The 4-Hour Body_ An Uncommon Guide to Ra - Timothy Ferriss [147]
The hip flexor stretches are performed 30 seconds to two minutes before a jump, and the nondominant side is stretched first. In my case, that was my left side. Each side is held for 30 seconds.
On the right: Hold this position.
4TH ATTEMPT: 25 INCHES
I was pleased with our progress, and so was DeFranco: “That’d be a million dollars if you could play football and were in the NFL.
“Mid to low 20s is the average for high school players in this gym. Going from 29 inches to 30 inches in the Combine puts you in a new bracket altogether. A new tax bracket too.”
One of his protégés, Miles Austin, had a 42-inch vertical at 220 pounds. Brian Cushing, who was then leading the AFC in tackles, weighed 250 pounds and had a 35-inch vertical. “Cush” had started with DeFranco at age 17 and was a first-round draft pick. Cush could now bench-press 225 pounds for 35 reps. He could also put on a 20-pound weight vest, sit in a chair, and jump directly from the seated position onto a 50-inch box. Yep, a freaking mutant.
My performance didn’t compare well, but I had gained three inches on my vertical in 20 minutes and tied the gym record for single-session improvement.
The next morning, however, a much bigger challenge awaited: Sprinting.
TOOLS AND TRICKS
Probotics Just Jump Mat (www.fourhourbody.com/jump-mat) This portable mat measures vertical jump based on air time. It’s used by Rich Tuten, the Denver Broncos’ strength and conditioning coach, during their annual tryouts and can fit under a bed.
Mastering the Combine Tests, DVD (www.fourhourbody.com/combine-dvd) DeFranco dissects every aspect of the NFL Combine tests in this DVD, including the 20-yard shuttle, the three-cone drill, the bench-press test, and the broad jump.
McTarnahan’s Absorbent Blue Lotion (http://store.allvet.org/abblloga.html) Pain and stiffness relief for horses … and elite athletes. Makes Ben-Gay seem like water.
Videos of Mutants:
Adrian Wilson Jumping 66 Inches (www.fourhourbody.com/wilson): Watch the Arizona Cardinals’ safety jump over the 5′6″ mark.
Keith Eloi Jumps into a Flatbed Truck (www.fourhourbody.com/flatbed): No run-up, no expression of effort, and he’s in goddamn slippers.
Keith Eloi Jumping Out of a Swimming Pool Backward (www.fourhourbody.com/pool-eloi)
End of Chapter Notes
1. Pro Days, organized by top football universities, allow NFL scouts to watch players participate in the Combine’s various tests on university grounds prior to the Combine. Coaches rightly assume that players will often have better performances on home turf.
2. The starting height—0″—is the height of your fingertips extended overhead when your feet are flat on the ground. This allows scouts to compare a 5′10″ player to a 6′4″ player.
3. www.fourhourbody.com/asshole
HACKING THE NFL COMBINE II
Running Faster
Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must move faster than the lion or it won’t survive. Every morning, a lion wakes up, and it knows it must move faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It doesn’t matter if you’re the lion or the gazelle. When the sun comes up, you’d better be moving.
—Maurice Greene, 5-time world champion 100-meter sprinter
KING GEORGE DINER, 721 HAMBURG TURNPIKE
It was 8:00 A.M. EST (5:00 A.M. PST on my physical clock), and Joe and I were waking up to a classic New Jersey diner breakfast: omelets and never-ending cups of strong, bitter coffee. I pulled out a pad and started the questions.
“Who’s the best strength coach no one knows?” I asked.
Answer: Buddy Morris from the University of Pittsburgh.
“Favorite coach for functional strength?”
Answer: Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell.4
“Favorite stretching expert?”
Answer: Anne Frederick, whose clinic, Stretch to Win, I