PLAYER INTRO
Matt is a Performance Enhancement Specialist and a Vertical Jump Expert. He has worked for years to find the best techniques for increasing his vertical leap and the jumping ability of others, and he has turned that dedication to the skill of jumping into a career. He runs a Facebook group dedicated to providing tips and exercises to increase vertical leap, recently released the Max Jump Program, a 12 week program that teaches an athlete to properly engage their body's tools for jumping, to build strength and endurance for jumping higher, and generating power for the highest jump possible. On top of all that, he trains clients in person and continues to work to push his own vertical limits every day. Matt was kind enough to join me in discussing his singular goal for the past 15 years of jumping higher, and how he works every day to achieve greater.
Matt works extensively online to support others in their goal to jump higher. His online platforms include the following, along with his direct website.
Matt's quotes are used directly as much as possible to reflect his story accurately. The quotes may have been edited for length and clarity, and have been reorganized to provide greater structure to the narrative.
GAMEPLAN
pD: So tell me a little about your sports background, how you got into vertical jump as a specialty.
Matt: I see myself really focusing on vertical jumping and just jumping higher mainly for dunking. How I got into that was watching And1 Streetball; I used to wake up at 5am to watch those broadcasts and see these guys do amazing dunks. I would just practice dribbling and jumping and finishing; I always had a basketball everywhere I went. Then I found myself wanting to jump higher for basketball to be able to throw down a dunk in game and wow the crowd.
So I bought the Jump Soles, I used them every day; I was 12 or 13 years old, and I would do ladder drills in them, and I would add ankle weights with them on, and do all the workouts they sent me, bouncing in them, jumping in them, and I remember they just destroyed my ankles, and my calves were super tight all the time. Then I realized years and years later that that kind of stuff is not good for jumping higher; it takes a lot more than just calf work. But that's how I got into it.
Then I started to learn a lot, all I could about it (jumping higher), and I was just following things that I learned from a book I read and ended up hurting myself. I kept pushing myself, and I was doing a really high box jump and I fell off and hurt my hip. I continued to learn more about it, so now today I can prevent anyone I train from getting injured like what happened with me. I'm still continuing to learn all I can about it.
pD: What character traits have you developed through sports and training?
Matt: Definitely, for sure, willpower. I always have goals in mind, for instance, to reach above a 40" vertical; so I do things that are going to get me to that goal, no matter what. That includes: training, learning things, cutting things out of my diet. For instance, a few months back, I went vegan, and now I'm stronger than I've ever been, and I weigh lighter than I have been in about 7 years. When you eat, you're either eating to help yourself, or to hurt yourself. I love chocolate, but I had to cut out cacao powder even out of my protein shakes. I recently went to Thailand as well, where you don't have the same choices for food that you have in America. There's a lot of meat there, so I wouldn't eat meat, I just had to use my willpower and eat vegetables when I was there.
pD: So even when you were on vacation, you were not willing to compromise your progress towards your goals.
Matt: It's like the same thing in life, when you achieve your goal, you want to be the best at something. I want to be the best at everything in life, the best friend I can be, the best dog owner I can be, the best boyfriend, the best mentor and coach so that they can see the best results in themselves.
pD: You mentioned that people have commented on your willpower and focus. What are some examples that people have noticed?
Matt: In Thailand, people were taking me out to dinner, and I was at this Korean BBQ place. You pick your meat and vegetables, and people cook it in front of you... they got chicken, they got steak, they got everything. And people around me are eating a five course meal, and here I am with my fries, and I'm just sitting here munching on veggies and my side salad. My girlfriend was telling me that the people around were saying "You have a very strong heart, your willpower is strong, because you won't budge."
You have a very strong heart
Also in Thailand, we had a really early flight, but I still made time to exercise before we headed out. The hotel rooms in Thailand also didn't have any gyms or equipment, so I had to improvise, and my Facebook page shows some of the workouts I did just jumping around my hotel room. People ask me, "Dude, do you ever stop?"
pD: What are some of the personal goals that you've set your willpower to?
Matt: Outside of jumping higher, my goals are to fix my credit this year, buy a house, taking steps to accomplish these things, and building my platform to 10,000 people following it.
I'm reading a huge textbook to learn about running faster. When you have a weakness, you train it to become a strength; for instance, my hamstrings aren't the best, I work on my hamstrings so that they can keep up with the rest of my body. I know a lot more about jumping than running fast, so I'm going to learn a lot more about speed this year.
pD: What's the biggest challenge you've faced down through your willpower?
Matt: Definitely my injury. Two years ago, I just got my jump really high, throwing down 360's and cool stuff, then I got a little too overzealous and pushed myself too far too fast. I injured my hip, and me being me, I tried to fight through it, and it was not happening. I had to get that healed properly so it wouldn't happen again, taking steps to prehab and rehab it, and learn how to reduce inflammation by changing diet and getting proper rest. I had to learn to not overtrain over a period of 1.5 years of constant attention to not overwork myself.
pD: Counterintuitively, you think of willpower and pushing your body past its limits and pushing harder, but you had to exert your willpower to slow down and let your body heal.
Matt: Yeah, I remember my brother was telling me, "I know you want to work hard on this and be where you want to be, but look at the end result. If you don't let it rest, by the time you're 30, you won't be able to do anything." So I had to look at the endgame, the endgoal, and choose my steps from there.
pD: Switching tracks to you training others, what leads to success for some of your clients compared to others? What separates those who hit their goals from those who don't?
Matt: Nutrition and consistency. If you've got two identical athletes with the same goals and height and ability and everything, the one who eats healthy will always win. They're able to go longer, recover faster, and have a better mind-body connection. It's hard to eat healthy when you're traveling, and consistency is key in nutrition and training.
Nutrition and Consistency
A fun fact that I learned, is that if you stop training entirely, it takes 30 days, plus or minus 5 days, to fully lose your strength. So you can take a few days off, and it won't hurt you, and you can program around that. It takes 7 days to lose your top speed.
pD: So all these topics you're talking about are challenges you've faced, with nutrition in Thailand, as well as being consistent with your training while traveling. That all boils down to your willpower, "do I care enough about my goals to not compromise."
Matt: Absolutely. I always tell my clients who tell me they don't have time; I say "you don't find time, you make time" to get to the goals you want. No matter what is in your way, no matter what obstacles.
You don't find time, you make time
EXECUTION
Matt has filmed a video for us describing and demo-ing the French Contrast Method, combining drop-setting and power work for athletes looking to increase vertical jump. He's got tons of great content on his different platforms, and is highly responsive. Shout out to Matt for his expertise and his story.
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