Since the rules of the test dictate that you must touch both lines with your RIGHT hand, I discovered that it would be much more efficient to get in a less-common "left-handed" stance when performing this test.... Simply put, the left-handed stance enables the athlete to cover the 1st 10 yards in two fewer steps; when you're talking about TENTHS of a second, two steps makes a huge difference! Taking 2 less steps can shave up to 4 tenths of a second off of this test. And when we're talking about the NFL Combine tests, 4 tenths of a second is an eternity that can mean millions of dollars for an athlete.

Some of the NFL scouts now disallow left-handed starts at the Combine. This is amusing since some athletes are, well, left-handed. Unhindered, DeFranco continues to produce record-breakers, always one step ahead. Pros on all 32 teams have been through his machine.

But was DeFranco really that good? Or was he using the favorite trick of PR-savvy trainers: babysitting genetic freaks for a year and then basking in their performances?

Amid 600-pound tires and chains, I had come to his storage facility to find out.

Forty-eight hours later, I had:

* Increased my vertical jump three inches (matching the gym's single-session improvement record) * Improved my 40-yard dash by 0.33 seconds (beating the previous single-session record of two-tenths of a second)

This chapter and the next will explain how you can replicate what I did, starting with my personal nemesis (there's a reason I chose wrestling over basketball): The vertical jump.

The Vertical Jump DeFranco started me off with an abbreviated warm-up, videos of which can be seen at www.fourhourbody.com/defranco: Normal jumping jacks 10Seal jacks 10 (open and close the arms in front of the chest)Reverse lunge 5 (each side)Side lunge 5 (each side)Leg swings forward and backward 10 (each side)Pogo jumps 20 secs. (jump on the b.a.l.l.s of your feet with legs straight as fast as possible) We then approached the altar of air: the Vertec.

It is, Vertec's marketing department forgive me, a pole with sticks that rotate when struck. The highest stick you hit determines your vertical leap.2 "Show me your best."

So I did. Twenty-one inches. My second and third attempts yielded an equally unimpressive 22 inches.

STARTING POINT: 22 INCHES.

As I prepared to receive my first set of instructions, the a.s.shole walked in. Correction: The a.s.shole.

"Hey, a.s.shole!" DeFranco shouted over his shoulder.

"What's up!" The a.s.shole offered back.

DeFranco looked back at me and explained, "It's not derogatory at all. That's just what he is. It's his name." Outside the gym, The a.s.shole is known as Mike Guadango. His story was typical of DeFranco's acolytes. He had been cut from the University of Delaware baseball team his freshman year. He responded by transferring to William Paterson University and sacrificing his body to DeFranco. Twelve months later, he was first-team All-American. The a.s.shole could now do 50 consecutive military chins and, at 59, had become a YouTube celebrity for a jump from standstill onto a face-height 55-inch box.3 Not bad for someone known in DeFranco's clan for his lack of natural gifts. Not bad for someone known in DeFranco's clan for his lack of natural gifts.

The a.s.shole took a comfortable seat to enjoy the spectacle.

DeFranco's first round of training began with corrections.

Flaw #1: Too Little Shoulder Drive "Shoulders are prime movers in the jump and contribute up to 20% of your height. Try running a 40-yard dash with your arms by your sides and you'll get the idea. For the vertical jump, the speed of your descent into a half-squat will correlate to the max height. Really use your upper-body strength and throw your arms down as fast as you can, recoiling with the same speed."

DeFranco encouraged me to start with my arms overhead like an Olympic diver, using the additional distance for increased velocity downward. This would maximize elastic recoil. My dominant right arm would then be the only arm extended overhead to hit the sticks.

Flaw #2: Pulling the Extended Arm Back at the Apex of the Jump My arm was retracted at the highest point, as if I were spiking a volleyball, and I was. .h.i.tting the sticks on the way down. It needed to be retracted on the way up.

Flaw #3: Too Wide a Squat Stance My squat stance, just outside of hip width, was too wide and decreased my standing height by one to two inches. I needed to place my feet just inside the hips and keep my back flat as I squatted.

I had to keep my eyes on the sticks at all times, except for at the very bottom on the squat.

Shaking out my arms and legs, I ran through the checklist and took a few deep breaths.

Then I jumped again.

3RD ATTEMPT: 24 INCHES.

I had just gained two inches on my vertical.

"Who taught you to jump with your feet together?" The a.s.shole shouted from behind me.

It seemed that, in an effort to start with my arms overhead like an Olympic diver, I'd also stood like an Olympic diver, with my feet firmly together. I didn't even notice. How had I managed to squat like that?

Four or five things might not seem like much, but it's a h.e.l.l of a lot to keep in your head for a maximal-speed movement.

DeFranco pulled out a stretching mat. It was time for more corrections.

Flaw #4: Tight Hip Flexors "Normally, we don't use static stretching. The hip flexors are the one exception. The objective is to put them to sleep, as they can restrict maximal leg extension."

Static stretching is what most people think of as stretching-go into a stretch and hold it for 10 seconds or more. It turns out that this de facto approach can temporarily decrease the strength of the muscles and connective tissue being stretched, increasing the likelihood of injury. In this unusual exception, we wanted to temporarily elongate and weaken one area and one area only: the hip flexors.

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.

[image]

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 proteges, 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. 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. 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 56 mark. Watch the Arizona Cardinals' safety jump over the 56 mark.

Keith Eloi Jumps into a Flatbed Truck (www.fourhourbody.com/flatbed): No run-up, no expression of effort, and he's in G.o.dd.a.m.n slippers. No run-up, no expression of effort, and he's in G.o.dd.a.m.n slippers.

Keith Eloi Jumping Out of a Swimming Pool Backward (www.fourhourbody.com/pool-eloi)

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End of Chapter Notes 1. Pro Days, organized by top football universities, allow NFL scouts to watch players partic.i.p.ate in the Combine's various tests on university grounds prior to the Combine. Coaches rightly a.s.sume that players will often have better performances on home turf. Pro Days, organized by top football universities, allow NFL scouts to watch players partic.i.p.ate in the Combine's various tests on university grounds prior to the Combine. Coaches rightly a.s.sume 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 510 player to a 64 player. 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 510 player to a 64 player.

3. www.fourhourbody.com/a.s.shole

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. A.M. EST (5:00 EST (5:00 A.M. A.M. PST on my physical clock), and Joe and I were waking up to a cla.s.sic New Jersey diner breakfast: omelets and never-ending cups of strong, bitter coffee. I pulled out a pad and started the questions. PST on my physical clock), and Joe and I were waking up to a cla.s.sic 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 had visited in Tempe, Arizona, just six months earlier. I'd left a session with her husband with more hip mobility than I'd experienced in a decade.

"Favorite sprint or speed coach?"

Answer: Charlie Francis.

Ah, Charlie. Charlie Francis is also my favorite speed coach. Unfortunately, he's most famous for training 100-meter gold medalist Ben Johnson, who tested positive for steroid use (stanozolol) in the 1988 Olympics. Few realize the sophistication of Charlie's training techniques.5 He was a legitimate genius. He was a legitimate genius.

Francis was first and foremost a biomechanics and training expert, not a chemist. One of his innovations involved using extremely short distances and training at 95% or more of max effort-never between 75% and 95%. Less than 95% was too slow to be speed work, and the higher volume accompanying slower speeds was too hard to recover from within 24 hours.

Joe DeFranco adapted these concepts, among others, and prospered. Case in point: Rather than running 400 meters or more to build a base for sprinting and then working down, as is common, DeFranco had one of his Division III football players, the aforementioned Miles Austin, spend more than 80% of this sprint training on 10-yard dashes. Miles focused on perfecting the starting stance, the exact number of steps for optimal speed, and the precise posture for sustained acceleration. Despite the fact that Miles ran just three three 40-yard dashes among more than 100 10-yard dashes, he ran 4.67 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the Combine and was later clocked at an official 4.47 seconds. 40-yard dashes among more than 100 10-yard dashes, he ran 4.67 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the Combine and was later clocked at an official 4.47 seconds.

If Joe was a Combine specialist, he appeared to be a 40-yard dash savant: "For improvement, the vert is 9 out of 10 people. The 40 is 1,000 out of 1,000."

Them's strong words.

I had visions of breaking Ben Johnson's record on little more than a Greek omelet and several gallons of s.h.i.tty coffee. It was going to be a good day.

The Warm-Up First things came first: warm-ups. I used basic soccer cleats without spikes, and Joe underscored the importance of mimicking the habits of good sprinting in the warm-ups themselves:6 using arm action, etc. using arm action, etc.

GENERAL MOVEMENT PREP.

20 yds. of skipping 2Reverse lunge 6 reps one side, then 6 reps on the other sideBackward cycling7 (for quadriceps and hip flexors) 20 yds. 2 (for quadriceps and hip flexors) 20 yds. 2Side shuffle in half-squat8 20 yds. 2 20 yds. 2 [image]

Notice that I bend the supporting knee first, bringing the knee over the toes before I extend the opposite leg backward.

GROUND-BASED DYNAMIC STRETCHING AND MUSCLE ACTIVATION9.

10 roll-overs into V-sits10 fire hydrants (to each side)10 mountain climbers10 FREQUENCY DRILLING TO PREP THE NERVOUS SYSTEM.

Perform as many repet.i.tions as possible of each exercise in the time allotted: Pogo jumps 20 secs.Half-squat deep "wide-outs" 2 sets of 5 secs. (10-sec. rest between)11 Joe kept the warm-up short and gave me time to recover. One of the oldest tricks in the training world, he explained, is to fatigue an athlete prior to their "before" testing with an extensive warm-up, then retest them later with a minimal warm-up. Voila, instant measurable improvement.

Trixy coaches.

The Set-Up My times wouldn't depend on DeFranco's eyesight or judgment. We'd be using the Brower system, the same technology used at the "big show" of the Combine.

My finish time would be clocked automatically when I pa.s.sed between two paired laser detectors at the 40-yard line, both of which were synced to his hand-held counter.

As a baseline, I ran two 10-yard dashes with no coaching: Dash #1: 2.12 secs.Dash #2: 2.07 secs.

Then I impressed Joe with a blistering starting 40-yard dash of...

5.94 seconds.

"The good news is that you broke six seconds," Joe announced as he pointed to the screen on the hand-held. "To paint that in a positive light, it's not bad if you're a below-average 320-pound lineman."

Pacing back and forth with a bounce in his step, he looked up at me with an ear-to-ear smile: "Where to start.... You are going to make me look good today! Big day for Joe!"

It was time to let Joe work his magic. The "where to start" was easy: the start position.

[image]

The Brower system.

The Devil's in the Details My first step had gone nowhere. Quite literally. My leg had gone from behind the line to the start line, the zero-meter mark. Losing a step might not impact a marathon, but it's an enormous handicap in the 40-yard dash.

[image]

My untrained start position compared to the trained start position.

THE FIRST ROUND OF POSITIONAL CORRECTIONS.

1. If right-handed, put your right hand down and left leg forward. Left-handers do the opposite. This will be optimal 90% of the time.

2. To set up as a right-hander: stand with the toes of the left foot roughly one foot behind the line, then touch the toes of the right foot to the back of the left heel. Next, spread the right foot out so both feet are hip width and no wider. Support yourself on both hands, placed in front of the line (to place your weight forward), then bring the right hand to the line.

3. Put three fingers of the right hand on the line: index finger and middle finger together, plus the thumb. This caused too much pain in my thumb, so I used the index and middle knuckles with the thumb.