STRENGTH SENSEI BOOKSHELF
Jump Attack by Tim S. Grover
A best-selling workout designed to improve jumping ability and overall power
While the 40-yard dash and 100-meter sprint may be considered the ultimate tests for testing sprinting speed, the vertical jump stands alone as the standard for measuring jumping ability. And a one-stop shop for learning just about everything a coach needs to know about improving leaping ability is the theme of Jump Attack: “The Formula for Explosive Athletic Performance, Jumping Higher, and Training Like the Pros.”
At 272 pages and amply illustrated with photos and drawings, author Tim S. Grover offers a 3-month workout designed to help you jump higher and become a more powerful athlete. And the man has his fans. Consider these endorsements from legendary basketball players:
“Tim Grover has proven himself to be highly skilled in sports performance enhancement. I consider him to be SECOND TO NONE in his knowledge of sports training, and an invaluable part of my training program. Tim is a take-charge person with a deliberate, energetic, and enthusiastic technique.” — Michael Jordan
“If you took the guys who trained Secretariat and Man o War, combined them into one barbarian, that’s Tim Grover training Michael Jordan and me. I’ve never felt better.” — Kobe Bryant
“The guys who come to Tim know he can take them to the next level. I have unbelievable trust and faith in him. I never know what’s coming, and that’s the great thing, he keeps me on my toes and I’m going to do anything he tells me to do because I believe in him.” — Dwyane Wade
“Tim Grover is one of the top basketball training minds in the game today. His methods and the ATTACK program are key ingredients to success on any level. He is the best in the world.” — Charles Barkley
Grover wrote the first edition of Jump Attack in 1990, which he self-published. The latest edition, 2020, is published by Souvenir Press.
Consider that Grover is a motivational speaker and there is a lot of salesmanship in his book, such as claiming that he sold hundreds of thousands of his first book, personally filling out address labels, and taking them to the post office. He also said hundreds of thousands of athletes have used his workout. (FYI: Net Worth Status estimates Grover’s worth to be between $100,000 and one million dollars.)
Yes, he has some impressive testimonies from NBA celebrities, but who are these other success stories? Certainly, there are numerous high school and college programs that have endorsed his program? Maybe one of these programs will eventually share their before-and-after data on their results?
The core of the book is a three-phase, 3-month workout. The phases build on each other and are called Fire, Force, and Flight. Each phase consists of three weeks of training followed by a deloading week of rest. Here are some details.
Phase 1: Fire is a strength phase focusing on isometrics and stretches designed to prepare your muscles, ligaments (apparently, not the tendons?), and your mind for the next two phases. Power Yoga could be considered a similar type of program.
Phase 2: Force combines weight training and plyometrics, with the goal of being able to apply greater force into the floor. These are not the classical plyometrics that sports scientist Yuri Verkhoshansky promoted that involve a mechanical shock, but lower intensity jump exercises.
Phase 3: Flight is the final phase with exercises designed to develop maximum explosiveness. It’s primarily an extension of Phase 2 with more weight training and jump exercises. There is one depth jump (sticking a landing after jumping off a platform), but still no classical plyometrics.
Grover has a master’s degree in exercise science, but the exercise photos leave much to be desired, and their performance could be misinterpreted as many dynamic movements are demonstrated with just a few photos and an empty barbell. And the performance of some of the exercises is questionable. For example, there is a photo of an athlete performing a straight-leg deadlift with a rounded back, although the description says to keep a flat back. A companion video would be useful, especially one that shows the athletes using significant resistance.
There is a nutrition chapter that you can skip. Grover advises you to eat five times a day, drink a big glass of water with each meal, have your carbs the first thing in the day (exactly what Charles R. Poliquin did not recommend), and fill up on oatmeal and whole grain bread. Seriously?
Tim S. Grover capitalized on his work with several NBA legends, particularly Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. His book Jump Attack details a progressive workout system designed to improve jumping ability that can be performed with minimal equipment. It should help any athlete increase their jumping ability, but the big question, and one that is not answered in this book, is “By how much?” (TSS)
[Jump Attack by Tim S. Grover is available in Kindle and paperback formats through Amazon.com.]
