This week, I dropped my calorie intake to 2600 calories. Now, that might sound fine for your average person—but for a 6’1″, moderately jacked guy exercising for nearly two hours a day, that’s like like trying to power a monster truck with a lawnmower engine. Sure, it’ll start, it’ll sputter, and maybe it’ll even roll down the street—but don’t expect it to clear any jumps, and for the love of quads, don’t ask it to hit top speed..
Am I suffering? Slightly. But this is the name of the game when you’re trying to stay lean, jump higher, and still make it to arm day without turning into a human raisin.
Still Contrast Training Like My Gains Depend on It (Because They Do)
Despite the looming specter of mild malnutrition, I’m sticking with contrast training, because I genuinely believe this is the best protocol for my current goal: jumping like I’m wearing springs.
Contrast training—pairing a heavy compound lift with an unloaded explosive movement—is based on the principle of post-activation potentiation (PAP). Basically, you shock the nervous system with a heavy lift (think 85%+ of your 1-rep max), then hit it with a plyometric movement to train your muscles to recruit more fibers more efficiently.
And the science is legit. Tillin & Bishop (2009) noted that PAP increases the sensitivity of myosin and actin filaments to calcium, which leads to greater muscle fiber recruitment during explosive movements. In other words, heavy squats make your box jumps better—if you time it right.
This week, I incorporated:
- Hex bar deadlift jumps followed by band-assisted vertical jumps
- Barbell back squats followed by standing box jumps
- Heavy single-leg step-ups into explosive bounds
I’ve done this kind of work before, but this time I’m being way more deliberate. The lift is close to my max, the plyos are quick and snappy, and I’m allowing full rest between rounds (3-5 minutes). I’m not just checking boxes—I’m chasing neural adaptation.
The Podcast That Changed the Game
I listened to an episode of Andrew Huberman’s podcast featuring Stuart McMillan, and my entire worldview on speed and sprinting shifted. Like, if you thought track & field was boring, this will make you want to quit your job and become a hurdler.
Some golden nuggets from the episode:
- Speed is all about how efficiently you can transfer power into the ground. Your natural ability to be fast isn’t just in your muscles, but how you interact with the ground.
- McMillan said he can tell how fast someone is just by the sound of their footstrike. Like a boxer hitting a heavy bag—the sharp pop of a fast foot against the track.
- “Running a 100m dash is 50m of violence and 50m of peace.” I don’t know why, but that hit me deep in my soul.
- Most people think they can sprint, but don’t have the tissue or joint capacity to handle it.
- Skipping is one of the best tools to prep for sprinting—it conditions your system to move with the required range and rhythm.
- It’s not about how strong you are, but how well you transfer that strength. “Transmission of the force is more important than the magnitude of the force.“
As McMillan put it: “Movement quality matters more than movement capacity.”
And honestly, I’ve felt this myself. Ever since breaking my back in high school, I’ve subconsciously guarded my spine, keeping movements stiff and restricted. That’s over a decade of limiting my own expression and power. No wonder my jumps felt capped—I wasn’t letting the force flow.
This Week’s “Progress” (if we’re calling it that)
I didn’t hit any new PRs or break through any major barriers this week, but I did manage one thing: a killer dunk session.
I lowered the rim with a buddy and just let loose—hours of free dunking followed by three hours of volleyball that same night. Was it wise? Probably not. But it was glorious.
The aftermath? Let’s just say the recovery update is coming in next week’s post. My legs currently feel like microwaved spaghetti noodles, and I’m not entirely convinced I’ll ever stand again without creaking.
Wrapping It Up (Before I Collapse)
This week was all about putting theory into practice: cutting calories carefully, pushing neural adaptation with contrast training, and being a student of the game thanks to some high-quality content.
No crazy leaps in progress, but the process is moving—and I can feel the momentum building. Even when you don’t see the change, the wiring under the surface is being rebuilt.
I’ll end with this quote that stuck with me from the podcast: “Sports is a connection with one’s body, and the movements being expressed are you expressing yourself.”
And if that’s true, then this week I expressed the heck out of some box jumps—and maybe a little overuse soreness too.
Stay tuned for next week’s “why did I do that” episode.
References
- Tillin, N. A., & Bishop, D. (2009). Factors influencing post-activation potentiation in humans and the effects on performance. Sports Medicine, 39(2), 147-166.
- Rosenbaum, M., & Leibel, R. L. (2016). Adaptive thermogenesis in humans. International Journal of Obesity, 40(8), 1175-1185.
