Combination Bounding with Double Arm Action
In combination bounding you bound on one foot in a set sequence: Right-right-left, of Left-left-right. Bound from one foot, to the same foot, then the other foot. Swing both arms forward on each bound, very quickly, to keep the body balanced and the motivation of the bound smooth.
Combination Bounding with Single Arm Action
In combination bounding you bound on one foot in a set sequence: Right-right-left, of Left-left-right. Bound from one foot, to the same foot, then the other foot. The right arm moves forward with the left foot, and vice versa. Continue bounding by repeating the cycle.
Combination Bounding with Vertical Jump
Do a combination bounding sequence (right-right-left of left-left-right), then follow immediately with a strong vertical jump. On the third bound, bring the nonbounding foot up to meet the bounding foot so that the jump is of both feet. Use a double arm swing to assist in lifting you vertically. As soon as you land from the vertical jump, complete another bounding sequence.
Speed Posture
Proper Sprinting Posture – When Adam is sprinting I will always tell him to practice proper sprinting form, in time the posture will come second nature to Adam and he will automatically do this.
Forward Lean – I will tell Adam to lean with his whole body, not just at the waist. If he "leans-over" at the waist it will not allow his leg to move through the full range of motion needed for sprinting.
Arm/Shoulder Action – I will explain to Adam how to throw his elbows back as hard as you can, not forward.
Foot Contact – Adams feet should make contact directly in front of him and on the ball-toe of the foot.
Concentration – Adam should always be focusing on what he is doing, if he is not speed is lost.
Tensing Up – Adam should try and be as relaxed as possible, if he is tense his legs will “trunk”, this will stop a full range of movement in his legs.
Drills
Skip
Like a child’s skip but with quicker feet and good sprinting form - This drill is done to teach timing.
Pump
Like high-knees, but focus is on driving the foot into the ground then getting it back off the ground as quickly as possible (This drill is applicable to the Acceleration Phase).
March
Leg fully extended while kicking out as high as you can, you will have a backwards lean
Backpedal
Stay low, lean forward and pull from your hamstrings
Paw
Stand in place, raise knee of one leg, extend leg out towards the ground, make contact with ground, and pull through. This movement should resemble the "pawing" action of a horse.
Sprint
Put all the drills together in a sprint at about 75-85% - Make sure you are consciously thinking about each drill as you run.
Technique
Technique plays a major part in jumping as without it, control, style and efficiency would not occur. Technique is not only applied in the air but in the run up and at the board to. My technique work will consist of:
- Driving for the board
- At the board
- Take-off
Driving for the board
When driving for the board the body should be upright and the arms have to be moving as fast as possible to get the correct speed for take-off. At around nine metres from the board you should be hitting top speed and at this point the body should be changing from sprinting position to jumping position. The last three strides are key to the jump, the first stride should be long and the second stride should be shorter, the final stride is fast and powerful as you slam your foot to the board. Your leg should be almost straight as your body comes through, this will give you a larger lift and when you take off the leg should be practically straight.
The Program
Week 1
Decision Making:
I have decided to assess Adams jumps first by giving him three jumps in long jump then triple jump. After that we will then work on the basic technique for long jump and triple jump.
At the start of every session I will get Adam to warm up, the warm up will consist of a slow 800 metre jog. The first 400m will just be ordinary running then on the second lap we will incorporate dynamic stretches ranging from arm curls to side stepping. Then finally we will perform specific stretches that will get all the joints and muscles for the high intensity jumping sessions.
Feedback:
Adam focused well on the warming up and was very sensible as he did this, also in the first assessment he rose to the occasion pulling out two personal bests in both long and triple jump. His final jump in the long jump was his best; he accomplished a 5.15m jump. His second jump in triple jump was his best; he achieved a 11.01m jump.
After this high intensity performance I decided just to talk one on one with him about his performances and what he could do to improve his performances all around. We had agreed his take-off was not correct as he was thirty or so centimetres behind the board. Also we agreed a lot of work needed to be done with his phases in triple jump, he must even them out first to lengthen them.
Overview of session:
- Adam was focused and seemed eager to improve his jumps.
- He has good basic speed on the runway.
- His timing, balance and rhythm are not too good.
- His personal bests are good.
Week 2
Decision Making:
Today I have decided to move straight into the preparation work by starting the session with a good warm up then moving directly to some Plyometrics. I have decided to do the more easy exercises first to move him into Plyometrics and once he has mastered these I will move him on to the more complicated things. I will start with Alternate with Double Arm Action. As it is only his first session I will set him three sets of three reps with a two minute rest in between. This is very stressful on the joints and bones so to finish of the session I will work on Adams Sprinting Posture to see if we can improve his driving to the board. We will start with the basic drills e.g. high knees, and bum flicks, then move onto skipping, pumping and marching, then finally moving onto light sprinting at 90% with good posture.
Feedback:
Adams response to the work was extremely good as I underestimated his potential in Plyometrics. The Plyometrics involves timing and rhythm which I thought Adam did not have in the last session due to his poor phases in the Triple Jump. But after close analysis I found out that he only has problems with his timing and rhythm when he is jumping at speed. As he is coming down the runway he is concentrating on his sprinting and not what he is going to do when he jumps. I decided I wouldn’t tell him about this until we did the sprinting drills so I could change this then. He Jumped well in the Plyometrics and surprised me with his “spring” and strength that he must have gained from football.
Before the second half of the session I discussed with Adam the problem with his timing and rhythm, as I identified this he realised what he was doing and became more aware of the problem. This is what I had hoped to achieve by telling him. We started the Sprint session and I had told him to apply what I had said into his running, he did this by keeping relaxed. I could see this change in his sprinting as when he ran before his cheek and facial muscles were extremely tense. Now when he sprinted his facial muscles were a lot more relaxed. I had also got him to use his arms better as he was only using around 30% of his arms potential. I changed this by applying no movement from the wrist or the elbow, but only in the shoulder. When he did this his arms were rising further back and further forwards keeping a right angle at the elbow. This increased his balance when running also.
Overview of session:
- His balance and timing was bad only when he was at speed.
- Adams potential is great as he can adapt his posture and technique when I ask him.
- I don’t think there is much more work to be done on his sprinting as he adapted well to the changes.
Week 3
Decision Making:
This week I am going to try and really improve Adams technique in long jump and then next week I will work on his triple jump. I am going to work on his height, style and control in the air and also work on his take off around the board. First I will concentrate on his take off, when he hits the board his head should be up and his body should be upright, this will give him some height. The next step will be to work on his leg being straight at take off. His last stride should be longer than the last and the leg should be extended and almost straight before he hits the board, as his body runs through and his leg is under him the leg should then be extended at full length to get full potential out of the jump. This will give the basis for a good height throughout the jump. In the air your driving knee should drive as long as possible while your straight leg pulls back and trails. After the optimum height the driving leg is brought down to join the leading leg, this will raise the hips even further. As this is happening the arms should be both either rotating forwards in a cycle action or both should be up in the air in a star position. This whole movement is called the hang technique. After this phase everything reverses. The legs are brought up and the upper torso and arms are brought down. This involves the legs rising as straight as possible horizontal to the floor. The arms are brought down and the hands to the shoulders should be below the knees. This can only done if sufficient height is attained and if Adam is limber enough.
As this technique training is extremely stressful I have decided to do no more and apply a long cool down to the session, this will incorporate a slow jog for around 300m and then a slow walk for 100m. Then I will show Adam some stretches so he will not ache the day after.
Feedback:
This was the real test for Adam, I had set him really hard tasks and I wanted to see how he would adapt to major changes in his style. We started the session with a good warm up then applied short run up jumps so he could attempt the changes at slow speed. We performed this a number of times, each time I pointed out what was good and bad. In turn this made him realise he should change some things in his jump and not others. E.G. Adam performed one jump where he gained good height of the board from a straight leg and in the same jump his arms were not doing anything. So I pointed this out and he kept the good height and also used his arms. This shows good progression and adaptability.
After I was pleased with his technique we set out his run up and he tried this at full speed. At first the jumps were extremely sloppy but as he adapted his speed and changed his body position he put it all together to pull out a really good jump.
Overview of session:
- Adams adaptability factor is really high.
- His timing is lacking in the air.
Week 4
Decision Making:
As I said before the last session I will be focusing on triple jump this session. I will be working mainly on distances between the three phases. The phases need to be around the same distance to create a top class jump. To do this we will concentrate on the height he gets through the phases, his balance and his timing. For this to work Adam must be extremely focused and confident that he can complete the task.
As we did with the last session I will let Adam take short run-ups so he can practice the technique without the speed. This is a lot easier to perform but as the height in the phases comes in we must add the speed as when speed is applied Adam will have the tendency to run thorough the board as apposed to generating lift like in long jump. The first two phases are all about covering as much ground as possible without straining too much so you can’t get a good jump on the end. To get the distance in the first two phases Adam will have to get the correct height so he doesn’t come down to early and so he doesn’t injure himself landing from too high.
Feedback:
Adam performed really well, he is now learning how to control and manage his speed and height in the air and between phases. His sprinting style has changed some what as he is preparing for his jump a lot sooner than he would usually also he is driving more towards the start of his approach, this will give him more time to build up speed.
I am mostly impressed with Adams ability to adapt his body and actions to what I say, and if I say something is wrong he will change it immediately to suite his needs. Now I am pleased with all aspects of Adams jumping, he is connection well with the board on both long and triple jump, which is hard because both are very different from each other. His height is good throughout the jumps and he is attacking the board a lot better so he is at optimum speed when he hits the board.
Overview of session:
- Once again Adam is very good at adapting his body and actions.
- He is focused all the way through the session.
- He can maintain good speed and height through the Jump.
Week 5
Decision Making:
Due to the outstanding progress Adam has made I have decide to test him on some full approach jumps. I have done this because the progress and technique he has learnt from the last session is still fresh in Adams mind so I want to keep it there permanently by asking him to perfume it a number of times. This is very high intensity work so I am only going to let Adam do four reps of each jump alternating them. I will give him as much time as he needs to rest and regain his breath as I am not looking for endurance strength or speed endurance.
The second part of the session will involve Plyometrics. I will be showing Adam the harder bounding exercises this session as I am pleased with his recent progress and I think he is ready to carry them out. I am also going to increase the work level in doing six sets of five Alternate Bounding with Double Arm Action.
Feedback:
Adam has once again performed well, which I am pleased with once more. The jumps were technically sound apart from a few miner adjustments he forgot to add but after the three jumps I am satisfied he will break his personal bests by far. In the second half of the session he performed the Plyometrics once more but this time with harder bounding exercises. He performed then well but I still think he balance and coordination is lacking. This can not be helped and it would take a long time to correct so I am trying to improve on the positive side of his jumping. Next week is the big test for Adam. We will see if he does in fact break his personal bests. I have great confidence that he will perform well due to his long jump and triple Jump training.
Overview of session:
- Adams first jumps were technically sound.
- He also performed the Plyometrics well.
- He still has a slight problem with his timing and coordination.
Week 6 – The Test
Decision Making:
At the start of the session I will give Adam a briefing, I will tell him I am not helping him with anything eg warm up, stretching or the technique of the jumps. He will have to do it all himself and this is what I have been preparing him for. I have not told him about this and he still thinks I will warm him up this session; I have done this purposely so when he does find out there will be an added pressure on him. I think this will give Adam a boost of adrenalin, which in turn will make him perform better. Now it is up to Adam to perform.
Analysis of Jumps:
Long Jump 1
The jump was technically sound but I think he wasn’t going full out down the runway. I am pleased as he has increased his personal best.
Triple Jump 1
Technically good broke his personal best straight away good jump.
Long Jump 2
I tried to hard an overlooked it slightly and he tensed up towards the board. Just short of his personal best.
Triple Jump 2
He Increased his personal best again by a good clear margin.
Long Jump 3
“It was a big one” he pulled out a monster jump of 5.57, I was so pleased that he had got everything correct his speed, connection with the board and the timing in the air, great jump.
Triple Jump 3
Once again “A monster Jump” 11.54 which increases his personal best by fifty six centimetres. We were both really pleased.
Feedback:
I was the first to congratulate Adam as I was ecstatic about his jumps. He increased his Long Jump Personal Best by fifty seven centimetres and he improved his Triple Jump personal best by sixty four centimetres.
Conclusion
At the start of this six week training course I was given a task, that task was to analyse a friend/athlete in their chosen activity and create a six week program to improve their performances in the activity. I have achieved this greatly by using a number of different training methods ranging from Sprint Posture training to Plyometrics Bounding work. I have been greatly involved in this program as I have always been there to aid and guide him through by motivating him and creating constructive criticisms to improve his performance.
When I was first setting targets I never once decided a fixed distance for Adam to jump. I did this so if Adam did not get the target jump he would not be disappointed in himself. I applied in my “First Step” explanation that I wanted Adam to increase his Jumps greatly. He did this by increased his Long Jump Personal Best by fifty seven centimetres and he improved his Triple Jump personal best by sixty four centimetres.
Evaluation:
I am very pleased with the out come of this six week training course as it has give me an incite into the world of coaching. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Adam as he was a pleasure to work with. I am now thinking about taking coaching as a career as I think I can offer a lot to the teaching profession.
If I did this Six week training course again with another athlete I would only change the work rate. I think all the exercises and activity’s we did were relevant to the training but after each session Adam maybe was not tired enough. This is only my analysis but I really think Adam could have got a lot more out of his jumps. Despite this I am ecstatic with the improvements we made to Adams jumping and I hope he does well in the future with his football, Cross Country or even his athletics.
