For the sceptics

For the sceptics out there, and I’m usually one of them except when it comes to myself, here’s what I will tell you. 50” verticals don’t grow on trees, and I’m pretty sure there are tons of countries out there that don’t have a single person who can jump that high. But if you really think about it, there isn’t any discipline that focuses exclusively on who jumps the highest, is there? Even high jump isn’t about who jumps the highest, it’s about who can jump over the highest bar. Things like technique, flexibility and height come into play, (and it unfairly favors one-leg jumpers). Hell, even the most glorified exhibition of jumping ability, the dunk contest, isn’t about who jumps the highest or even gets the highest. There basically isn't a single sporting event that is purely about jumping higher than your opponent. And that is why you don’t see that many 50” verticals out there. There is no incentive to aim that high.

The few that have a realistic shot at that milestone stop way before because let’s face it, if you have a 44” or 45” vertical already you’re pretty much a beast. Why bust your ass big time to get another 6 or 5 inches when you’re already far ahead of anyone else, and also when there is no tangible reward for your efforts. Also, and this needs to be said, whatever training or activity that got you to a 40” is probably not going to be what gets you to a 50”. I could certainly get stronger by doing push-ups everyday, but no amount of push-ups is going to get me to bench press 350 pounds. You would have to find the right type of training to get you there (and since people with 50’s are rare, it’s not like this is general knowledge).

And even then most people wouldn’t be prepared to cross the next hurdle; the volume of work needed. Let’s put it this way, if I’m overweight and out of shape it would probably take me a month or two to knock off a second or two on my 100 metre dash, but what if I’m Usain Bolt, the fastest man alive? Surely we’ll agree that if he trains for two months there is NO WAY he’s gonna run two seconds faster. The best he can hope for is that after YEARS of training he can maybe improve his best time by a tenth or at best two tenths of a second. The closer you are to your possible peak the harder it becomes to make any gains. So I do know that this is no ‘walk in the park’ but as you can see my fellow sceptics I understand what it is that I’m taking on.

Oh… and just to put it out there. Michael Jordan once said that he never did any specific training to improve his vertical. Many people with a vertical in the 40’s have said the same thing. The genetic gods have been kind to me in that regards, and though I’ve never jumped 40 inches high, I’ve never been in NBA shape or even college varsity shape either. So I KNOW that if I were to get myself to that level of fitness and conditioning, I would have a 40”. So there, I had to say that, just so you all know that my uphill battle isn’t as uphill as it sounds.

Meet Me!

I obviously have to say a few things about myself first for this blog to be relevant. I am 21 years old, I stand at about 5'9'' and I weigh 170 pounds. I've been a huge basketball fan for the last 8 years, and that's how I sort of developed an interest for jumping. I kinda see myself as a connoisseur of vertical jumping.

Now... I've never actually seen (in person) anyone with a 50" vertical, and I have no illusions as to what that represents. To put this into perspective, virtually no NBA player, retired or active, has ever displayed a 50 inch vertical. I say virtually, because one guy who played in the NBDL last season could be argued to jump that high. His name is James White; nod in agreement if you know him and look him up if you don't. So basically, I know, maybe moreso than the average guy that this is no easy feat.

But still... I BELIEVE I can get to 50, and not just that, I am DETERMINED to get to 50. And this is where this blog comes in.

You're probably wondering by now how far I am from the big 'five oh', and I think you will like what I'm about to tell you because admit it; this whole 'Road to 50' thing wouldn't be all that exciting if I had a 48" vertical already. So anyways here goes... I am as far as you can be from 50. That's right, zero! I can't jump or to be more exact I shouldn't jump. I am currently grounded by a combined case of patellar tendinitis and chondromalacia patella, or as they are more commonly known; jumpers knee and runners knee. I mean... I'm sure if I made an effort I could probably clear 10-15 inches pain-free, but the point is I shouldn't and I don't so let's just say that my vertical right now is pretty much insignificant.

So as you can see the road to fifty is going to start out pretty slowly. I'll first have to go through some long and painful rehab before we get to the exciting stuff(ok, im lying about the painful part).

Ok, I know what you're thinking; "Why on earth does this guy think he can get a 50 again??" Well even for someone in my position (the whole being grounded thing) I have a few things that make me hold out hope that. . wait, scratch that.. make me BELIEVE that I can get a 50. For one, I wasn't always this vertically challenged. I've actually been able to dunk since I was 15, I was probably about 5'8'' at the time. I estimate that my peak vertical must have been approximately 38 inches, not bad, but still a long way from 50. The 2nd thing is that I've almost never been in shape, at least not since I was 14. And by that I don't mean I've been huffing and puffing everytime I play ball for the past 6 years (although it's happened more times than i'd like to admit) but I've never been in that in-season shape where you can play 30 to 40 minutes of basketball with good intensity. And that people, matters. The third thing is I've never done a squat(yes, NEVER), and though I've tried to follow one jump program on occasions, I've never managed to even get halfway.

So with that said I feel like I’ve got a lot of untapped jumping potential. Back when I had that 38” or something close to it, I used to feel like with some serious training I could get to a 43” or 44”. But ever since my knee injuries, a couple of things happened that changed my mind about how high up I could get. I discovered TFB on youtube, and that really psyched me up, but I was only at the ‘it-would-be-nice-to-jump-that-high stage’. What really did it for me was this guy. It wasn’t just that he jumps the highest of anyone I’ve ever seen, it was more because he had gotten to that point starting with a fairly unimpressive vertical.

Welcome!

Welcome to Road250.blogspot.com. As the name suggests, this blog is about my own personal journey to 50! "Fifty what?" you may ask. Well, that's a very good question, and I'm glad u asked. In this blog I will try to document my quest for a 50 inch vertical.

That's right, 50 inches, or approximately 125 centimetres of vertical jump. So there you are, I said it, that's the goal. In the coming months, expect a lot of talk on basketball, jump training, NBA banter, and maybe if I'm so inclined some personal stuff too.

So if none of the above, as some would say, sounds like your cup of tea then feel free to move on. Otherwise you've been warned, the road to fifty begins today and if you're reading this it means you're along for the ride.