The Hop in Triple Jump

The triple jump is a specialty which is divided into the approach, hop, step and the jump; today I want to talk about the hop. When an athlete performs the hop very high, usually the distance at the end of the jump is poor, and the same happens when the hop is very low.  Technically, to make a good hop, the jumper must jump horizontally.

However, it is not only the height of the hop which can impair the distance, there are also other technical elements such as incorrect co-ordination between the arms and legs, not being able to maintaining the pendulum (high knee) and the foot horizontal to the ground, and   most importantly in my opinion, not knowing how to lead the jump to the front.

There are many Coaches who think that when an athlete doesn`t cycle very well, this can affect the jumps completely. Theoretically, this is a problem but in practice, all depends on the coordination and the rhythm of the athlete and how he biomechanically can make the movements. Not all athletes have the same elasticity or the same ability to perform the exercises fluently. However even with this drawback, many can jump 17m +. The reason being that they can keep the speed in the second two phases and this is the most important and at the same time the most difficult thing in the triple jump.

What is the best way to train the hop? Many athletes train the hop combined with the long jump- the goal is to use the “walking on air” technique and land with one foot in the sand pit.  Bounding is also used in order to refine the hop, but it is often forgotten that everything in the triple jump is about balance. As I said earlier if you make the hop too high, usually on the landing you will break down and if you make it very low, you block the  landing. By this I mean you lose the momentum and the transition and this problem causes that the jumper loses the speed between jumps.

Therefore it is very important that an athlete not only works with the bounding or uses the long jump to improve the hop, but also works with plyometric jumps for action and reaction, and for uphill and downhill, together with many special jumping exercises with hurdles for triple jump. Also needed, are plyometric work with boxes in different positions, and especially the work of fiber. Fiber is what gives an athlete the reactive power of the jump, so it is very important that the coach applies exercises for each individual athlete according to their qualities to prevent injury.

If anyone has any questions or queries about the topics I cover in this blog, you are welcome to post them here and I will be happy to respond to them.

The Triple Jump- one of the hardest disciplines in athletics

For almost everybody triple jump is the most difficult and complicated discipline in track and field, and its athletes have to go through one of the most rigorous training programs.  If you, as an athlete decide to practice and get to the top,   the first thing you have to do is work unconditionally on the fundamental basis of the triple jump.  For example you have to learn the basic principles of coordination, work on obstacles to implement time and space, especially the sense of rhythm.  

If your aim is, like I said before, reaching the elite, you have to be prepared to train at least 5 or 6 days a week in total 18 hours a week. Why?  The training programs to get to the elite are composed of a lot of jumps including plyometric jumps, speed, media resistance, strength, weight explosive, weights circuit for the triple jump, and technical work jumps with speed. One very important thing that you have to work on is the work “on fibers”, this is what gives you the possibility of reaction between jumps, I mean the ability to be as little as possible on the ground- and for a triple jumper, the less time you're on the ground, the farther you're going to jump the distance.

“Fiber work” is an area where the coach has to have a lot of experience and knowledge of how to implement the jumper's reaction in continuity with the speed and almost perfect technique.       If you as a coach make mistakes in the training program intended for  Fiber, the CONSEQUENCES for the athlete may be catastrophic, with injuries such as    

      

-        -   groin strain

-        -   Distension / rupture of the hamstring

-         -  Chronic inflammation of the patellar tendon (jumper's knee)

-         -  Injuries of the lateral ligaments of the ankle and others.

Fiber is an area of work that the coaches have to maintain in all seasons, as are many of the exercises that the athlete performs during the preparation phase. Many coaches change the training system, according to phase and cycles, but my experience as a professional coach, convinced me that many of the exercises that athletes have made ​​in the preparation phase are fundamental exercises for the triple jumper development. Like I said triple jump is not easy and people have no idea what an athlete must do to jump a centimeter.  Triple jump is a discipline with a 90% risk of injury, but the technical work reduces that risk to nearly 10%. if you have a good coach, working on the technical basis and the development of new exercises designed for each individual athlete and who works intensively the technique such as the coordination of arms and legs, the knees, feet and body position, also of course fiber work, you will develop the skills, between strength and power, and so, you will create a perfect balance as jumper.