't. Not as often or as easily, anyway. But now I'm getting that quickness back. I have to admit, that has me pretty juiced up. (Conversely, realizing my physical skills had been deteriorating without notice was somewhat alarming. I definitely had an "Oh my God I've become Antoine Walker!" moment. And let me tell you, that's a terrible moment to have.)

There are, however, some downsides I should probably mention. Technically speaking, I'm overtraining. The program suggests at least a full day (24 hours) of rest between each workout, but I've been lifting, running, biking and/or playing basketball on my "off days" (except Friday). I can't help it; I just don't want to give those things up. The side-effect is that my legs are sore and tired pretty much all the time. I've tried to address this by hydrating, eating right (most of the time), hitting the hot tub at my gym, bathing with Epsom salts, rigorous stretching, self-massage...I've even gotten a handful of actual massages from a professional masseuse (no happy endings, though, so don't ask). These measures help, to be sure, but not so much so that I can feel totally recovered without taking a couple days off from any kind of intense physical activity. This has introduced a rather interesting paradox: I feel both great AND like crap at the same time. Weird, huh?

There's another downside to the overtraining: Based on everything I've read, it's likely retarding my overall progress. It's possible, even probable, that I might have gained even more than two inches of increased leaping ability had I strictly adhered to the program's rest guidelines. But what can I do? I'm not going to stop living my life and pursuing my other goals just so I can jump higher. Maybe the pros have recovery secretes I haven't heard of. Who knows.

Labels: pickup basketball, plyometrics, strength shoes, the incredible one-inch vertical gain, White Man Jump Challenge

Where white men are forced to jump in captivity...
An inch! I gained an inch! I know what you're thinking, but the answer is: No. This post is not an endorsement for the Swedish-made penis enlarger pump, nor for the book "Swedish-made Penis Enlarger Pumps And Me: (This Sort Of Thing Is My Bag, Baby!)."

I am now exactly one month into the White Man Jump Challenge -- which officially concludes the Beginner Phase -- and my vertical leap has increased by a full inch. Or 2.54 centimetres. Or about 0.08333 feet. Or approximately 0.02778 yards. And sure, an inch might not sound like a big honking deal to you, but don't tell that to this guy.

The point is, it's progress, and "minor, almost imperceptible progress" is certainly better than "no progress at all." It's proof that the Strength Shoe training system can do something. I'm still not a believer; not by a long shot. I probably could have made the same modest gain by doing the same exercises without wearing paddleboards on my feet. But I wore them, and I'm now jumping higher than I did before. There's no denying that.

I actually discovered this while measuring my vertical on Wednesday night before heading to my pickup league. Silly as this may sound, I actually felt a little more confident going into the games. I mean, rationally speaking, I know that a one-inch improvement doesn't make that much of a difference, but I was jumping harder and with more determination. I was crashing the boards with greater resolve. At one point, the ball got stuck between the rim and the backboard, and I was the first to jump for it. FAIL. Instead, some 18-year-old jumping jack had to bring the ball down. No matter. Give me another month. I begin the Intermediate Phase on Saturday.

A quick note on recovery: Chris, the issuer of this challenge, e-mailed to warn me of the painful aftereffects of using the Strength Shoes. He explained that his legs were almost useless the day after his first training session, and that he briefly considered amputating them and fitting the stumps wtih bionic implants. (Okay, I made up the second half of that sentence. As far as you know.) Fortunately, I had read about the Strength Shoe hangover, and I was ready. So in addition to the proscribed stretches, my post-Strength Shoe workout recovery period also includes icing my calves, 15-20 minutes in a Whirlpool tub, and 10-20 minutes of vigorous therapy from an electric handheld massager. I skipped recovery once and my legs felt like they were trying to contract to 1/5th their normal size the next morning. I didn't skip again.

Videotastic extra: Did you know that the Strength Shoes were featured on an episode of Seinfeld? Well, now you do.

Labels: plyometrics, the incredible one-inch vertical gain, White Man Jump Challenge

I have now completed the first seven beginner's level workouts of the Strength Shoes training system, and my vertical leap has increased exactly...zero inches. If you're male, I don't have to tell you how chilling the words "zero inches" can be. Bummer, huh?

But not exactly surprising, either. After all, I wouldn't expect to add an inch to my biceps -- or even a fraction of an inch -- only seven workouts into a beginner's bicep training program. And the Strength Shoe program is pretty clear: The purpose of the beginner's level is to prepare you for the intermediate level, and therefore results may be limited (or even non-existent). So all I can do is keep on keeping on.

Patience is the critical component of any training program. Rome wasn't built in a day, right? Hell, a McDonald's Playland isn't even built in a day. But there's a very strong temptation to overtrain. You know, increase the number of repetitions I'm doing, do extra workouts, install some cyborg implants, or whatever. However, based on everything I've been reading, that's the worst thing I could do. Okay, that's not technically correct...there are many worse things I could do (cross the streams, eat broken glass, clean all the bathrooms in Grand Central Station with my tongue, etc.). But overtraining, in almost any area, usually leads to injury and muscle degradation. In fact, some of the plyometric literature I've read explicitly states that overtraining can not only hamper results, it can actually takes inches off of my precious vert. Wouldn't that suck?

However, while I can't jump any higher today than when I started, I can tell you that I have seen a general improvement in my balance and agility. Which is something, I guess. Also, and I might be imagining this, but I seemed to have more thrust on my last couple runs. Oh, and in my ability to kick myself in the ass, which is a skill that could come in handy at almost any time.

In the meantime, I've been trying to read as much as I can about plyometrics. The best of what I've discovered so far is The Vertical Jump Development Bible by Kelly Baggett. As far as I can tell, Baggett really knows what he's talking about. The VJDB is stuffed full of Mighty Science, which -- even if you can't understand all of it -- feels very comforting. Kind of like when the voice-over guy in the Viagra commercial says that some erections may last up to four hours. Anyway, the VJDB helps you analyze your jumping ability (to determine what kind of jumper you are) and provides a variety of customized workouts based on your athletic aptitude and physical needs. The programs are roughly 16 weeks long and use a large variety of exercises. Every exercise is illustrated and described in detail, which is nice. And most of them can be done in the privacy of your own home.

I'm not trying to pass judgement on my Strength Shoes program before I've even finished the beginner's level, but if I had to choose a system in a pinch, I'd choose The Vertical Jump Development Bible. And I will be using it if the Strength Shoes fail me.

Labels: plyometrics, White Man Jump Challenge

Take a good look at my new torture devices.
Hello. My name is Basketbawful, and I can't jump.

No, seriously. I couldn't jump over pebble. (I mean, like, a really tiny one.) I couldn't hop over a nickle. (Even if I was strapped to a rocket, Wile E. Coyote-style.) I couldn't vault two sheets of paper. (I could make it over one sheet...maybe.) My vertical leap isn't measured in seconds, it's measured in Planck time. I am bound to the ground. I have been diagnosed with a terminal case of White Man's Disease.

The question is: What am I going to do about it? Or, perhaps more accurately, can I do anything about it? Well, it's time to find out.

About a year ago, I wrote a post about plyometric jumpsoles. After several seconds of rigorous speculation that included less empirical research than I typically use to select a paper clip, I boldly concluded that the jumpsoles were a useless waste of money. Basically, I felt as though they were about as likely to bring your great grandmother back from the dead as they were to help you jump higher. In response to that post, a reader named Chris issued the following polite (but serious) challenge: "I think Basketbawful should give them a shot if he wants to offer more valuable criticism." He even offered to let me borrow his relatively unused pair of Strength Shoes (pictured above).

Brave explorer of the unknown that I am, I immediately accepted the challenge, meeting up with Chris in downtown Chicago to pick up the Strength Shoes and an instructional video. I then did absolutely nothing with them. There were reasons, of course. Mostly a series of ticky-tac injuries to my feet, ankles and back, all of which happened while playing pickup ball. But I'm completely healthy right now, so there's no reason not to finally give this thing a go.

In that spirit, I sat down last night last night and watched the instructional video. The first 10 minutes or so -- and I'm not kidding about this -- featured a series of increasingly dire warnings about trying to use the Strength Shoes without following the workout plan outlined in the video. By the time I got through them, I felt like my family was being held hostage and would be released only after I successfully completed the prescribed program. I'm not saying that's actually the case, but I'd still like to take this opportunity to say: Mom, if they're letting you read this, I love you.

The video then introduces us to David Houza, who has the comforting title of "President." David explains the basic concept of the Strength Shoes: They make the calves support 100 percent of the body's weight, forcing both the calves and Achilles tendons to endure a force equal to six times the body's weight upon impact. Amazingly, this will not cause your calves to explode. Rather, it (allegedly) makes the calf muscles and Achilles tendon stretch and strengthen, which "makes any athlete more explosive." (Okay then, maybe they will make your calves explode...)

But wait, there's more! The Strength Shoe workouts can also "increase your anaerobic capacity and your anaerobic power by 500 percent." I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I'm just going to assume that, once I complete the Strength Shoe training program, I will never have to breath human air again.

David doesn't want you to think for one second that you're just jumping around aimlessly on a pair of gimmick clod hoppers. He uses encouraging words (like "biomechanical" and "dynamic resistance") and assures us that the Strength Shoe workout was developed by Steve Watterson, Strength and Conditioning coach for the Tennessee Titans, and some other dude named Mackie Shilstone, who "works with over 650 elite athletes from all professional sports." There's no actual proof of these claims, but hey, David's a "President" and I'm just a regular non-President. I'll take his word for it.

Their are three phases of Strength Shoe workouts: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. Obviously, I (probably wisely) chose to start at the Beginner level. Each workout starts with a series of basic stretches that anybody who does anything even remotely athletic should already be doing (but you probably aren't, are you?).

I won't bother to go through each of the individual exercises, but I will tell you that only one of them had anything to do with jumping. The other exercises are intended to promote speed and agility, and one of them even requires you to kick your own butt. (No, seriously.) Unfortunately, the workout also required me to sprint, which meant I had to take the jump shoes outside and run past kids playing and people walking their dogs. So, you know, I got to feel like a damn fool. But at least I'm a fool on his way to explosive athleticism.

So I'm one day into the Beginner level program, which lasts four weeks (assuming I do the workout three days per week, with 24 hours of recovery between each workout). My lower back is a little sore and my calves are pretty stiff. I cannot, as far as I can tell, jump any higher today than I could yesterday. But that's to be expected. I doubt I'll be dunking before, say, the third or fourth workout.

Weekly updates to come.

Labels: pickup basketball, plyometrics, White Man Jump Challenge