11 month old jumping questions

Hello everyone. I have an 11 month old tuxedo name Cosmo and recently he has taken to jumping on my back whenever I'm in the kitchen either cooking or doing dishes. I have tried everything from putting a stool or chair in the kitchen for him to stand on, but he just wants to be on me.

I also got a wall shelf as a Christmas present for him. He seems very curious about it and if he is put on the shelf he seems to enjoy being up high, but he refuses to use the platforms to get down or up from the shelf. Is this something he will grow out of or do I need to do something different? I recently had to move a table from between my bed and couch (I live in a small studio apartment) and the gap is very small, maybe about a foot, but he acts like it's a five foot gap. Instead of just jumping to my lap he tries to walk and gets scared. I have never met a cat that doesn't like jumping. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

I included a pic, hopefully it uploaded from my phone correctly. He's very attached to me as you can see.

My cat Morgan (who is now almost 4 years old) has been a climber since I got her as a kitten.  She still does it sometimes and I've got scratches and bleeding to prove it!  She always wants to be around me, especially when I'm in the kitchen (what is it about kitchens?) and she would always jump on me.

I must admit that when she was little, I allowed it because she was small and barely weighed anything, and it's my fault that she continued to do it as she got older.  However, I have been training her to not do that with about 80% success.

When she jumps up, I just get her down myself or just "shake her off" until she jumps down on her own.  Then I say "NO" firmly.  If I see her wanting to jump on me, I put my open hand towards her with my palm down, showing her that I'm aware that she wants to jump and letting her know that I'm not allowing it.  She gets the hint and just sits there instead.

I have also been training her that if I say it's OK, then she may jump on me.  She seems to understand now because usually she will look at me first, let me know by her body language that she wants to jump on me for a hug, and waits until I say it's OK before she does.

This works well for us because she is learning that she can't just do it whenever she wants, however, when there is mutual agreement, she knows that she can come up for some snuggles and she can still "climb" me like she used to.  She always enjoyed that and I want her to know that in the right circumstances, she still can.

Also, keeping your cat's nails clipped is a huge help.  Means you won't be too scratched during the training period.   :-)