On my most recent business trip to the Wasatch Range, the master of ceremonies and I were able to drop a few 45lbs plates and pull a few lower back muscles (freaking hate dead lifts!). It is nice to visit the Great Salt Lake Valley, which is my vocational equivalent of a mullet; business in the front of the day, party on the back side of the evening. This trip had special significance too. We were getting the base line for the challenge to end all challenges... or possibly the most lack luster epic fail of my thirties. Either way it marked the office start to the "Dunk by 38!" challenge.
Enjoy a brief Youtube video...
http://youtu.be/bT6EBw8n3NE
If our estimates are accurate, I will need to increase vertical leap by 6 inches in under eleven months. Or hit a mid-life vertical growth spurt around August. The theater of my mind is a one-man carnival relying heavily on the mechanics of the program designed by the House of Pain's landlord... Jaron is the harbinger of my round-two physical development; so considering the adjacent possibilities for a 37 year old, 6'2" white guy, we know it's a lofty goal. This may be a serious game of out crazying crazy. If he can't convince my legs to leap, he might have to confuse the ego into believing this white guy is gonna jump.
The inspiration for this challenge is twofold. First part coming from my oldest younger brother who once introduced me as, "the brother that got all the height but wasted it on swimming." And secondly, the narcissistic injury of having a limitation like age and ability. I may be decades away from adult diapers and yelling at the butcher for conspiring to euthanizing me slowly with his devilish mustard-mayonnaise sauce, but I know that times be a change'n. So before this chef of word soup gets sent to pasture and still has spring in his chicken legs... Weez gonna dunk that ball!
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In a brief spurt of pure hilarity, Jarvis's reaction when I informed him we would be using a ball for the baseline video, was pure comic gold. He thought he would just be jumping with an open hand! Ridiculous. My back is only now recovering from those damn dead lifts. For someone of JT's advancing years to undertake this challenge, is bold (if I'm trying to be diplomatic). It's fool hardy if I am not. Not to say it can't be done, just brutal difficult! In college, we measured standing vertical leaps for swimming once. This was a year before ole JT arrived on campus. I had a 29.5 inch vertical, second best on the team. Sadly swimmers are not designed for bursts of power and speed, pure endurance. This will go against 37 years of muscle programming. I'm intrigued by the challenge of designing a program to accomplish this task. For the last half decade I have focused mainly on weight reduction, functional strength and postural improvement. Athleticism is gonna be a lot more fun! We got a few more rounds of Hypertrophy and then a brief foray into Functional Strength training before landing in Power training which is where we will finally address this challenge head on. Power is specifically geared to improve speed quickness and agility. It's akin to the popular sport specific training employed by athletes, notably NFL prospects prior to the combine, called SPARQ training. That's SPeed, Agility, Reaction, and Quickness. I'm also calling upon JT to start tracking body fat percentage and lean body mass measurements. I need him LEAN if he's going to propel himself 6 inches further off the earth than he currently can. We're talking under 10% body fat. Ever seen a chubby high jumper?! Me neither. Nutrition will once again become paramount. As I have been made aware, the challenge blog posts have consistently rated highest in readership, and the last thing we want to do is alienate our loyal followers in Eastern Europe, there will be more challenges along the 11 month journey to "The Dunk". I even have some insight into an impending challenge suggested by JT himself. One I advised against. One that will justify the expense of installing that standing crapper at Casa de Marlow. Stay tuned...
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