Before we take part in sport, we should look at the dangers which we may come across when we play that sport. We cannot anticipate what others might do to us but we can before we start go through the routine of risk assessment. Risk assessment is simply looking at the environment, equipment and conditions to ensure that it is safe to proceed with what you are going to do.
You would not consider playing a field game if there were empty drinks cans or broken bottles on the pitch. You would not consider vaulting in gymnastics if there were inadequate mats to land on. You would not bounce on the trampoline if there were no "spotters" standing round the bed. You would not go for a walk in the mountains without leaving a message with someone to say what route you were taking. Risk assessment is common sense and follows the saying "look before you leap" - in other words don't do anything before you know it is safe. If you ever watch "You've Been Framed" on television, where the camcorder catches accidents, you will know that risk assessment is not to the fore in many people's minds.
Training
A training program has to be developed to meet the individual needs of the athlete and take into consideration many factors: gender, age, strengths, weaknesses, objectives, training facilities etc. As all athletes have different needs, a single program suitable for all athletes is not possible.
The plan is based on three training sessions per week with the major competition being in phase 5. The duration of each phase could be as follows:
- Phase 1 - 16 weeks
- Phase 2 - 8 weeks
- Phase 3 - 8 weeks
- Phase 4 - 8 weeks
- Phase 5 - 8 weeks
- Phase 6 - 4 weeks
The objective of each phase is as follows:
- Phase 1 - General development of strength, mobility, endurance and basic technique
- Phase 2 - Development of specific fitness and advanced technical skills
- Phase 3 - Competition experience - achievement of qualification times for main competition
- Phase 4 - Adjustment of technical model, preparation for the main competition
- Phase 5 - Competition experience and achievement of outdoor objectives
- Phase 6 - Active recovery - planning preparation for next season
Suggestions as to the sessions for each phase are detailed below. I leave the content of each four week cycle to you.
Key to notations and terms used
1-4 × 2-5 × 30-100m
- 1 to 4 sets of 2 to 5 repetitions of a distance between 30 and 100 metres
Phase 1
Tuesday
- Technique runs 2-3 x 3-5 x 30m-90m
- General strength - Circuit or Weight training
Thursday
- Special exercises - combining specific strength, mobility and coordination. 30-60 minutes.
- Repetition runs 1-3 x 3-5 x 100-150m, good running technique
Sunday
- 2nd event technique
- 20-30 minutes. special exercises for 2nd event
- Repetition runs 1-2 x 3-6 x 200-300m
Notes
- Hurdles are used in the technique runs and special exercises for hurdlers.
- 400m athletes - their repetition runs are 1-2 x 3-6 x 300-400m on Sunday
- Each training session to include an appropriate warm up and cool down
Phase 2
Tuesday
- Sprint speed 2-3 x 3-6 x 20-40m rolling start
or Start technique 1-2 x 4-6 x 30-40m
or Acceleration 1-2 x 3-4 x 50-80m
or 1-2 x 3-4 x 30m accelerate, 30m decelerate, 30m accelerate.
- General strength - Circuit or Weight training
Thursday
- Special exercises - combining specific strength, mobility and coordination. 30-60 minutes.
- Repetition runs 1-3 x 2-4 x 120-150m
or 2-4 x (150m, 120m, 90m)
or 2-4 x (120m, 90m, 60m)
Sunday
- 2nd event technique.
- Sprint technique or 20 minutes special exercises for 2nd event.
- Repetition runs 1-2 x 2-4 x 200-300m
or 100m, 200m, 300m, 200m, 100m
or 300m, 250m, 200m, 150m, 100m
Notes
- Hurdlers use hurdles wherever possible
- 400m athletes
- Thursday 2nd session. 1-3 x 3-5 x 120-200m
or 3-5 x (180m, 150m, 120m)
or 3-5 x (150m, 120m, 150m)
- Sunday 3rd session. 2-3 x 2-4 x 300-500m
or 250m, 350m, 450m, 350m, 250m
or 600m, 500m, 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m
- Hurdlers use runs over sections of the 'race' e.g. 200m hurdles and 300m hurdles for 400m hurdler; 3 hurdles, 5 hurdles, 7 hurdles for 'high' hurdler. These are built into repetition runs, technique runs or special exercises.
- Each training session to include an appropriate warm up and cool down
Phase 3
Tuesday
- Technique practices as required, including relays practice.
- Special endurance (Speed) 2-3 x full recovery runs over racing distance + 20% (100, 200 High Hurdles)
or 3-4 x full recovery runs over 350m or 300m or 250m (400m and low/intermediate hurdles)
or 2-3 x full recovery special task runs e.g. 300m at 70% racing pace - then as fast as possible for 150m (400m and 400 Hurdles)
or 2-3 x full recovery sub-maximum runs over 300m (100, 200m athletes)
or 500m (400m and 400 Hurdles athletes).
Thursday
- Special exercises and drills for speed and elastic strength.
- Sprint speed 2-3 x 3-4 x 20-60m from blocks (100m, 200m, High Hurdles)
or 2-3 x 3-4 x 20-40m rolling (100, 200m, High Hurdles)
or 2-4 x 150-250m from blocks (400m and 400 Hurdles).
Sunday
- Competition or
- Technique practices as required
or 6-12 x 150m stride, 250m walk recovery.
Notes
- Hurdlers will use hurdles in most sprint practices. When 'rolling start' work is used, the hurdles may be brought slightly closer to simulate the 'late race' situation in high hurdles. The 400m hurdler may work on stride change-downs on Tuesdays.
- Each training session to include an appropriate warm up and cool down
Phase 4
Tuesday
- Sprint speed 2-3 x 3-6 x 20m-40m rolling start
or Start technique 1-2 x 4-6 x 30m-40m
or Acceleration 1-2 x 3-4 x 50m-80m
or 1-2 x 3-4 x 30m accelerate, 30m decelerate, 30m accelerate.
- General strength - Circuit or Weight training
Thursday
- Special exercises - combining specific strength, mobility and coordination. 30-60 minutes.
- Repetition runs 1-3 x 2-4 x 120m-150m
or 2-4 x (150m, 120m, 90m)
or 2-4 x (120m, 90m, 60m)
Sunday
- 2nd event technique.
- Sprint technique or 20 minutes special exercises for 2nd event.
- Repetition runs 1-2 x 2-4 x 200-300m
or 100m, 200m, 300m, 200m, 100m
or 300m, 250m, 200m, 150m, 100m
Notes
- Hurdlers use hurdles wherever possible
- 400m athletes
- Thursday 2nd session. 1-3 x 3-5 x 120-200m
or 3-5 x (180-150-120m)
or 3-5 x (150-120-150m)
- Sunday 3rd session. 2-3 x 2-4 x 300-500m
or 250m, 350m, 450m, 350m, 250m
or 600m, 500m, 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m
- Hurdlers use runs over sections of the 'race' e.g. 200m hurdles and 300m hurdles for 400m hurdler; 3 hurdles, 5 hurdles, 7 hurdles for 'high' hurdler. These are built into repetition runs, technique runs or special exercises.
- Each training session to include an appropriate warm up and cool down
Phase 5
Tuesday
- Technique practices as required, including relays practice.
- Special endurance (Speed) 2-3 x full recovery runs over racing distance + 20% (100, 200 High Hurdles)
or 3-4 x full recovery runs over 350m or 300m or 250m (400m and low/intermediate hurdles)
or 2-3 x full recovery special task runs e.g. 300m at 70% racing pace - then as fast as possible for 150m (400m and 400 Hurdles)
or 2-3 x full recovery sub-maximum runs over 300m (100, 200m)
or 500m (400m and 400 Hurdles athletes).
Thursday
- Special exercises and drills for speed and elastic strength.
- Sprint speed 2-3 x 3-4 x 20-60m from blocks (100m, 200m, High Hurdles)
or 2-3 x 3-4 x 20-40m rolling (100, 200m, High Hurdles)
or 2-4 x 150-250m from blocks (400m and 400 Hurdles).
Sunday
- Competition
- Technique practices as required
or 6-12 x 150m stride, 250m walk recovery.
Notes
- Hurdlers will use hurdles in most sprint practices. When 'rolling start' work is used, the hurdles may be brought slightly closer to simulate the 'late race' situation in high hurdles. The 400m hurdler may work on stride change-downs on Tuesdays.
- Each training session to include an appropriate warm up and cool down
Improving Performance
As you monitor the young athlete's technique focus on the following points:
This means erect, running on the ball of foot/toes (not heels) with full extension of the back, hips and legs instead of 'sitting down' when running.
This means move easily, as opposed to tensing and 'working hard' to move. Let the movements of running flow. Keep the hands relaxed, the shoulders low and the arm swing rhythmically by the sides.
This means float across the top of the ground. All motion should be forward, not up and down. Leg action should be efficient and rhythmic. The legs should move easily under the body like a wheel rolling smoothly along.
This means push from an extended rear leg, rear elbow drive with a high forward knee drive followed by a strike and claw foot action just behind the body's centre of gravity.
Introduction
The long jump is an athletics (track and field) event where athletes combine speed, technique and strength, trying to land as far from their take-off point as possible. The long jump has been contested at athletics competitions since the ancient days.
The long jump was included in the men’s athletic program at the 1896 Athens Summer Olympic Games. Since then, the event has been contested at every Olympics. For the women, it was introduced at the 1948 London Summer Olympic Games. Since then, long jump has never been excluded from the Olympic athletic program.
The long jump was one of the events of the original Olympics in Ancient Greece. The athletes carried a weight in each hand, which were called halteres. These weights would be swung forward as the athlete jumped, in order to increase momentum. It is commonly believed that the jumper would throw the weights behind him in mid-air to increase his forward momentum. However, halteres were held throughout the duration of the jump. Swinging them down and back at the end of the jump would change the athlete's center of gravity and allow the athlete to stretch his legs outward, increasing his distance.
Rules
The International Association of Athletics Federations or the IAAF set the rules for the long jump event. The rules at an international long jump competition are:
• According to the IAAF rules, no athlete is allowed to touch the ground outside the take-off line and before the landing area. A violation of this rule can lead to disqualification from the competition.
• As per the IAAF standard, the distance between the take-off line and the end of the landing area has to be more than 10 meter.
• Metric scale is used for measuring the distances of the jumps taken by the individual athletes. The distance between the take-off line and the point of first contact on the landing area is considered to be the distance of the jump.
• The IAAF has specified the design of the take-off board in its rulebook. The IAAF also chooses the material of the board.
• According to the IAAF rulebook, the width of the landing area should be between 2.75 meter and 3 meter.
• The landing area on which all the jumps are landed during the competition must be filled with soft damp sand.
Expected Performance and Record Holders
The long jump is notable for two of the longest-standing world records in any track and field event. In 1935, Jesse Owens set a long jump world record that was not broken until 1960 by Ralph Boston.
Bob Beamon jumped 8.90 meters (29 feet, 2.5 inches) at the 1968 Summer Olympics, a jump not exceeded until 1991.On August 30 of that year, Mike Powell of the USA leapt 8.95 meters at the World Championships in Tokyo.
Some jumps over 8.95 meters have been officially recorded, 8.99 meters by Mike Powell himself and 8.96 meters by Ivan Pedroso, but were not validated since there was either no reliable wind speed measurement available, or because wind speed exceeded 2.0 m/s. The current world record for women is held by Galina Chistyakova of the former Soviet Union who leapt 7.52 meters in Leningrad in 1988.
My Performance: 3.45m
Men’s Records
Flintshire Record: David O’Hare – 6.06 metres
Welsh Record: Kueni Igbagiri – 6.21 metres
National Record: Onochie Onuorah – 6.72 metres
Olympic Record: Mike Powell – 8.95 metres
Women’s Records
Flintshire Record: Rebecca Jones – 5.39 metres
Welsh Record: Sarah Dacey – 5.75 metres
National Record: Laura Smith – 6.04 metres
Olympic Champion: Galina Chistyakova – 7.52 metres
Health and Safety and Risk Assessment
Training
The long jump generally requires training in a variety of areas. These areas include, but are not limited to, those listed below:
Jumping
Long Jumpers tend to practice jumping 2-3 times a week. Approaches, or run-throughs, are repeated sometimes up to 6-8 times per session.
Over-distance running
Over-distance running workouts allow an athlete to work at distances greater than those at which he or she must compete. For example, having a 100m runner practice by running 200m repeats on a track. This is especially concentrated on early in the season when athletes are working on building endurance. Typically over-distance running workouts are performed 1-2 times a week. This is beneficial for building sprint endurance, which is needed in competitions where the athlete is sprinting down the runway 3-6 times.
Weight training
During pre-season training and early in the competition season weight training tends to play a major role. It is customary for a long jumper to weight train up to 4 times a week, focusing mainly on quick movements involving the legs and trunk. Some athletes perform Olympic lifts in training. Athletes use low repetition and emphasize speed to maximize the strength increase while minimizing adding additional weight to their frame.
Plyometrics
Plyometrics, including running up and down stairs and hurdle bounding, can be incorporated into workouts, generally roughly twice a week. This allows an athlete to work on agility and explosiveness.
Bounding
Bounding is any kind of continuous and repetitive jumping or leaping. Bounding drills usually entail single leg bounding, double-leg bounding, or some variation of the two. It may also include box drills or depth jumps. The focus of bounding drills is usually to spend as little time on the ground as possible; working on technical accuracy, fluidity, and jumping endurance and strength. Technically, bounding is part of plyometrics, as are from running exercises such as high knees and butt kicks.
Flexibility
Flexibility is an all-too-often forgotten tool for long jumpers. Effective flexibility works to prevent injury, which can be important for high impact events such as the long jump.
A common tool in many long jump workouts is the use of video taping. This allows the athlete to go back and review their own progress as well as enabling the athlete to compare their own footage to that of world-class athletes.
Training style, duration, and intensity will vary immensely from athlete to athlete based on both the experience and strength of the athlete as well as on coaching style.
An important aspect, when training is being able to follow SPORT and FIT:
Specific – train for your own particular sport
Progression – increase your training gradually
Overload – work harder than normal
Reversibility – understand you’ll lose your fitness when you’re inactive
Tedium – make your own training interesting
Frequency – the amount of times you train in a week
Intensity – how hard you are training
Time – how long you work for
Improving Performance
If you want to improve your performance in any given sport, you need to learn the skills that are necessary to play that sport well.
The long jump is an event that consists of four stages:
- The run up
- Take off
- Flight through the air
- Landing
Long jumpers are usually very good sprinters. Athletes should try and improve on the following to:
- Vertical jump ability
- Standing long jump ability
If these were applied then the athlete would improve on technique and demonstrate a good long jumper.