The Vertical Mastery Program

I am new to this forum, so first of all: Hi to you all! :smiley:

Being a basketball player, I am trying to improve my vertical leap.

I have done some research on multiple jump training programs, and realised you will get screwed about 90% of the time, or maybe more.

One program I do like is the Vertical Jump Bible, as it tries to tell you a lot of background info as to why he designed his programs the way he did. And also, he is not trying to trick into buying his program by lying or deception like other programs do. And most important, most people on forums, for example this forum, recommend VJB.

But I have recently discovered a relatively new program called: the Vertical Mastery Program.
You can check out more info here: www.verticaljumping.com
and you can also take a look at some sort of pdf file preview: verticaljumping.com/support-files/ verticalmasterytrainingguide.pdf

It looks pretty good from what I have seen, as the program fits the workouts to your every need. And there are videos describing workouts specifically.

However, and this is why I post this topic, I have no idea if his methods are good or not. And since there are now reviews to be found of this program, I dont want to blindly involve myself in it.
So can anybody tell me if they think it is a good idea to use this over the Vertical Jump Bible?

Lots of thanks in advance

I’ve corresponded with the guy who runs that site. I think he’s a knowledgeable dude and not looking to scam anybody like some of the guys out there such as Luke Lowery. I think you would get good results using his program.

With that said, it’s nothing magical and I’ve never seen anything out there that is going to produce better results than the program outlined in VJB. Not saying that VJB is necessarily the only program to do, but vertical leap is not complicated; it’s just a combination of relative strength, general and specific movement efficiency and body composition. Any program that covers those aspects and goes a bit into the ideas behind individualization will work, it’s just about how you follow through on it.

Thanks a lot!!

I’ll just do the VJB than, as I already own that program.

I have a standing vertical leap of 21.6 inches (max), and a running vertical leap of 29 inches (max).
My height is 6’4" and I weight 154 lbs, and probaply nowhere close to squatting 1.5x bodyweight.
Can you give me advice as to what program of VJB i should start out with?

I was thinking of doing the beginner plyos, and novice weigth strenght training (as there is no beginner one).
But as my reactive strength seems to be a lot better developed then my limit strength, is it maybe better to just focus on strenght at first?

Thanks for the kind words Jtrinsey. Exercitia Jtrinsey is of course correct, if you already own VJB then you should stick with it. With the difference between your running and standing vertical being so much I would start with the novice strength training program.

Cheers

Jack

Exercitia, I think you shouldn’t even worry about a vertical jump program for awhile and should just focus on getting stronger. You’re pretty damn thin and your vert is awfully low, so focus on building a foundation of strength and size before you try and “specialize”. If you spent the next year getting stronger at a few basic moves [back saquat, hangclean, bench, weighted chin for example] and added a good 20+lbs of good bodyweight I think you’d see a lot of improvement.

[quote]Exercitia wrote:
Thanks a lot!!

I’ll just do the VJB than, as I already own that program.

I have a standing vertical leap of 21.6 inches (max), and a running vertical leap of 29 inches (max).
My height is 6’4" and I weight 154 lbs, and probaply nowhere close to squatting 1.5x bodyweight.
Can you give me advice as to what program of VJB i should start out with?

I was thinking of doing the beginner plyos, and novice weigth strenght training (as there is no beginner one).
But as my reactive strength seems to be a lot better developed then my limit strength, is it maybe better to just focus on strenght at first?[/quote]

6’4" and 154 lbs?
You should look into putting on some size.

If your reactive ability is better developed than your limit strength, then yes, you should focus more on strength.

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
Exercitia, I think you shouldn’t even worry about a vertical jump program for awhile and should just focus on getting stronger. You’re pretty damn thin and your vert is awfully low, so focus on building a foundation of strength and size before you try and “specialize”. If you spent the next year getting stronger at a few basic moves [back saquat, hangclean, bench, weighted chin for example] and added a good 20+lbs of good bodyweight I think you’d see a lot of improvement.
[/quote]

x2
Look into a 5x5 program or Starting Strength.

Thanks for all the replies!

I know i am very thin, i tried to change this when i was about 16 by going to the gym.

Unfortunatly i developed (or already had, i dont know) a mild case of scoliose.
This should be gone now as it has been treated, but the shoulder impingement resulting of the scoliose does not seem to go away with any of the workouts my fysiotherapist gives me.

So doing chinups and benching is propably not going to work, as i cant even do 5 pushups without severe shoulder pain.

So i will only really train the lower body and back.

A 5x5 program maybe good, but i dont feel im doing my body a favour by just jumping into that.
And btw, isnt it good to do a little plyos?

I was thinking of doing the 2 VJB novice weight workouts, and 1 beginner plyos a week.
Please let me know what you think.

Sorry for the long posts :wink:

[quote]Exercitia wrote:
Thanks for all the replies!

I know i am very thin, i tried to change this when i was about 16 by going to the gym.

Unfortunatly i developed (or already had, i dont know) a mild case of scoliose.
This should be gone now as it has been treated, but the shoulder impingement resulting of the scoliose does not seem to go away with any of the workouts my fysiotherapist gives me.

So doing chinups and benching is propably not going to work, as i cant even do 5 pushups without severe shoulder pain.

So i will only really train the lower body and back.

A 5x5 program maybe good, but i dont feel im doing my body a favour by just jumping into that.
And btw, isnt it good to do a little plyos?

I was thinking of doing the 2 VJB novice weight workouts, and 1 beginner plyos a week.
Please let me know what you think.

Sorry for the long posts ;)[/quote]

No need to apologize bro, we’re here to help. I wouldn’t recommend plyos yet as I don’t think you’re strong enough to benefit from 'em. That’s why I think you should focus on building a foundation of strength and size. You should see major improvements in speed and athleticism from that alone, as long as you’re doing some kind of athletic work as well, like playing basketball, volleyball, football, etc
 a couple of times a week. Haven’t read the vjb so I’m not familiar with the program. If your physiotherapist hasn’t made you better I’d suggest going to another one. I understand having pain/discomfort but there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to do some upper body work outside of a major injury. You’re going to need to if you want to improve optimally. I know I said that you don’t nedd - and shouldn’t do - plyos, but including SOME sprint work and/or jump training would help teach you to be more explosive.
Here’s a sample template-

I have no experience with the program but on paper it looks perfect for you. It focuses on progressive overload on a few basic exercises and movement efficiency. Why not give it a few months and report back.

VJB is by the same guy who made the template that WhiteFlash posted. Either will work fine. I see no problem with doing some “garden-variety” plyos (such as box jumps, ankle hops, jumping rope or just straight up running jumps) as long as you’re making a serious effort to improve your strength.

Everybody’s said it, you know what to do. Come next January, you should be putting up 225 for a few solid reps on the back squat. When you get to that, then we’ll talk about the next step.

Shit, I forgot about WS4SB.
You are a skinny bastard, so you should look into that.

Just figured I’d point out that Jack Woodrup, the creator of the vertical mastery program, replied and despite having a potential customer and hitting them with a hard sale, he referred them to KB’s VJB. Classy

Alex

[quote]squattin600 wrote:
Just figured I’d point out that Jack Woodrup, the creator of the vertical mastery program, replied and despite having a potential customer and hitting them with a hard sale, he referred them to KB’s VJB. Classy

Alex
[/quote]

Yeah that does show what a great guy Jack really is. He could hit him with some cheesy sales pitch, but instead gave him honest information. I wish these guys like kelly b. and jack would write for T-Nation also.

If you can afford it, go with rippetoe’s idea of drinking 1 gallon of milk a day. Also do stronglifts 5X5 for a few months. You’ll gain weight like a mofo.

[quote]chrillionare wrote:
If you can afford it, go with rippetoe’s idea of drinking 1 gallon of milk a day. Also do stronglifts 5X5 for a few months. You’ll gain weight like a mofo.[/quote]

GOMAD! Just what the doctor ordered for not increasing vertical and becoming a fat slob.