- What we're going to do now,
you're going to give me a couple reps.
You're just going to drive that knee up here. Keep it here.
- So just high knees?
- Yep. High knees. Good.
- Am I trying to give velocity on these or--
- Yep, give velocity.
(band snaps) Uh oh
- That's strength.
One thing I have always wanted to do is consistently
dunk a basketball, but I'm 5'10".
That means I need to really get my vertical leap up.
Plenty of guys want to get their vertical leaps up.
And that's why we brought in DeVentri Jordan, founder
and director of Life Time GameFace, somebody who's
trained Teddy Bridgewater, a host of other NFL players,
and he spent a lot of this year working with guys
for the NFL combine. - Yeah.
- You know, all about vertical leap.
- Yes. - What do I have to do?
- You need to get taller first off. He needs to get taller.
I think you need to get about 6'2" or 6'3".
You know, seriously.
We only got so much time to get work in.
So we're all about maximizing the moments
and not the minutes.
We're gonna do a French contrast workout.
I found that's one of the most effective ways
for muscle recruitment.
- So we're gonna wind up hitting a little bit
of Olympic lifting here, do some box jumping,
incorporate a couple of resistance bands.
Let's get right into it.
- So the first thing that we want to do is a mini band walk.
All right? We want to activate all the muscle groups, right?
So because of the French contrast,
we have to have everything firing off the right way.
So we're going to do a forward walk, straight leg,
so we can activate the quads.
Then we're going to go backwards,
so we can activate the hamstrings.
And then we're going to go side to side,
so we can activate the hip flexors and the glutes.
We're also going to bend our needs too,
so we can focus on our abductors and our glutes.
Then we're going to put the bands around our feet,
and also we want to work on abduction.
- So now we're all warmed up.
I never want to see a mini band again in my entire life.
The great thing, like you promised--
- Yes. - It was a very quick warm up.
So now what are we doing?
- Let's make you a more explosive athlete.
- Let's do it. - Take a jump higher.
- [Ebenezer] Now we're onto the gym portion of things.
- [DeVentri] Yep. - [Ebenezer] How do I get
my vertical training started in terms of the real exercise?
- Great question.
So we're going to start out doing an Olympic movement,
which is a high pull.
Then we're going to do an explosive movement,
which are banded resistance jumps for speed.
- And why are we pairing these two motions?
You've got me going heavy, like I've got 135 on there.
I don't know whose idea that was.
And then I'm gonna do a body weight motion.
How did those two motions complement?
- So part of the French contrast,
this is the muscle recruitment factor.
So I'm going to do the Olympic lift, so getting the muscle
stronger for lengthening the muscles.
Then we're going to do the Olympic jumps
for getting the muscles faster.
- And all low rep, just trying
to move as fast as I can, right?
- Yes, sir.
- This isn't the full clean, it's a clean high pull, right?
- Yes it is.
And this is one of the easiest ways to teach Olympic lifting
because the second part of a high pull
is going to a hang clean.
And so for explosive movement lifting, I don't want to go
from ground where it's going to go right below the knees.
- And we're really focusing on triple extension, right?
- Yes. - So the triple extension is the key
when we're actually jumping. - Yep.
- I don't need the full clean when I'm jumping, right?
- No you don't, and you got to understand
that when you're jumping,
you're actually going to be thrusting forward.
Pushing your hips through.
Give me three reps.
Good, good.
Yep.
Good, good.
Go up to your toes just a little bit more.
Good. Yep.
- And then from there I got to move quickly into the--
- You got to move quickly into the jumps.
Because we only have so much time to keep that
central nervous system activated.
I got you.
- And how many am I doing here?
- Give me five jumps.
- Five jumps. - As soon as your feet hit the ground,
I want you to explode right back up.
Right back up.
Two. Good. Three.
Good. Four.
Good. Five. Good.
Now you got a 30 second break, then we--
- 30 seconds, that's it?
- Yeah. Come on, man. - It's not really 30 seconds.
- I'll give you a minute. I'm just joking.
You've got minute and a half.
- [Ebenezer] It's interesting, because that takes
a whole ton out of me.
- [DeVentri] It does. - [Ebenezer] Really fast.
- [DeVentri] It does. - [Ebenezer] Which, I guess is the
idea of French contrast, right?
- Well that's the thing about what we talked about
from the beginning is that you only got so much time
to get working, right?
So, I'm activating your muscle right away.
- How many sets of this am I doing?
- Well, high pulls - you're going to do six sets of three.
And for the plyometric jump, you'll do six sets of five.
- I'm ready to go again.
I'm actually ready for the next move. So let's get to it.
So that first move was all about being explosive
and hitting triple extension - fast.
- [DeVentri] Yes. - Now what do you have for me?
- Now we're going to work on a different type
of French contrast, where we're going
to completely shut off the central nervous system.
- And how are we going to shut it down? What's the mechan--
- So what we're going to do is we're going to go
into an isometric hold for five seconds.
You're going to drop the dumb bells
and you're going to explode up into a box jump.
Control the landing.
- Am I going heavy here or what?
- Yeah, we'll go moderate.
Typically you'll go with
about 80 to 75% of your max on one rep max.
Go.
one... two... three... four... five...
Get up. Good. Just like that.
If you notice, what he did was he controlled this landing.
The key thing is when you're jumping,
is to be able to control that decelerated motion.
Jumping is accelerated.
Landing is a decelerated motion.
And that's what we're working on.
- I guess when I'm sitting in that iso,
the interesting thing for me
is I feel like I'm still working.
- [DeVentri] Yep.
- But I'm not. I'm almost not quite ready to jump.
I have to think about it.
- I'm holding you just enough time to shut down
the central nervous system,
for it to respond all over again.
- And how many reps and such are we doing on this?
- Six sets of three 5-second holds, with one jump.
- Am I doing them back to back?
Like, should I be doing another rep or--
- No, you're going to take about a minute break in between.
Because you got to also pay attention
to let your body recover,
so that you could do the right reps.
- Most people are used to doing a lot of reps,
a lot of sets, taking their body to fatigue.
And this is about hitting something with precision.
- Yes.
- And then recovering, right?
- Well the key thing about it
is this is not a dynamic effort workout.
What you talking about is for dynamic effort.
So every rep, every move matters.
- And just get explosive,
but I'm starting to feel that jump. - [DeVentri] Yeah.
- So let's go into what we got next.
So we attacked triple extension, and then we went
to that isometric pairing to really get my CNS going.
How are we finishing this workout?
- Depth jumps to an explosive jump.
- And all you need for this one is a box,
which makes it really, really friendly
to anybody who's training.
I think it's a really underrated move too,
just in terms of deceleration.
You had me kind of managing my deceleration.
- [DeVentri] Yes. - [Ebenezer] On the last move.
- [DeVentri] Yep. - [Ebenezer] Now I'm going
to take that deceleration and do something with it.
Take all that control and go somewhere.
- Depth jumps is probably one
of the most underrated moves that people do not do.
And the reason why is because
if I could teach your body how to decelerate,
and you understand how to do it,
you'll become a much more explosive athlete.
So the thing that we're going to do is we're going to
have you jump off two with your left foot,
two with your right foot,
and soon as you land and make contact with the ground,
you're going to explode right back up into a jump
and then stick your landing.
- So still keeping the reps low. - Yes, sir.
- Just trying to be explosive. - Yep.
- Let's do it.
- [DeVentri] Wait, let's go with the left foot first.
- [Ebenezer] Left foot first? - And I want you
to go off my cue.
It's important that soon as he hits the ground,
I'm going to give him a cue to explode right back up
into the air again.
Let's go.
Go!
Good. A little bit faster, a little bit faster.
That was good, right?
I need you to really pay attention, to listen to me.
As soon as you make contact with the ground,
I want you to reapply that force
so you explode right back up again.
- Got it. So it's all about intent, too.
- Because I've got to think it. I can't just jump.
I have to actually--
- You have to think it and anticipate it.
- Yeah. And want to do it.
- Ready? - [Ebenezer] Yeah.
- Let's go.
Go! Good. That was a good rep right there.
- That felt better. - That was a good rep.
Let's get one more. Let's get one more,
one more of those reps.
Ready? - [Ebenezer] Yep.
- Go! Good.
That was good right there.
Hey, if you notice how he stuck his landing,
stick your landing.
- And I think we're keeping those reps really low
on all this because my effort is just so intense.
- Yes. - [Ebenezer] So what are my reps on sets on this?
I think I forgot to ask you that.
- So for the box jumps, you're going to go
four sets of two in each leg.
- So once I attack all these three moves,
how long before I'm dunking a basketball?
- Once again, I think you should be about 6'2", 6'3".
Once you go to the doctor, and they determine
if you could get taller, you could probably be dunking
in about, you know, four to six weeks.
- So four to six weeks, of trainin--
- But make sure, make sure you're only doing this type
of workout no more than twice a week, right?
You want to give your muscle groups time to recover,
and you don't want to burn out.
- I also need to train biceps in between,
so that keeps me covered.
Well, thanks for helping me out.
I'm going to spend four to six weeks.
Even if I'm not dunking a basketball,
I'll at least have a better vertical.
You will too.
So try out these moves.