I’m a Little Older for Vert Shock
Here we go guys, my first installment of the Vert Shock Challenge. Today I wrapped up the Pre-Shock phase of the Vert Shock program. If you are unfamiliar with how the Vert Shock program is structured then I recommend you check out my detailed review here.
At 31 years of age, I imagine most of those interested in doing the Vert Shock program are younger than me.
My guess is that many of you are middle school age through college. Due to the fact I’m not quite as young I have some mild concerns about my knees holding up through the 8-weeks as I’ve had knee surgery in the past and have suffered from bouts of tendonitis. Time will tell.
Pre-Test
I tested my vertical before starting the Pre-Shock phase of Vert Shock to measure my vertical jump. My vertical before beginning Vert Shock was 18″. Not very good, but this leaves for a lot of room for improvement.
My goal is for my vertical to increase to at least 23″ by the end of the program. Five inches may not sound like much, but it can be the difference between getting blocked and two points.
I do NOT expect to be able to dunk after Vert Shock. I am not a good jumper to begin with, and you can’t turn flank steak into filet mignon.
For me if I can touch rim after doing Vert Shock I’d be thrilled! Currently, I can touch the backboard padding as you can see in the video below.
Pre-Shock Experience
I found the Pre-Shock phase of Vert Shock to be challenging, but for the most part it didn’t kill me. About five years ago I did the Insanity program and I can say that the intensity of that program is far and away greater than Vert Shock. While I realize this is comparing apples to oranges, it should give anyone familiar with the Insanity program an idea of what to expect with Vert Shock.
The hardest exercises for me have been the lateral high jumps and the v-toe touches. Holy shit! They get me every time! I think the reason for my difficulty with these exercises in particular is due to my weak and neglected core.
Lateral high jumps involve jumping over an object like a box back and forth with as little rest as possible. V-toe touches are an ab exercise where you bring your arms and legs up and touch your hands and feet, then lower them both and repeat the movement.
The rest between each set is ample, which is by design as the goal is to give 100% explosive effort during the exercises.
Do You Notice a Difference Yet?
First off, I will not be measuring my vertical on a weekly basis. The reason is that I don’t want to get discouraged when I don’t see immediate results. This is the same reason why folks trying to lose weight shouldn’t weigh themselves more than once every couple weeks.
I will say that my core already feels stronger and when I jump I feel more coordinated. This can only help my jumping ability.
Stay tuned for week 2 of the Vert Shock Challenge….