Every two year the IAAF organizes
the word athletics championships. Next year Beijing shall have the privilege of
hosting the game. Many athletes will
have the opportunity to compete in this important event. I know that for some athletes it is hard to
make the limit to compete there, but I think it is not impossible.
An elite athlete has a training
program made for 4 years, but every year you have many competitions in a row,
for example, the diamond league, Grand prix, world championships etc. Every four years you have the Olympics; and
although this is one of the most important competitions for most athletes,
there are athletes who only train for world championships, because of the possibility
of lucrative financial reward.
With the new Preparation Season
starting in September/October, athletes have the chance to prepare in the best
possible way, in order to increase their chances of making the limit and
participating in the next World Championship –How is this best done?
Remember: “The
organization and planning of a good training program leads to the success of a good outcome”
First:
-
Analyze the
results of this year, for example; Speed, distance achieved in each competition,
technique, coordination and rhythm, together with reaction between jumps.
-
Analyze the
causes of the success and the causes of poor performance, for example the psychological
factors, injuries and health of the athlete.
-
Within the
psychological factor it’s very important to analyze problems that blocked the
athlete to achieve a better result, such as financial problems, poor support by
the Federation, lack of a sponsor, etc. It’s important, however to be reminded
that money, sponsor, and support do not ultimately have to be a brake on the development of the athlete-
with the right motivation, hard training and perseverance, you can make the
decision whether to become an elite or not .
-
The most
important thing is to analyze over the past year, is the quality of the
motivation and competitive nature of the athlete.
After having made a profound analysis of the athlete, and finding
the conclusions how the athlete has to work
to achieve a good result, then they can begin with the preparation phase.
Note: Triple jumpers have to work very hard to
achieve every inch. When an athlete reaches 29 or 30 years old and has already
past the 16.50/16.80m barrier but has not yet reached the 17 m+, the training
program must be different. I mean the athlete has to work harder on the basis
of quality rather than quantity. The athlete should only be working on Quantity,
when e.g. he has a problem with technique or rhythm, and has to fight to
achieve progress.
According to my experience working 20 year as
a professional coach, I can tell you, that most of the top triple jumpers,
start achieving the results from the 29 or 30 years. Only the Cuban triple
jumpers, and with some exceptions in Europe, are getting better results from
the age of 16-19 years old. Why? The training system of the Cubans is very
strong and special, no one in the world, with all respect to the other
countries, has as perfect a training system as the Cuban one.
Also I can
tell you, if you are 29 or 30+ years old, that your age is not a detriment your
progress- in fact this is the age i when your physical constitution is more
developed and the bones are even stronger and of course your body is more
mature and with more experience. For some athletes,29-30 years old is just the
beginning .I know that there is a lot of opinion against that, but my
experience tells me something different, so
it is up to you to use your determination
and try to achieve your goal.
It is very important for a triple
jumper to strengthen the ankles, knees and core. Also important is working on
endurance and weight, in combination with special plyometric exercises for
triple jumpers.
Below I give an example of a 1 week training programme,
but
remember, each athlete is different, and the coach is the only one who can say
what each individual athlete can or cannot do .
Note: When
we build a training program as a coach, it is very important to know,
the health, weight, physical condition and
character of the athlete.
The preparation phase is the most
important part that the athletes go thru during the training year, so it is very important that the athlete
completes at least 90% of each workout.
Example first week October;
Monday
-45/50min jogging after beach volleyball or basketball game.
Tuesday
-train on the beach; special plyometric exercise for triple jump. Work for power reaction and distance. Specific
Weight Training. I want to clarify here that it’s not always necessary to
increase the weight each month just to get stronger, but instead use the necessary
weight that your body needs to put everything in balance. This, used together with
the correct technique, will lead to increase athlete's progress. For example, many
athletes do almost 200kg squat, yet are not able to reach 16.50m.
Wednesday;
If you train in a double session, you can work like this;
morning
session: 50mins/1 hour jogging (try running on sand or grass)
afternoon
session: –weights or special weights for triple jumps. Note; every weight
exercise must be accompanied with jumps plyometric afterwards.
Thursday;
it is very important for a triple jumper to work on power, time, space and distance, but to improve these, you
have to know how to push the track between the jumps to be able to maintain the
speed.This will give you the necessary distance to reach 16.50 to 17m+ for men or 14.30 to 14.95m for women.
-100m uphill for power and
downhill for speed.
-Quality combination jumps uphill
for power and downhill for time and space. You can work with resistance and
weight depending on what the athlete needs.
Friday;
1hour jogging. Special circuit weight for jumper. Core stability, etc.
Saturday-
special exercises to strengthen your ankles and knees, along with exercises to
increase explosiveness and reaction.
Sunday;
rest
This program is for athletes that
have already jumped over 15.80/16.20m.
If you jump between 14/15.00m you
still have to work really hard with the special base, such as fiber exercises
for reaction, special work with hurdles for coordination and rhythm etc. (Note: exercises
with hurdles- everybody, elite athlete or not ,has to keep working on these
exercises, it but for the young athletes, it is especially important to keep
this training all the time in their program).
When you train to be a
professional athlete, your program has to be made to increase the development
of the athlete each month. According to the quality of athlete, perhaps he has
to work harder in the sand or on the grass, or has to work more with resistance
and speed than other athletes, so it is very important that coaches maintain a
strict look at the development of each training.
Note, triple
jumpers have to have a strong core, I mean your coach has to prepare a good
training program which must include core stability exercise at least 4 times a
week.
Remember this program is to give you an idea
of what you can do, not to take it as part of your program.
