Approach question.

Today someone asked me if it is appropriate to train the approach in the Preparation Stage. If you have programmed into your training program to start the competition season with indoor competitions, of course you have to practice the approach in this period. Here you have to be very careful with the approach distance, speed, control and rhythms.

When we start the competitive season indoor, the athlete never uses the full approach. Depending on what the level and quality of the athlete is at that time, almost always it is recommended that athletes start with the 7 step approach. Why? As I explained before, in the preparation stage the athlete's body is overloaded and to achieve results it is necessary to have a good controlled approach in order to maintain speed and rhythm in balance.

There are many athletes who maintain the full approach indoor as outdoor. If the athlete has to compete in one of the major competitions like the World Championship or the European Indoor Championship, of course the approach should be different. For the first indoor competition, I recommend to my athletes to use the 7 step approaches, as explained before, depending on their level. You can change the distance as well as the speed, according to the competition results of the athlete.

Each coach makes his own decisions, as to whether the athlete needs more distance or not, and also the coach will know clearly when or in which moment the athlete needs to apply it.

How often you should train during the week    III

Triple jumpers or long jumpers have to have a training program well organized for 5 days a week. Many athletes in Europe train only three times a week, and the workouts are only organized for one hour and thirty minutes. If you as an athlete really want to get to the elite level, it is impossible that you will achieve good result with three time’s week training.

The stage of Physical Preparation is very important for the development of the jumper. At this stage the physical trainings are very strong so the importance of designing a training program for five days a week is essential. The jumper at this stage has to begin to strengthen their entire body and also has to work with endurance at the same time. Also, coordination work is very important in this period, during which specific exercises for triple jumps with hurdles must be used. (These exercises with hurdles are also important for the long jumper or high jumper.)

These exercises can be performed in the sand, track or grass and if you have a coach with a lot of knowledge in triple jump, you can also perform these exercises on a hard surface. When the athlete works on the hard surface directly, he is working on an explosiveness and reaction upon each landing and takeoff.

 (Note: Never perform these exercises without the assistance of your coach).

Coordination exercises with hurdles must be very varied for example, 

-      Exercises to improve the coordination between arms and legs,

-      Rotational movement exercise to improve the coordination and balance,

-      Coordination and rhythm exercise, these exercises are to improve the time and space etc.

There are many different types of coordination exercises with hurdles but as I usually say, each exercise should be done according to the quality of the athlete and what the athlete really needs

I want to remind you that this is only an example and not a trainings program that you have to follow.     

A LEGEND 

When we talk about world class triple jumpers, we must speak about Yamila Aldama, who is preparing to represent United Kingdom Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil next year. I personally have great respect for all triple jumpers in the world, but when we are talking about Yamila Aldama we are talking about a true legend in this discipline.

Many athletes in the world, when they reach 32 years of age begin to retire to be active in sports, and especially triple jumpers. Yamila Aldama , at 43 years of age, has been able to maintain her  elite level physical qualities , and her psychological power has turned her  into   one of the greatest jumpers of all time.

Only a triple jumper can describe the work and the constant effort to be made to achieve a centimeter every day. To reach that level, it takes years of hard work, a perfect psychological preparation, and above all a great motivation.  All those who have knowledge of this field are well aware of the number of jumps which an athlete has to do during training each year.

We must not forget that at each jump, the legs have to bear the impact of 8 times the body weight, so you can imagine the physical preparation to be taken to resist this overload at each training and competition.

Yamila Aldama is an example for all jumpers ,both women and men, but also for those who have great talent, and just because they reach 30 years of age they considered themselves veterans and haven`t  the strength to keep fighting because others people considered them too  old.

Yamila Aldana is a living example to follow for all those athletes who still dream of reaching the elite. Remember that having 30 years in this discipline does not mean that you are too old to be in the elite or that you have to stop dreaming to be in the top. It is up to you to decide what you really want and remember; never let other people determine when you should stop training because according to them, you’re too old. Yamila Aldama is a great example for every body and she has become a great legend.

PREPARATION PART  II

Preparation is the road to success- by that I mean that every athlete has to have a good workout plan that is perfectly organized. This will give the opportunity to the athlete to maintain a good monitoring throughout the preparation stage.

The triple jumper, depending on their quality and skill, has to work in several different ways, for example, you have to know how to combine strength and explosiveness, and work in different fields. The exercises begin in the sand, then pass to the grass and finally go to the track. Of course this happens during the preparation stage, not in one day.

As regards power, training must take place not only in the gym with weights, but it is also necessary to train our natural strength without the help of any material medium. For example, jumping drills in the sand, such as continued short and long distances jumps, continuous vertical jumps, horizontal jumps and cross jumps, etc. When we are performing these exercises it is better to divide the workout into two sessions, for example, beach (sand) in the morning session and weights (gym) in the afternoon session. In the sand, we are training the natural power but not explosive strength. The explosive strength you will gain during the training with weights. Remember at this stage, the athlete will feel a very heavy body so sometimes it is difficult for a coach to see the development of the reaction and explosiveness. It is therefore advisable to perform each month, an evaluation test, such as standing explosive jumps to analyze the reaction and explosiveness of the athlete.

 Power also can be combined with the endurance, for example,  exercises  such as 30m horizontal jumps ,followed with  speed drills  in the last 30m uphill,  30m alternate jumps followed by 30m speed or 30m combined jumps followed by 30m etc………

PREPARATION PART  I

For all jumpers, especially for triple jumpers, it is very important to start the stage of the general physical preparation in October. Many athletes begin the physical preparation stage in November, but according to my experience, when an athlete begins the general preparation in November, almost always the end results are not so good. The general preparation is the most important stage for all athletes, so it is the need for a proper preparation program is very important.

What do we have to work on in the first three months?  Endurance, strength and explosiveness.   The explosiveness has to be performed by specific games for jumpers, such as games like volleyball and basketball.  Remember   all the games always have to be programmed so that an athlete is forced to jump. It is also very important that the coach prepare and invents other special games containing active vertical jumps.

For triple jumpers it is very important to work with exercises that strengthen the knees, ankles, pelvis and back. These exercises have to be performed on the sand and in the grass. When the athlete has to work on the grass, the field in this period should be irregular, i.e. uneven.  It is very important to take care with these exercises, because if the athlete is not prepared to work under these conditions the consequences can be dangerous, which can lead to serious injury. If you work under the guidance of a good coach the results will be very good. These exercises in the sand and the grass will strengthen completely the ankles and knees…….