Hitting the Reset Button

It's been a few weeks since my last post, and I've spent most of that time with some nagging injuries (ankle, knee).  I haven't been exercising as consistently, and I've put on 10 pounds from my recent low of 215 lbs.

But, my knees/ankles are coming back slowly, and I am still committed to dunking in my 40's.  I've decided that I need to re-focus on my main goals, and track them more closely.

So, here's my "reset" stats:

Age: 40
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 225 lbs

Standing Reach:  8'1"
No-Step Vertical: 23"?
Max Vertical: 30.7"

I need to re-measure my standing (no-step) vertical and max (running) vertical, as I haven't tracked those in a while. To try and be accurate with these stats, I bought a pretty cool new "toy" called VERT:
https://www.myvert.com/collections/vert/products/vert-wearable-jump-monitor

I just opened the package today, and tried it out in my basement.  The device works very easily (clips to your shorts just like an old pager), and the app tracks all of your jumps and calculates average/max jumps per session.  Today I only got to a maximum of 26.6", but I'm pretty sure that I can beat that on a real court instead of a carpeted basement floor.  I will make sure to try a few jumps on a proper basketball court next week to see where I'm at.

UPDATE:  I tried out the VERT tracker on the court today, and the results were much better.  I had several jumps in the 28"-30" range, and a Max Vertical of 30.7".  Unfortunately, I had forgotten to measure my no-step vertical, so I'll have to do that next time.

40 (minus a day) and Dunking

One day from turning 40, and I managed to get 2 lefty dunks down after my rec league game.  I was worn out from the game, so I gave up after a few attempts and didn't film anything tonight.

The NBA season kicks off on Tuesday (my birthday!), and I figured that I'd celebrate my 40th by making a list of the Top 40 Dunks of all time.

My Top 40 list is going to include:  Pro Dunkers, NBA Dunk Contest, In-Game, and any other dunks that I've come across on YouTube etc.

Here's a teaser from the best dunking #40 ever:  Shawn Kemp.

40 and DUNKING!

ok... ok... I'm not officially 40 yet.

But, I'm only about a week away, and decided to try and get some dunks down this week after my rec league game.

My vertical is definitely down a few inches, but I've discovered a new "trick": lefty dunking.  With my Left-Right two-foot takeoff, I can get more extension with my left arm.  And, lucky for me, my hands are big enough to palm with my left hand.

So, I'm feeling pretty good about my chances of being a 40-year-old dunker... just need to stay focused for another one or two weeks.

Another cool video came out this week:
Vince Carter throwing down a windmill in practice at age 39.... enjoy!

More Updates...

It's been another couple of months since my last update.  Here's what I've been up to...

• I've lost over 20 pounds since the start of the year!  Down to 215 lbs from 236 on Jan 1st.  My FitBit really does make a difference -- I'm focused on physical activity every day.
• Haven't been doing much dunk practice, but I have been keeping up some plyometrics and other jump training.  I can touch my 10'3" basement ceiling on a depth jump now!
• Just trying to stay healthy and improve my conditioning a little bit every day.

In other news, I just discovered that Sports Illustrated had a long form article "Learn To Dunk" last year:  http://www.si.com/longform/2015/dunking/.  This article describes a very similar journey to my own, right down to the Tim Grover training guide ("Jump Attack") and searching for local playground rims to practice on.

For those that didn't see it, TNT just finished airing "The Dunk King", which featured most of the world's top dunkers.  I felt that Jordan Kilganon was robbed, but still enjoyed the series.  Clips can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU6BYY1Lu_ffetIxMhH_hZOkr41U4ADbL

39.5 and Dunking -- some updates

So, it's been about 4 months since I posted to my blog... here's some updates:

• Sprained an ankle in November, and tried to avoid dunk practice/etc. for several weeks.
• Ate and drank too much over the holidays, and had my weight balloon to 236 pounds!
• Got a FitBit for Xmas, and have been using it religiously to tracking my progress back toward my weight and general fitness goals.
• Haven't attempted as many dunks in 2016, mainly because the practice rims at the facility I play at once/week were changed (and now have "no dunking" signs on all of the backboards)

Progress in 2016 so far:

• I've dropped 12 pounds in about 12 weeks!  (236 back down to 224)
• My vertical is coming back... I'd lost probably 4-5 inches from my peaks of last year, but I'm getting close to where I was.
• I'm only about 7 months from the big 4-0.  That is now my one and only goal for this year:  DUNK AT AGE 40.

I will try to post more frequent updates as I progress toward my 40th birthday.  I still haven't found too many people out there dunking in their 40's, which inspires me to keep going an be somewhat unique in my goal.