Issue 3 WINTER 2021
The digital resource for long, & triple jump athletes & coaches SPRINT SPECIAL COVID COACHING RECOVERY OPTIONS PERHAPS YOU SHOULD STRETCH LEGAL ENHANCEMENT POTENTIATION NICK NEWMAN JONAS DODOO NELIO MOURA
THE JUMPER
MULTI MEDIA CONTENT ARTICLES VIDEOS LINKS
SUPPORTED BY
WELCOME
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ON THE COVER Malika Mihambo Redbull content pool Markus Berger
Welcome to issue 3 of The Jumper. It's an understatement to say that 2020 has been a bit of a challenge ... and of course as we go into 2021 it's only just beginning to look brighter. Hopefully by the next issue of this magazine COVID will be a feinter memory. It's great to have a sponsor for this issue NEUFF. The company has been supplying track & field equipment for over four decades. I've used their sleds and harnesses and they can be thoroughly recommended for their service ... they are afterall an athletics family. Speaking of support, it's been great to have contributions from all over the world for this issue and from coaches and athletes alike. I want to make The Jumper more than just a magazine and more than just a normal athletics magazine at that. It is about you and therefore it has to include you and reachout to you. That's why although the main content is about how to improve performance there are also more "social" articles and ones that reflect how our sport is being consumed in this multi-media age. Examples? Well, three of the world's most well-known coaches Nelio Moura, Nick Newman and Jonas Dodoo share their secrets, whilst we can also view what's new in the world of track social media with our media watch. So, if you are reading this before Christmas Have a great and safe one and if after, apply the same sentiment to the New Year and the forthcoming indoor and outdoor seasons. Thanks for your support. John Shepherd Coach & editor
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TRAINING TECH
COACHES
SPORTS SCIENCE
12: POTENTIATION 11: NUROKOR MITOUCH 15: THERAGUN ELITE 05: COVID TRIALS & TRIBULATIONS 84: RIGHTRACK TO A US COLLEGE
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20: NICK NEWMAN 40: JONAS DODOO 27: LONG JUMP TAKE-OFF NELIO MOURA 31: STRETCHING 55: RECOVERY 65: PREHAB
CONTENTS
FEATURES
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SPRINT SPECIAL
COACHING
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37: SPRINT SPECAIL JONAS DODOO PHYSICS OF SPEED ACCELERATION 75 THE ATHLETE METHOD 82 HARRY AA YOHAN BLAKE & MORE 71 ATHLETE MENTAL HEALTH 90: COACHING IN ZIMBABWE
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MEDIA WATCH
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COVID COACHING TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS
How’s your training and competition year been? Not been easy has it? COVID has certainly taken its toll on all aspects of our lives and not just long and triple jump and the world of track & field in general. The athletes I coach in the UK managed to have a reasonable short season in August and up to mid September. It says much for their dedication during and after lock-down that many achieved PBs. For many, like other athletes, their jumping became more than just jumping. For those of school age training provided something to fit into a day otherwise spent as home and with, for much of the summer, limited opportunities for other activities. Seeing others when allowed at the track became something to be really valued. During the summer and then into lockdown 2.0 in November in the UK we had to change training venues as our normal faclity was closed. Still at least we had a track, many here and around the world didn't and still don't. One of my older squad members is now back on the west coast in the US and she has found it extremely difficult to find a track to train on. All around the world just jumping into sand has become a challenge. We’ve taken for granted for so long that training and our sport would just go on and on... I guess, if there is a positive to come out of the pandemic for athletes it may be that athletes and coaches may have become more resilient, more able to adapt and more able to deal with challeneges than in the past. However, just being able to turn up at a track and train without masks, without specific coach-athlete ratio numbers and without constantly thinking about social distancing is going to be well, heavenly. Hopefully the vacines announced at the time of publication of The Jumper will soon also contribute to a return to normality. However, we must not for the moment forget that we have to train and compete within the confines of whatever COVID rules are in place in our countries. There should no dropping of our gaurd. For many athletes at the peak of their careers this period is difficult. However, it seems that governing bodies are beginning to find ways of expanding competition opportunities and hopefully there will be a series of competitive opportunities for all levels of athletes in 2021. Primariliy European athletes at least seemed to be able to compete at the elite level in cleverly designed meets this summer gone, such as the pole vault Diamond League which took place in Lausanne, and there were many innovations and ideas tried. We loved the garden challenges! As I write this, I’m unsure as to what indoor meets will take place. Training continues with that assumption but we know it's still going to be different for a while. As coaches we need to be at least outwardly optimistic, we have to continue to motivate our athletes and plan ahead. Okay, our plans may not have a definitive end destination at present and there may be some roadblocks ahead which require deviation and revised planning, but at least there seems to be a road ahead and we must all try to keep to navigating it. The world is getting its head around COVID gradually and hopefully this winter the disease will become very controllable and the summer months at least will allow a return to relative normality. Stay safe everyone
COMMENT
"I guess, if there is a positive to come out of the pandemic for athletes it may be that athletes and coaches may have become more resilient, more able to adapt and more able to deal with issues than in the past."
IT'S AMAZING WHAT WE GET SENT IN ... SAMUEL PURATA IS A TALENTED ATHLETE AND ARTIST. Here are a couple of his images. Checkout him out!
JUMPING ART
As jumpers our trainers are not used to the same extent and way as theyare by endurance athletes, however, they are still a vital piece of our kit. Some shoes can be too unstructured and soft for speed work and the trend for bulkier shoes, even with carbon plates can make attaining the positions needed for sprinting and drills a little contrived. AtThe Jumper we recently tested insoles from Superfeet. They come in a number of variations and we chose “Superfeet RUN comfort”. You cut the insoles to fit your foot and shoe which is easily done. Initially we found the insoles hard but they did soften a little and became more comfortable over time. They were used in an old-ish pair of adidas boost shoes and we found that they created a more sprint like contact when used for drills and sprints. They stiffened the shoe and improved toe-off and energy return seemed better. Boost shoes can be springy (that's their aim!), especially when new and this can dissipate some of the energy returned when the toe-off is quick as when sprinting flat out – recall that most shoes are designed for mileage. Recommendation Would we buy? Yes, especially if new life needs to be breathed into a pair of old-ish trainers and you are a sprinter/jumper. W: superfeet.com UK SRP £33.33
SUPERFEET INSOLES
TRAINING GEAR
Bioelectricity has long been used to stimulate recovery, manage pain and boost performance. The MiTouch uses 3 apps and 5 treatment protocols to achieve this in a device as small as your smartphone. BOOST your PERFORMANCE with the MiTouch. Buy with special The JUMPER 10% discount (click arrows above)
UK
USA
NUOKOR MITOUCH
Eccentric ability is crucial for jumpers and sprinters. An eccentric muscular action is a lengthening one. So, on take-off a jumper's leg muscles must first absorb the impact (that's the eccentric part), before pushing the jumper, up and forwards (the shortening concentric muscular part).
THE IMPORTANCE OF ECCENTRIC TRAINING
Think of throwing a rubber ball against a wall, it will deform slightly as it absorbs the impact and then fly back. The harder you throw the ball against the wall the faster it will come back. Why is this relevant to jumpers and sprinters? Well, the better an athlete becomes at absorbing force and returning it - the eccentric to concentric coupling (the "stretch-reflex") the more power they will produce in the milliseconds required for the long jump take-off, for example, and the further they will jump - everything else being equal. Better jumpers will also have superior joint stiffness and you should note that this stiffness should is also developed at the ankle and hip as well as the knee. Research on the value of Eccentric Training Sports scientists looked at the relationship between the concentric and eccentric elements of elite and non-elite Slovenian sprinters. They did this by considering the concentric and eccentric elements of a countermovement jump and drop jump. The sports scientists were able to measure the sprinters' countermovement take-off vertical velocity, jump height and the forces generated eccentrically and concentrically in both the drop jump and countermovement jump. Some Findings Countermovement jump Take-off velocity - the elite sprinters generated 3.23 m/s and the sub-elites 2.94 m/s Concentric force impulses - the elite sprinters 123.91 N /s and the sub-elites 108.06 N /s. Drop Jump - The elite sprinters had a take-off velocity of 3.18 m/s and the sub-elite sprinters 2.87 m/s. ECCENTRIC velocity - The elite sprinters had a velocity of 3.05 m/s and the sub-elite sprinters 2.81 m /s. So, the elites were better able to generate power eccentrically which improved their vertical concentric take-off velocity and of course they were the faster sprinters. The sports scientists concluded: "This investigation provides evidence that vertical jumps and DJs are very important tools to meet the demands of sprint training according to eccentric-concentric muscular work. The DJ showed better quality than CMJ in the neuromuscular specificity." What we need to know So, to reiterate train your athletes eccentrically as well as concentrically. Practically emphasise drop jumps, bounds and hops over the countermovement jump and also do jumps where the athlete blocks the landing with a very shallow knee angle and remains still (step off a platform 1m high to land on two feet, for example). Another great exercise I use especially for the triple jumpers is to run from about 6-8 steps to bound off of a low ply platform the jumper, then has to complete a further bound on landing and a jump into the pit. So, two bounds and a jump. They will have to overcome more eccentric force on that first contacts from the box top. Note: this is a very demanding exercise and should only be done by the relevantly conditioned jumper. REF: Differences between the elite and sub-elite sprinters in kinematic and dynamic determinations of countermovement jump and drop jump. Coh M, et al. J Strength Cond Res. 2013.
Another great exercise especially for triple jumpers is to run from about 6-8 steps to bound off a low plyo box. The jumper then performs a further bound and a jump into the pit. So, two bounds and a jump. They will have to overcome great eccentric force on that first contact from the box top. Note: this is a very demanding exercise and should only be performed by the relevantly conditioned jumper. 2 x 4 efforts with plenty of recovery will be sufficient too. Ref: Strength Cond Res 2013
THERAGUN
SPORTS TECH ON TEST
Theraguns from Therabody are percussive devices used by athletes to help them warm-up and recover from their workouts and competitions. They have become increasingly popular in recent years. The Jumper takes a took at the Theragun Elite
Theraguns were invented around 2008 by chiropractor Jason Wersland. Wersland was unfortunately involved in a bad road traffic accident in the States when riding his motor bike. Paradoxically he was on his way to his final exams to become a chiropractor. The crash left him in a lot of pain – particularly soft tissue pain. And it was because of this that during his convalescence he determined to invent a machine which would treat his injuries. Using DIY skills and bits and pieces of various devices he constructed a rudimentary Theragun. The rest as they say is history as Wersland gained backing and support for the use of his devices - so much so that Theragun, now branded under Therabody, is the leading percussive therapy brand in the world. The Jumper trialled the Theragun Elite the second from the top of the range model in the company’s line-up (behind the “Pro”). Features It has everything that any athlete would need for such a device. Potentially the stand-out feature being app guidance and Bluetooth connectivity. Many times athletes will get a hold of a device for massage or warm-up but not know how to use it, well Therabody's the app takes all the head-scratching away. You connect your Theragun to the app and you can allow it to take over and lead you through a specific session. We found this very intuitive to use and of great value especially when starting out with the device. You can, for example, select the body part you want to work on from the app, and with the Theragun connected, work for a specific time on that body part. The app shows which attachment - from 5 - to use and the recommended grip, for example, so that you can more comfortably get it into the area you want to treat. And a graphic indicates how to sweep the device across the relevant area. Another cool feature is the fact that the app will actually switch the Theragun off after each treatment (see this in the video review on the next page). You can manually control the amplitude of the Theragun from 2500PPM to 1650PPM depending on the type of effect you desire. To use the device sweeping movements are generally recommended. The lighter the pressure the more the effect will target recovery, whilst the stronger the pressure the more the effect will be stimulatory. If you have sore muscles and knots, it’s advised that you work around these to reduce the inflammation and apply gentle pressure. So, don’t “hammer” away at the painful area, as in all likelihood you will make it worse. You want to break down the knot and achieve increased healing blood flow. After a treatment you will probably feel heat in the targeted area and sometimes a tingling feeling which is due to the increase in blood flow. We’ve used the device for both recovery and for warm-up purposes and have found it to be useful for both. A specific example, an athlete had a sore ITB and the Theragun certainly reduced the soreness over a couple of days of treatment. We do like to see if there is any research on products tested (where relevant) and at the time of writing we were unable to locate any, unlike with for example, EMS/Bioelectrical devices. So, we have to rely on personal experience and more anecdotal evidence which is favourable for use from a wide range of sources. The Theragun Elite is easily transportable and quickly charged and is a lot quieter than the previous generation, which we previously tested. Ergonomically it’s also more comfortable to use as a result of the subtle design tweaks.
UP TO $150 OFF
PRODUCT VIDEO
PRODUCT PAGE
Theragun Elite Specs OLED Display an store 3 pre-set programmes 40lbs stall speed 2400-1750 PPM speed 16mm amplitude 120min battery life Wireless charge enabled 5 various treatment attachments Bluetooth connected SRP £375 $399 "Therabody's app takes all the head-scratching away. You connect your Theragun to the app and you can allow it to take over and lead you through a specific session..."
THERABODY FORMERLY KNOWN AS THERABODY LAUNCHES THERAGUN MINI AND RED MODELS The MINI is a much more compact and travel friendly version of the larger Theragun range (see page 16 for a review of the Elite Model). Packing a real punch despite its dimunitive size it makes for a great gift for the athlete in your life! RED denoteS the partnerships that Therabody has with RED the organisaton founded in 2006 to fight AIDS. For every Therabody RED product 2% of the price will go to directly to the Goobal Fund's COVID-19 response, to reduce the threat of COVID-19 in communities and for critcal HIV/AIDS programmes. THERABODY MINI SRP £175 GET UP TO $150 off THERAGUN PRODUCTS HERE
"For every Therabody RED product 2% of the price will go to directly to the Goobal Fund's COVID-19 response."
THERAGUN MINI
WE INTERVIEW ONE OF THE FASTEST RISING ELITE JUMPS COACHES IN THE REAL AND VIRTUAL WORLD
NICK NEWMAN
COACH FOCUS
Tell us about your journey from athlete to coach and how you ended up in the States (Who/what encouraged you to become a coach) My journey to the United States was fairly unconventional. I grew up in a small town in England, and like many young people, I participated in high school sports. When I was 14, I saw a Michael Jordan video and immediately became fascinated with basketball. Looking back, it was in that moment that my life’s path changed. It quickly became a dream of mine to play basketball in the USA, and I spent the next few years working hard to develop as a player. At the age of 17, I was fortunate enough to be selected to play for an American-influenced basketball academy in Durham, England. It was my first experience living away from home and the beginning of an exciting new endeavour. While at the academy, I began my formal education in Coaching and Exercise Science. After my first year I was extended an opportunity to continue my studies and play basketball at an American high school in Ohio. Shortly after arriving to the US, I realized that basketball at that particular high school would not end well for me. But, instead of returning to England, I transitioned to track & field and discovered the long jump. Given my very late start in track & field, I was average, at best – a 21- to 22-foot (6.70m) jumper in high school. However, Tiffin University (an NAIA school at the time), and its head track & field coach, Jeremy Croy, offered me a scholarship. It was the one and only offer I received. To this day, Jeremy and I remain friends. If it weren’t for him, my life now would be very different. After one year at Tiffin, I chose to transfer to Manhattan College in New York for my remaining three years in University, as Manhattan offered a more tailored degree program. There, I earned a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science. It was also at Manhattan that my journey in track & field truly began. Attending Manhattan was the best decision I ever made. My coach at Manhattan was Dan Mecca, and it was Dan who showed me what coaching was all about. His passion for track & field was unbelievable, and I have so much respect for him. I jumped 7.54m while at Manhattan, and a few years later, I was able to travel Europe and compete in several “B-level” pro competitions. It was during one of these competitions – my first England Team selection in Austria – that I met a coach who would become my most influential mentor, Dan Pfaff. Throughout my 8-year careeras a long jumper, I had several coaches (including myself) and, as a result, would follow a new training system almost every year. Looking back, changing systems on nearly a yearly basis surely hindered my development as a long jumper. At the same time, I realize that my exposure to different training programs likely set me on a path to becoming a coach. I coached myself during my final 6 years and ended my career with a PR of 7.80m before fully transitioning to coaching. I have many coaches and mentors to thank for helping me to make a smooth transition from athlete to coach. Dan Mecca jump-started my career as an athlete and coach. He allowed me the freedom to experiment with training and learn from my own mistakes. I am sure he knew I would become a coach one day.I also learned a great deal from UK Athletics’ John Crotty. We worked together for a year, and he introduced me to a new way of training. John also taught me a lot about biomechanics and jump-specific training. Dr Ernie Gregoire is yet another highly-regarded coach with whom I was fortunate to work. He’s an incredible technical coach, and he further deepened my understanding of the jumping events. My experience with these remarkable and accomplished coaches and mentors helped to make my transition from athlete to coach a relatively seamless conversion. By the time my career as an athlete ended, I had earned a master’s degree in Human Performance and Sport Psychology and had several years of coaching experience under my belt. Where are you based and who are you presently coaching? I am based in Los Angeles, California, and am employed as a full-time Track & Field coach at the University of Southern California (USC). I also have a pro/post-collegiate training group. My coaching speciality is in training long, triple, high jump, and multi-event athletes. My training group currently includes: High Jump: 1 male and 3 female athletes – 2.30m, 1.91m, 1.81m, 1.80m Triple Jump: 4 male and 2 female athletes – 17.08m, 16.50m, 15.95m, 15.76m, 13.08m, 13.08m Long Jump: 4 male and 3 female athletes – 8.19m, 7.83m, 7.52m, 7.44m, 6.69m, 6.42m, 6.17m Have you any thoughts on how coach ed could be improved? Coaching is centered around the development of relationships, trust, and communication. This is a separate skill set from the ability to design programs, understand training science, and teach event-specific technique. While coaching education may address some of these topics, I feel it doesn’t invest enough in preparing young coaches to actually connect with and mentor athletes. Valuable experience can be gained from coaching youth athletes in a variety of sports and at all performance levels. Prior to working with elite and collegiate track & field athletes, I spent 10 years coaching athletes between 8-18 years of age. The benefits of coaching youth athletes are endless – from learning how to relate to different personalities, to teaching those with significant motor deficiencies. Coaches who begin their career as a volunteer at the college level, or even as a full-time assistant coach, have missed an important opportunity for professional development. I believe afoundation that includes working with youth athletes should be required for all coaches. There are far too many college graduates with sport science degreeswho apply for coaching appointments without any formal coaching experience. Hands-on coaching and classroom instruction should form the basis of coaching education from the beginning of college through graduation. Finally, mentorship is yet another important aspect of coaches’ education. Young coaches must make it a priority to seek out mentors who are willing to share their broad experience and expertise. Where and how did you develop your coaching skills and are you further developing those skills and are there any resources that you would recommend for other coaches to follow/look-up? More than anything, coaching youth athletes has helped me develop my coaching skills and personality, particularly in terms of exercising a flexible and individual approach to teaching and communicating, compassion for student-athletes, patience, and creativity, among other things. I’m fortunate now to be working with some of the most talented athletes in the world. Yet, in many ways, coaching high-level athletes isn’t too different from coaching 8-year-olds. For all athletes, no matter the level, the goals of movement and technical development remain the same. Programming varies depending on physical abilities and training history. But, even then, it’s a mistake to over-complicate programming for those of superior talent. Like all things, training design often comes full circle – an emphasis on the basics benefits those who have the highest potential for adaptation. In terms of furthering education, I recommend studying the oldest training literature. Little is new in the world of training and athlete development. The majority of what we read today was first written in the 1960’s and 1970’s. I was fortunate to spend time with legendary Romanian track & field coach, Baruch Elias in 2010. He had thousands of old training documents and allowed me photocopy much of them. The Eastern European countries were ahead of their time, where exercise selection and training design was concerned. The majority of studying I do now relates to psychology and philosophy. As I learn more about athletes unrelated to sport, the more effective I am at helping them. I highly recommend examining the work of Dr. Wolfgang Ritzdorf and Dan Pfaff, among others. What's your approach to jumps coaching? How much has your philosophy to jumps coaching changed over your years in coaching? My book The Horizontal Jumps: Planning for Long Term Development, was released in 2012 and spoke about basic concepts of technique, training, and program design. I wanted to highlight successful methods while presenting something specific for athletes and coaches of all levels to use for guidance. Since then, I have established my own training system and coaching philosophy. My system has been fairly stable since 2015. My new book, entitled: The Jumps: A Comprehensive Training System, details every aspect of my training system and will be published sometime in 2021. Generally speaking, we train specific qualities year-round in varying ratios and combinations. My general preparation phase probably looks similar to other coach’s specific or special phases. Every component has technical linkage with event specifics, but I don’t over-analyse technique to the point of limiting intent. And I often allow athletes to “figure it out” gradually. I identify the primary drivers behind an athlete’s ability and prioritize the individual specifics of each training program around those qualities. The athlete’s weaknesses, or under-trained qualities, are developed concurrently, but as a secondary emphasis. Progression is of major importance to the program. Every component is progressed carefully and consistently all year. In a nutshell, we sprint, jump, throw, lift heavy, lift fast, and practice the event multiples times a week, all year. The key is how the components are interrelated, progressed, and prioritized at different times of the year. When testing, we use a specific testing battery and test often throughout the preparatory cycles. These tests fall seamlessly within our training plan and are easy to monitor. Finally, we don’t emphasize aerobic or muscular endurance development past the minimal levels required to perform recovery strides, body weight circuits, and pool recovery routines. While the subtleties of the programme are individualised, based on multiple factors, the system generally cover all bases and adjusts based on testing numbers, daily stressors, and so on. How has my philosophy changed over the years? Today, I am more aware of the time and repetition required to improve the special qualities required for jumping at a high level. These qualities must be developed all year. Years ago, I believed that short, isolated training phases were adequate. I have a greater understanding now of the connection between each training component and the overall big picture. I can see the joining of the dots as they happen now, whereas I couldn’t see them before.
More from Nick
"My book The Horizontal Jumps: Planning for Long Term Development, was released in 2012 and spoke about basic concepts of technique, training, and program design." Nick's book is available on Amazon and this link
MAXIMISE YOUR LONG JUMP FLIGHT
NELIO MOURA COACH TO NO LESS THAN TWO OLYMPIC LONG JUMP CHAMPIONS TELLS US WHAT'S KEY TO THE LONG JUMP TAKE-OFF
TECHNIQUE
What are your key thoughts on the long jump take-off? The take-off is a fundamental phase of the long jump. However, it cannot be considered in isolation, because its efficacy depends of the actions made during the “preparation phase”, the transition between the approach run and the take-off itself, that takes 2-4 steps. For me, the effective take-off: 1: Is preceded by preparation (the center of gravity is slightly lowered at the penultimate step, but very actively); 2: Contact with the board is made with an extended knee, and minimal knee flexion is allowed during the support phase; 3: Complete triple-extension at the time of leaving the board; 4: Vigorous action of the free segments, with blocking. Do you try to create a specific rhythm and step length for the final 3 steps? I like the “long-short” pattern, but I am okay if a particular jumper does the opposite, as long as the final position is good and the approach speed is not lost. I have a few “key positions” that I use to evaluate if the preparation for the take-off and the take-off itself is correct, but I try to avoid over “coaching the position”. Usually, if the position is not there we can find some fault going back to the rhythmical aspect of the approach and take-off preparation. So, I usually suggest drills that facilitate the reproduction of the proper rhythm. If the athlete finds the rhythm, often the positions will be there as well. Sometimes we focus too much on the position, but the right position with the wrong rhythm won’t bring good results. Do you have any specific drills you use to work on this? The drills are very simple: “Penetration” drill and “Rhythm” drill… see videos right. What drills do you use to improve take-off other than those working on step lengths and rhythm? I like to do the take-offs (or even the full jump) with a low box at the penultimate step (to create kind of a plyometric action at the take-off). I also like jumps with the take-off from a low box as it facilitates to attack the board with a more extended knee. You tend to prefer an elevated arm action at take-off - why is this? We can “jump” (leave the ground) even without using the legs or the hips, only by moving the arms and then stopping them abruptly at the shoulder-level. The mechanism behind this is the transference of momentum. I ask the athletes to try to use this mechanism during the takeoff, increasing the forces applied against the ground. Blocking the free leg at the hip height (perpendicular) also contributes significantly to the take-off action. Do you have any specific conditioning drills that you use which are specifically applicable to the take-off? Everything is interconnected. The technical drills are specific conditioning drills as well, and when the jumper adapts and improves their preparation, the technique improves… and so on. In addition, I try to select exercises which will bring very specific adaptations from the weight room and when doing plyometrics … there's a careful progression throughout the season and the athlete’s career as well. I expect the experienced athletes to do very specific intense, single leg exercises during the special preparation phase. How important is eccentric strength for the take-off? Extremely important! Peak ground reaction forces at the long jump take-off can be as high as 16 times body weight, with contact times around 110-120 milliseconds. If the jumper doesn’t have enough eccentric strength, his/her knee will collapse and it will be impossible to jump effectively.
Above: Rhythm take-off drill
Below: Penetration take-off drill
Contact Nelio for his great book on long and triple jump training. Although in Portugese there are English overviews. We were fascinated by Nelio's work on eccentric power development.
mmatletismo@uol.com.br
As jumpers, sprinters or coaches of these events we will have lived by the mantra of "no stretching" in warm-up for quite some time. However, does research actually vindicate this assumption and what of other stretching means such as dynamic and ballistic methods? Much of the research into the "no stretching in warm-up dogma" is getting on a bit now. We decided to take a fresh look at some to see whether stretching is as bad a way to get a sprinter or a jumper ready for dynamic exercise i.e. sprinting and jumping as we think. RESEARCH REVIEWS A good place to start is with research reviews and recent ones at that. In 2018 sports scientists writing in Sports Medicine (Feb;48(2):299-325. Doi: 10:1007/s40279-017-9) reviewed “current literature” relating to the “Acute effects of Dynamic Stretching on Muscle Flexibility and Performance”. Now, the researchers indicate the negative effects of static stretching (more on this later) but want to look more closely at dynamic stretching. These are movements where limbs are moved reasonably quickly through a range of movement – the movements are not super-fast as would be the case with ballistic stretches, again of which more later. This review noted: “If the goal of a warm-up is to increase joint ROM and to enhance muscle force and/or power dynamic stretching seems to be suitable alternative to static stretching.” But … and there’s always a but - and to add a slight cloudiness over their initial proclamation – they add: “Nevertheless, numerous studies reporting no alteration or even performance impairment have highlighted possible mitigating factors (such as stretch duration, amplitude or velocity).” So, they are perhaps trying a bit too hard to justify their initial “finding”. "... ballistic stretching could be more detrimental than controlled dynamic stretching." The sports scientists then move on to say that ballistic stretching could be more detrimental than controlled dynamic stretching. However, what’s a leg cycling drills or even a fast high knee drill or even an A-skip? Isn’t that in reality a type of balistic stretch? And the team does admits in its conclusions that: “ … inconsistent descriptions of stretch procedures” in research has not helped with clarification. Not too helpful then. Effects on the Stretch-Shortening Cycle So, what about the effects on the stretch-shortening cycle of stretching and in particular static, balistic and dynamic stretching? This eccentric to concentric quick-fire reaction is crucial for sprinters and jumpers. Researchers again in Sports Medicine (2013 Aug;43(8):733-50. Doi: 10.1007/s40279-013-0053-x.) took a look at this and its relationship to stretching. In all this team looked at 43 studies. They discovered that around half showed a negative effect on SSC performance, whilst the others showed no negative effects. They did add further support for dynamic stretching (as per the first piece of research sort of quoted) by stating: “ … dynamic stretching showed no negative effects and improved performance in half the trials.” And they added later that: “Acute dynamic stretching may also be effective in inducing smaller gains in ROM prior to performance without negatively effecting performance.” "The effects of static stretching on the SSC may in fact be quite small." Let’s address static stretching at this point as it is included in this research … this sports science team indicated that the effects of static stretching on the SSC may in fact be quite small. As they write: “ .. the effect sizes of these might be limited in practice.” However, that could be a couple of cms in the long jump which would be significant – more on this in a bit. Again, the researchers pointed to the conflicting methodologies in the existing research literature into the effects of stretching on dynamic sports performance. Are we getting closer to any answers? There is some research which looks specifically at sprinters – now, it’s always a good idea to find research with a very specific population, especially if it’s the one we coach. This research is in Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (2010 Sep;24(9):2280-4. Doi: 101519/JSC.0b013e3181e58dd7) and involved collegiate sprinters. These researchers start by noting the negative effects of static stretching on sprint performance as found by previous research. Now, we find this piece of research a little convoluted. This is because the sprinters static stretched after a dynamic warm-up (yes, after) which included sprint drills. This would somewhat obviously appear to be a retrograde step in terms of prepping for performance. The team then analysed speed segments over 100m sprints. There were two control groups: 1: Dynamic warm-up and static stretching 2: Dynamic warm-up and no static stretching So, did the obvious happen? Yes, (although personally we find the result a little perplexing). “Results revealed a significant slowing in performance with static stretching in the second 20m (20m-40m) of the sprint trials.” What about the remaining 60m of the 100m? Well, no negative effects of the static stretching were discovered. However, the loss of speed in that 20m-40m segment meant the static stretching sprinters’ overall time remained slower as the they could not make up the time lost. We guess the take-home here is that static stretching did negatively effect performance but perhaps not as much as you might think just before a flat-out sprint. Take home message Well, it’s not 100% clear is it? We coaches need to use research and more importantly what we see in training as a guide to how we coach. We believe that some gentle static stretches may be useful at the start of the warm-up. This is especially so for working athletes (athletes with jobs!) who may have spent time driving to their workout and have sat at a desk for most of the day. However, we’d not recommend these be held for more than 15sec-20sec. There is research that indicates it's over 45sec when the more negative effects of static stretching kick-in – but personally we'd not recommend going near that length. A few static stretches if needed and then dynamic stretches should probably be the order of the day before progressing to sprint drills, which by their very nature are ballistic, and then the planned workout
COACHING POINT
IT WOULD BE STRETCHING A POINT (!) TO SAY THAT RESEARCH ABOUT STRETCHING BEFORE DYNAMIC ACTIVITY IS NOT ALWAYS CLEAR
PERHAPS YOU SHOULD YOU STRETCH?
Basic drills could be considered a form of dynamic stretch ...
Robert Snow Redbull Content Poool
SPEED SPECIAL
SPRINT SCIENCE P35 ELITE SPEED COACH JONAS DODOO INTERVIEW P41 PHYSICS OF TOP SPEED DEVELOPMENT P46 ACCELERATION RESEARCH P51
PHOTO SIMON HOWARD Simon Howard Photography
SPRINT SPECIAL DO SPRINTERS NEED BIG MUSCLES? Indoor sprint training macrocycles, increase muscle mass and speed, discovers The Jumper A study in theEuropean Journal of Sports Science Eur J Sport Sci.2019 Sep 26:1-10. doi: 10.1080/17461391.2019.1668063. [Epub ahead of print] looked at a number of training induced outcomes from a macrocyclye of indoor sprint training. The study specifically looked at changes in sprint performance, muscle volumes (MVs) and sprint mechanical parameters (SMPs) in 12 national-level sprinters. The sprinters completed a 5-month indoor sprint-based macrocycle. The sprinters were tested three times during the macrocycle. The tests included: sprint performance over 10m, 40m, 80m, 150m and 300m and an MRI of thighs was also included on the hamstrings and adductors. A 40m sprint using a radar gun was also employed to calculate, for example, theoretical maximal horizontal force, theoretical maximal horizontal velocity, maximal power and index of force application. The researchers discovered improvements in sprint performance of between 4% and 7% after the macrocycle - interestingly in terms of muscle growth it was discovered that there were increases of: 6% in the quadriceps 10% in the hamstrings and 12% in the adductors In terms of the radar gun findings an improvement of 7% was measured. This led the researchers to conclude on the effects of the macrocycle that: " ... after the off-season, moderate hypertrophic changes occur in sprinters. Moreover, the greater increase in hamstrings and adductors, compared with quadriceps, might be related to the prominent role of these muscle groups in sprinting." Additionally, and more generally, it was noted how specific training programmes (no surprise there then!) are the most likely to bring about significant gains in well-trained sprinters.
Long Nguyen/Red Bull Content Pool
" ... after the off-season, moderate hypertrophic changes occur in sprinters. Moreover, the greater increase in hamstrings and adductors, compared with quadriceps, might be related to the prominent role of these muscle groups in sprinting."
LOP-SIDED SPRINTING Asymmetry - having one leg longer than the other or a quicker sprint cycle on the left compared to the right side - does not affect sprint performance or injury risk according to sports science Researchers from the Norwegian Olympic Federation studied injury risk and the sprint performance of good standard male sprinters (pb 10.86 ± 0.2sec) over a two year period. The sprinters performed sprints over 20m, where their technique was evaluated using high speed cameras and they also had their injury history prior and post testing analysed. The Norwegians discovered that half of the 22 sprinters "... displayed large or very large asymmetry for at least 11 of 14 variables, and all athletes displayed large or very large asymmetry for at least three variables." However, this did not seem to affect sprint performance. Additionally, it was found that having an asymmetry did not predispose a sprinter to more injury risk than a more symmetrical one. A look at World Athletics Biomechanics data on the 100m sprints at the 2017 World Championships in London displays this assymetry among the very elite too. "The Norwegians discovered that half of the 22 sprinters "... displayed large or very large asymmetry for at least 11 of 14 variables." (Above) Refs: Scand J Med Sci Sports.2018 Mar;28(3):1001-1008. doi: 10.1111/sms.12953. Epub 2017 Aug 15.<head> Male and female sprinters muscle mass (Right) PLoS One.2019 Nov 5;14(11):e0224862. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0224862. eCollection 2019. MUSCLE MASS & GENDER IN SPRINTERS Spanish researchers set out to compare the muscle mass of male and female sprinters. They considered the muscle volume of the quads, hamstings and adductors. Nine male and eight female national-level sprinters participated in the study and they were also tested for 40m and 80m sprint performance, for example. When the sprinters' muscle volumes were normalised by height and mass, it was discovered that the males had larger hamstrings (13.5%) compared with females, however, quadriceps and adductors showed no statistically significant differences. In terms of speed the men were much faster - by 14% over 40m (average time 6.68sec) and by 15% over 80m. The men also displayed increased sprint mechanical properties, for example, increased power. In regard to muscle mass there was a strong correlation between hamstring and adductor muscle volume and speed between the genders and a moderate one between their quads. The team concluded: "... males were faster than females and showed larger MVs (muscle volumes), especially in hamstrings. Moreover, regarding the thigh muscles, hamstrings MV seems the most related with sprint performance ..."
JONAS DODO IS VERY MUCH THE SCIENTIST SPEED COACH - HE DELVES FULLY INTO THE BIOMECHANICS AS WLL AS THE TACTICS OF SPEED (YES, THE TACTICS) IN ORDER TO PRODUCE FASTER AND FASTER PEFORMANCE. THE JUMPER WAS PRIVILEGED TO SPEND TIME WITH JONAS...
TALKING SPEED WITH JONAS DODOO
We ask Jonas how close he is to having the perfect sprint training programme? “Every year the training programme adapts but I think my training philosophy has been pretty stable for the past two to three. However, I believe my coaching philosophy is always adapting because my athletes keep learning more and I get new athletes and come up against new problems that have to be fixed. And so how I approach those problems has to always evolve. “I need to start with the athletes first before I start to address the (technical) problems so, I have to be athlete-centred from the beginning. But how I approach a puzzle and how I manipulate myself like a chameleon to address a part of the puzzle, I think that is changing every day, every week, every year, because my athletes are changing every day of the week, every year as well.” So, responding to this philosophical answer we ask: are you ahead of the curve when it comes to coaching the very talented sprinters you have worked with? Drawing breath he replies: “I think I am … only because the basics always apply, no matter how fast you are or slow you are, or no matter what event or even sport, the basics are always applicable. “However, for novices or untrained individuals sometimes you just have to get some of it right and then it creates enough of a stimulus to create an adaptation. So, you will find that the faster they (sprinters) get and therefore the more trained they get, you basically have less cards to play … and not just less cards, you need to become much more precise as to how you use those cards. So, it comes down to more and more finite ways to improve performance.” Practically we try to glean more as to what this means: “The faster they (sprinters) get the more precise you have to be, so you have to be ahead of the curve. An athlete might get a bit stronger, a bit more technically efficient – but that’s not good enough, you need to be more creative in how you organise your training. And at the same time because you are trying to be more creative you have to make sure that when chasing weaknesses, you don’t lose the strengths. Often a weakness isn’t opposite to a strength, so sometimes it’s counter-intuitive and by chasing a weakness you may dilute a strength.” Again referencing our own coaching experiences, we know just how tricky this can be. Just how precarious the tightrope walk is between staying on track or falling. Astutely Jonas comments: “You need to be careful that you don’t spoil that athlete and what you have achieved up to that point.” We proceed to probe Jonas’s mind on his technical appreciation by asking: you’re known as a highly technical coach, how did that come about, was that something you took on board naturally? “Yes, I think I always took it on board naturally, it always made sense to me as an athlete, as a person … I always thought how technique and movement efficiency has an effect on performance. However, it took four to six years to experiment enough, to make enough mistakes, to over coach, to come to the right balance between providing instruction and actually creating an environment for self-exploration.” Dan Pfaff's Influence We know how much Jonas believes in Dan Pfaff – one of the sport’s uber coaches – and the man behind numerous Olympic medallists and world beaters including Greg Rutherford. Jonas was mentored by Pfaff when the latter was employed by UKA in the lead up to the 2012 Olympics. Pfaff as noted was coaching Rutherford until the Olympic gold medallist’s retirement from the sport and Dodoo was also heavily involved. “I call him and problem solve, normally more health-related issues but sometimes if there is a technical puzzle to resolve, he’s always a wattsapp away …” So, if Dodoo has Pfaff on webcall who can aspiring sprint and jumps coaches look to for advice, knowledge and inspiration? Jonas replies “I think ALTIS have created a bit of a niche for themselves as a premium of educational material”. “Franz Bosch is pretty inspiring and thought-provoking too …” One step at a time Then the conversation turns to the amount of knowledge that is actually available “I sometimes feel in the light of my consultancy work in team sports and even with track coaches, half the time they feel that they have almost too much knowledge and information in front of them and yet, they feel that they are still left to make decisions that they feel they haven’t been told how to. “I find myself repeatedly summarising the basics for people so that they know what to focus on.” So, we ask: what are these basics and the things you say to other coaches to aid clarity? “I think that people are clear on their philosophy when it’s really simple. So, one of the things that I do in this respect is to distinguish between technique and tactics. When I’m talking about technique in sprinting I’m usually just talking about one step in a sprint and this can apply to any step, be it acceleration, transition or max velocity. And this can also apply to team sports and reference change of direction. Essentially when it comes to this step we are looking at three things: "Projection. Here we are integrating the torso … if you can control your torso then you can control the orientation of your projection. “Reactivity. Reactivity and the ability to create stiffness, with short ground contact times and everything associated with large forces in short amounts of time “Switching. That’s really just limb exchange – the ability to have a reflexive extension that is coupled with a reflection of the opposite limb and then to reverse that action to exchange the limbs “And that’s where I start and finish when it comes to the technique of sprinting. We can talk about the ankle joint – a dorsi-flexed ankle and we can talk about pre-activation of the swing leg in order to really spike the ground contact … we can talk about a lot of things after that but this is where I like to start, to summarise with these three aspects. When we focus on these we start to see the forest for the trees.”
JONAS DODOO
Jonas and mentor Dan Pfaff
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ULTIMATE TIMING
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Physics of Top Speed Development
AUSTRALIAN JUMPS COACH DR NICK HODGSON GIVES US HIS THOUGHTS
SPEED
Long Ngyuen/ Red Bull Content Pool
I’m actually a little hesitant to share this information for two reasons: I think I am sharing some well kept secrets that the top sprints coaches overseas seem to know that maybe I could keep to myself for the advantage of my own athletes! This may differ to some traditions and dogmas that exist in the domestic sprints coaching domain. I have been integrating some of the principles of what I am going to share in my own squad’s development to great benefit and I have already been questioned by others about my approach in two ways: 1: I am asked if I can do speed development with my existing athletes when I already am, so obviously some of the principles that I am applying don’t “look like” sprint training! 2. I have been asked why I get sprinters to do jumps training whereas in my mind they are doing advanced speed training. So, first let me share some basic mathematics of running fast: How fast you are running is determined by two factors: how far each step is divided by how much time each of those steps lasts. (For the physicists: Velocity = metres per second.) Let’s illustrate this with some examples. You take short slow steps – It will take the longest possible time to run say 100m. You take long slow steps – If each step lasts as long as example 1 you will run the 100m in less time. You take short fast steps – your body parts will be moving fast but you may not be covering 100m in the shortest possible time due to inefficiency. You take long fast steps. All the data confirms that this is why Usain Bolt can cover 100m faster than anyone else - he takes less steps but each step has almost the same “rhythm”. WHAT'S NEEDED FOR HIGH SPEED? So, here is the critical question: What are the most important attributes needed to produce high speed? Traditional thinking might say running technique, speed endurance, anaerobic fitness, leg speed – so what the legs, arms, ATP and heart can do. But these are lessor factors - to me by far the greatest factor is the force produced during ground contact - what the feet are doing. There are two components that must be maximised to develop maximal speed: Horizontal acceleration (blue arrow - bottom right image) and vertical displacement (yellow arrow - right bottom). (For the physicists: Force = mass times acceleration.) The optimal combination of acceleration and displacement will determine how long each step lasts and how far each step projects through space. For example: If you have little forward acceleration plus little displacement you will be taking short slow steps. If you have little forwards acceleration plus large displacement you will be nearly running up and down on the spot. If you have good forward acceleration plus little displacement you will be taking fast short steps. If you have good forward acceleration plus ideal displacement you will be taking fast long steps. So, how do we develop the ability to produce large forces against and across the ground in the shortest possible time? In jumping I talk about the four secret ingredients and these apply just as crucially to maximal speed development: 1: Speed: There is no doubt that we need to develop our ability to move our body parts rapidly. To develop acceleration across the ground our feet need to sweep at high velocity. If our arms are to dictate our leg speed they need to be able to pump quickly. As such, our training drills and regimens should be performed with high quality and great biomechanics. 2: Power entails more than strength, power means we can apply high strength at high speeds to produce explosive acceleration and significant displacement. Weights and strength training are vital, however, strategies need to be implemented to ensure that strength is converted to power. 3: Flexibility is needed to minimise injury risk and maximise range of motion for each running step, dynamic elasticity and flexibility are crucial. But it is not just important to be able to touch our toes we need to be able to move our joints through their full range of motion ballistically. 4: Enter the X Factor Spring – I call spring the X- Factor because it is difficult to define what comprises and produces spring. Recoil may be another term to help to define what we are talking about. A combination of the elastic recoil abilities of the connective tissues (tendons and ligaments, even fascia) plus our muscles' abilities to change our body parts direction instantaneously and dynamically (rapid transition between eccentric to concentric actions) would appear to be the critical factors. What this means practically is that sprint training should be immensely similar to jumps training. Maybe I am suggesting that sprinting is more like jumping than running? In other words I am saying that the missing ingredients I am seeing in many local sprint training workouts are the drills and conditioning that progressively increase your ability to produce power and acceleration against the ground. I have spent significant time studying this key ingredient and have put together a range of drills and programmes to maximise this potential. My argument here is that sprinting requires exactly the same four ingredients plus one more - speed endurance. I regard this as the ability to maximise the speed and displacement of each step repeatedly with minimal deceleration throughout the length of the race: The ability to produce optimised steps as many times as required to get to the finish line. Just to add one more “fly in the ointment” I would also argue that speed endurance has more to do with recovery time than trying to run fast over longer distances – but that's food for thought for now... So, when I coach an athlete to optimise their top speed you will now know why their training looks a lot like jumps training and less like traditional sprints training! Dr Nick Hodgson 2015
MY APPROACH TO TRAINING LONG, TRIPLE & SPRINTS
ACCELERATION
ACCELERATION IS CRUCIAL FOR ALL EVENTS. THERE'S MUCH RESEARCH OUT THERE PERTAINING TO WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN'T. Take a look at the video (right) made in association with NEUFF to get an introductory understanding of what works and how to use sleds and harnesses and then consider the following research which shows you just how specific acceleration training can be.
Greek sports scientists considered the effects of resisted (RS) and un-resisted (US) sprint training programmes on acceleration and max velocity. Twenty-two male students participated in the survey and they were assigned equally to an unresisted acceleration training group and a resisted one. The latter towed a 5kg sled. The unassisted group followed a similar overall training programme but without the sled. Specifically the training programme consisted of 4x20m and 4x50m maximal runs. There were 3 sessions a week for 8 weeks. Prior to and after the intervention the sprinters were tested over 50m with their speeds being calculated in 10m segements. Additionally, stride length and stride frequency were evaluated, for example, on the thrid stride during acceleration. So what was discovered? The sled pulling sprinters improved their speed during 0-10m and 10-20m segements of the 50m test. The non sled pulling sprinters' acceleration did not change. Interestingly and showing the specificity of acceleration, sled towing had no benefit during the max velocity phase of the 50m. However, the non sled towing sprinters improved their max velocity over the 20-40m, 40-50m and 20-50m run sections. Simialr specific adaptations were also discovered in regard to stride rate i.e. that sled towing improved acceleration stride rate. And commensurately stride length improved for the non-resisted sprinters during the max velocity phase of the 50m. There's a lot more research on the merits and variations of sled towing - however, this snippet provides a valuable insight, and one which is shared with other research, which is training should be specific to the various phases of the sprint. Ref: J Sports Med Phys Fitness.2005 Sep;45(3):284-90 For more on acceleration see the video above.
SPRINTERS & JUMPERS POWERPACK
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WINNING RECOVERY
ATHLETE TIPS
RECOVERY IS CRUCIAL, HOWEVER IT'S OFTEN NEGLECTED. WE TALK TO TEAM GB DOHA 400H CHRIS MCALISTER WHO RUNS HIS OWN RECOVERY BUSINESS
Recovery can be neglected by athletes, what advice have you got to for better recovery? The fundamental tools for recovery are sleep and nutrition (including hydration) … okay, not ground-breaking news. I think a lot of people look at sleep in terms of hours only - whereas there are things you can do to improve your quality of sleep, such as having a “good sleep environment” (free from distractions) and relaxing your mind and body before you go to bed. Six hours of quality sleep are better than eight bad ones. Staying consistently well fuelled and hydrated too is important - fuelling well for sessions will help you recover better and taking carbs and protein after training is a must. On the whole most athletes know this but crucially they may not have it as part of their daily routine, especially at work - so prep those snacks! Tell us about your business Vantage Recovery. Why do you think there is a need for it? Vantage Recovery was born out of a desire to help out individual elite athletes who often suffer from not having the infrastructure of a major team around them, such as a pro football club or a university. My vision for Vantage is to be a hub and a team for these athletes. The COVID lockdowns and working part-time gave me some time and opportunity to set it up and I’m really excited to get it going. You have a range of recovery options available for use by athletes - are there pros and cons of each? I have invested in some high-tech cold compression machines, these are versatile and can be used on any part of the legs and also the back to reduce inflammation from training or injury. Unfortunately, athletes shouldn't use these cold therapy machines on muscles all the time as they can inhibit strength gains - the science says we should leave ice for when we have injuries or when we need to feel really fresh (e.g. a competition or key session). One pros of these machines is that they can be used without the cold, so by compressing muscles, blood flow increases and helps the recovery process which can help athletes in heavy training blocks. What simple things can athletes do to recover better? Well, athletes can do “active recovery” - this can be anything from a slow jog, a walk, a stretch or even a foam roll. I’ve found that a 30min stretch and quick foam roll really helps my recovery and helps me feel much looser following a big Saturday morning slog. You went to Doha and probably experienced more recovery methods than normal - what was that like? How do you manage now with perhaps less immediate support? I tried out a cryotherapy and a magnesium pool - a very weird dome where you shut the world away for 15min - but in a way I had implemented similar in my routine before Doha in the form of ice baths and Epsom salt baths. I still use them now in my regular routine. However, it was very interesting to try the top-end stuff. Lots of athletes rely on regular physio. I work closely with Tremayne from Elite Movement Clinic and see him once every three weeks or so to stay on top of any issues I have. And I manage best by rolling and stretching areas that I know get tight, which for me are hamstrings, glutes and hips. Tell us about your Doha experience and what your aims are for 2021 I took my personal best down from 50.36sec to 49.18sec over the 2019 season, culminating in 5th place in the semi-final in Doha. The whole year was a truly mad experience, I just got on a roll and didn’t really stop. The experience of going on holding camp, staying with the team, the warm-up area, the stadium and everything around it was truly incredible, I am very lucky to have experienced it and I’m certainly taking nothing for granted in trying to get back to a major champs in future. My aim for 2021 is to keep improving my technique, keep working hard on every aspect of performance and to focus on that Olympic Qualifying mark of 48.90sec. Any advice for athletes training through COVID? For me the social aspect of training is key, so my main advice is don’t let yourself get lonely - training is tough but having a coach or training partner with you for your session can really help you enjoy it more. Try and get outside to train if you can and if you really have to train alone then ring your coach or a teammate before or after - this will encourage or motivate you or even help you laugh off your mistakes.
POWER BOOST POTENTIATION
COMBINING WEIGHTS WITH PLYOMETRICS, FOR EXAMPLE. PRODUCES A HEIGHTENED NEURAL AND FAST TWITCH MOTOR UNIT LEVEL OF EXCITEMENT. THE JUMPER LOOKS INTO THE MECHANICS OF THIS
CONDITIONING PERFORMANCE
What if we were to tell you that you could increase your sprint times and your jump ability and your weight training strength in minutes and that these effects could be career lasting - would you be sceptical or would your thoughts turn to Alberto Salazaar and his “more than too close to the wind training methods”? Well, potentiation is perfectly legal, yet it can “magic” up greater athletic performance. So, what ate the mechanisms behind this? Potentiation or to give it its full name - “Post-Activation Potentiation” (PAP) - requires athletes to perform broadly related conditioning activities so that each stimulates the other, or in reality the neuro-muscular system of the athlete to boost speed, power and strength immediately. Performed repeatedly potentiation will lift these crucial performance variables and improve the athlete. How does potentiation work? Sports science shows that performing related and normally paired activities, such as the weighted back squat and the jump squat will elicit greater power and speed than if the conditioning activities were performed separately – each exercise triggers the other to stimulate the power boost and hits the fast twitch muscle fibre motor units and the neural signalling that triggers them. Try it yourself: if suitably conditioned perform a set of medium to heavy weight back squats, for example, 5-6, then after a minute or so perform, for example, a jump for height from standing (if in a gym to touch a basketball ring, for example). The chances are you will jump higher than if you just warmed-up and then went to jump to touch the basketball ring. It’s interesting to note that the “weights to jumps boost” also works the other way around – so, if you were to perform a set of full power squat jumps before squatting the chances are that your weighted back squat performance would also be lifted. Research further indicates that a similar potentiation regime can stimulate sprint performance. A research review of 47 studies in Sports Medicine looked, for example, at the effects of different conditioning activities on jump, throw and sprint performance. Interestingly the research also factored in recovery (between potentiating activities), the prior strength levels of the subjects involved in the research, the volume and intensity of the conditioning activities and even the depth of squat used. The researchers concluded that: “The PAP effect is small for jump, throw and upper-body ballistic performance activities, and moderate for sprint performance activity.” They added “A larger PAP effect is observed among stronger individuals and those with more experience of resistance training.” Are plyometrics a superior conditioning activity? Research in Journal of Medicine and Physical Fitness looked into whether performing plyometrics as a part of a warm-up could increase 20m and 40m sprint times. Relevantly, 10 collegiate male sprinters took part in the survey. The sprinters performed the sprints under two protocols 1) without plyometrics in warm-up and 2) using loaded jump squats (weight total 11.2kg which was 12.8%-16% of the various sprinters’ body weights). "It was discovered that for condition 2 sprint times were improved over both 20m and 40m." It was discovered that for condition 2 sprint times were improved over both 20m and 40m – without going into the specifics of the statistics this was seen to be a small to medium effect. So, this research backs-up that of the previously quoted review. Similar findings were also made in Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research when using bounding to see whether it potentiated acceleration. The research team did note that “sufficient recovery” needed to be taken between the bounding and the sprint acceleration. More Guidance To provide you with even more guidance for potentiating sprint performance, further research also in Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research which carried out a meta- analysis of 26 other relevant potentiation, plyometics and sprint performance surveys outlined the following recommendations when it came to plyometric choice for sprint potentiation: Duration of applying the potentiation activity: Better after 10 weeks of relevant training and a minimum of 15 sessions. Intensity of programme: High intensity with 80 combined jumps per session Type of plyometrics: Those that emphasise horizontal propulsion were seen to work better than those that emphasised vertical propulsion. Adding weight to plyometrics: No additional benefits . . Similar findings were also made in Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research when using bounding to see whether it potentiated acceleration Potentiation benefits elite athletes It might be thought that potentiation would work best with sub-elite level and not elite athletes as the latter will have well and truly tapped into their athletic potential – however, research in BMC Sports Science Medical Rehabilitation proves otherwise. Ten elite sprinters performed two trials involving plyometrics. The first required them to perform 8 drop jumps and 4x30m sprints and the second 10 maximal for distance two-legged jumps performed 10 seconds before a single drop jump (DJ) and then 30m sprint. The researchers noted: “ … we were able to demonstrate large improvements in DJ performance even in sprint trained elite athletes following a conditioning activity …. This strengthens the hypothesis that plyometric conditioning exercises can induce performance enhancements in elite athletes that are even greater that those observed in recreationally active athletes.” "The researchers concluded that: 'The PAP effect is small for jump, throw and upper-body ballistic performance activities, and moderate for sprint performance activity.'" Body text
CONDITIONING
CAN EMS POWER UP PERFORMANCE?
HOW TO PRE-HAB
DID CHARLIE FRANCIS KNOW MORE THAN WE KNOW NOW? HE WAS USING EMS ON HIS ATHLETES FORTY YEARS AGO. AND THE CANADIAN COACH SAW IT AS A PROVEN AND THIS TIME LEGAL WAY TO BOOST PERFORMANCE. IT SEEMS THAT CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH VINDICATES HIS THOUGHTS AND PRACTICAL APPLICATION. THE JUMPER TAKES A LOOK.
PRE-CONDITIONING OR PRE-HABILITATION IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF JUMPER CONDITIONING. JOHN SHEPHERD WAS ASKED BY NUROKOR MAKERS OF BIOELECTRICAL DEVICES TO EXPLAIN MORE ...
PREHAB
Tell us about pre-habilitation - what does this term mean? Pre-habilitation, or as I like to call it "pre-conditioning", describes "training to train" or rather training to withstand training. Really this means making as sure as you can that your body can best withstand the forces it is subject to when performing your chosen sport. It's something that needs to be done all training year around and not just at the start of training. Why is pre-habilitation so important? Well, as indicated it can reduce injury and therefore improve performance indirectly. Days and weeks lost from training are not good somewhat obviously. I believe that under everyday circumstances and after a prolonged period of prehab training (coupled to a systematic and progressive training plan) that many common injuries can be prehabbed out. Such injuries would include hamstring strains and Achilles problems. What kind of pre-habilitation exercises are good for track and field athletes? Well, there's a whole raft, so I'll just chose three general headers as it were ... firstly, don't just train with exercises that cover the plane of movement of your event. So, the events I coach, sprinting and long jumping are obviously linear, however, the body still has to be able to control lateral and rotational forces. These will occur on foot-strike on the long jump take-off board or on the track, for example. They'll generally only be minute but without proper lateral control, for example, huge unwanted forces will be sent through the knee and ankle which could lead to injury and reduce performance effectiveness. Balance is another key aspect of prehab ... being able to control your body through single leg stance and dynamic stance exercises is another great way to pre-hab. Utilising different muscular actions when doing prehab exercises is a further key theme. Utilising different muscular actions when doing prehab exercises is a further key theme. So, here I am talking about eccentric muscular actions in particular. These are lengthening ones. Most hamstring strains occur when the muscle lengthens and then shortens to arrest the swing phase of the leg during sprinting. If you prehab with specific eccentric exercise - such as leg cycling drills - then you are building up protection against such strains. Hopefully this overview of the themes of prehab will hope you understand what's involved. I will add here that weight training and other resistance exercises can be a form of pre-habilitation - these can strengthen soft tissue and this in itself in valuable for withstanding injury. You can also train your tendons more specifically with certain ranges of movements and with plyometrics done with narrow knee angles on landing. Thus you can utilise specific - let's say more mainstream training modalities - to have more of a prehab role. Any other comment on pre-habilitation - Any negatives? Do people sometimes "get it wrong"? I think that people can forget prehab and just focus on conditioning exercises i.e. the ones that they believe will directly improve performance. They may think that they are wasting valuable training time by focussing on balance and stability drills, for example ... obviously I'd say they weren't and one of the ways to not feel that time is being wasted or that there is not sufficient time in the training week is to do what I do as a coach and include them in the warm-ups and in other parts of standard training sessions. To give an example of the latter we will for example include agility drills, which involve lateral and rotational movements as a full part of a training session. This way you are always prehabbing throughout the training year and hopefully keeping those injuries away. the latter we will for example include agility drills, which involve lateral and rotational movements as full part of a training session. This way you are always prehabbing throughout the training year and hopefully keeping those injuries away. f
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Track Talk is an IGTV series by 400H Sophie Warden in partnership with Neuff Athletic. The series discusses mental health in athletics and Sophie’s personal experiences with mental health whilst also providing tips for coaches and athletes
ATHLETE MENTAL HEALTH
Listen to Sophie talk athlete & coach mental health
COACH & ATHLETE
I want to talk about some helpful things that coaches could look for that may indicate that an athlete needs a little bit of extra mental health support. One in four people will have mental health difficulties every year and athletes aren’t immune. In fact in 2019 34% of elite athletes experienced anxiety or depression*. Research has shown that athletes are more likely to confide in a coach** but often coaches don’t know what signs to look for. It often takes an athlete getting to rock bottom before they have the confidence to come forward and talk to their coach. So, if coaches can notice the early signs and approach their athletes first sometimes they can stop things getting to that really bad point because they've got help earlier. I’ve provided you with some indicators that may help coaches realise that your athlete needs more support. 1.Behaviour Changes As a coach, you get to know your athletes. You develop a relationship. You get to know who's quiet, who's loud, who copes well under pressure, who doesn't, who enjoys banter at the start the session and who puts their earphones in and warms up by themselves. You get to know how each of your athletes behaves and what works for them. So, if you start to notice any particular changes in that behaviour or an athlete’s personality this may be a cause for concern. It could be nothing, but it's always best to just check in with the athlete. Most of the time they may just need to talk to someone about external stressors in their lives and as coaches we can do that. 2.Increased Negative Self-Talk Athletes can be critical of themselves. I know, I certainly am. However, it's something to be aware of as a coach. If you notice an athlete talking about themselves negatively more frequently then this should be a red flag. They may consistently criticise their body, their performance, their ability or even their mindset. If this is getting more and more common, then that's something you need to talk to the athlete about. Look out for phrases like: “I’m useless” “Why do I even try?” “I’m the slow one, I’ll go at the back” and so on. If this happens then see this as an opportunity to talk to your athlete and challenge these thoughts - by doing so you can significantly boost your athlete’s confidence and self-esteem which makes for a happier and stronger athlete. 3. Wearing Clothes That Are Inappropriate To The Weather Conditions In the cold weather of the UK this might not stick out to a coach as a red flag. However, if an athlete is quite obviously too warm or uncomfortable but refuses to take off one of their several layers this could be cause for concern. If an athlete wears baggy layers or refuses to even roll their sleeves up then that could be a sign of either a lack of body confidence, which could be linked to some other mental health issue, such as an eating disorder or body dysmorphia, or just that they don't feel comfortable and confident in their own skin. And it can also be an indicator that they could be self-harming.I t may be they've got scars, or marks that they don't want somebody to see and ask questions about that they may be trying to cover up. Either way, it's a good time to have a conversation with your athlete. Obviously, this needs to be handled delicately, especially with younger athletes where it may be a better idea to talk to the parents. (please follow all child protection guides). 4.Self-Medication And Impaired Judgement You tend to find this more with the older athletes who might get really involved in partying, or risky situations. This can be hard to notice as a coach because a lot of those behaviours are going to happen a way from the track. However, it's important to have a good relationship with your athletes and be able to talk to them about what else is going on in their lives. If you do notice that an athlete is starting to engage in risky behaviours or is using unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as alcohol or drugs, then this is a sign that you should pull them aside for a chat. It’s important with these situations not to make accusations or shame the athlete. It’s better to ask them why they are engaging in those behaviours and if they recognise how destructive they have become. 5.The Athlete Tells You This is quite easily the most obvious and biggest sign, but it's amazing how many coaches miss it. If an athlete comes to you and says: “Can I talk to you?” or “I’ve been feeling really down recently” or “Do you have 5 minutes?” that's them confiding in you. All you should do in that situation is listen and make yourself available. The worst thing you can do when an athlete comes to you and confides is to dismiss them and say “I’ll talk to you about it later, I’m busy right now”. The best thing you do and say is “Let's sit and have a chat. Let's talk. Let me listen to what you mean.” Often as coaches we can feel unequipped to deal with these situations and they can be uncomfortable. Nobody wants to really have that conversation. However, the important thing is whether we want to or not, whether it's uncomfortable or not, that those conversations with our athletes are really really important. If it helps one athlete stay in the sport, stay happy, stay healthy, stay alive then we as coaches have got a responsibility to give them 5 or 10 minutes out of our day to just listen and notice. References *Gouttebarge et al, 2019 **Donovan et al, 2006 Sophie is a third year Sports Coaching & Development student at Edge Hill University currently conducting research on mental health in athletics. are her Check out the rest of the series at @neuffathletic or @sophsprints on Instagram.
COACH & ATHLETE TRIPLE JUMP MEDIA
TEAM GB SPRINTER ASHLEIGH NELSON AND FORMER 400H KERRY DIXON TALK ABOUT THEIR ATHLETE METHOD AND HOW THEY KEEP OTHERS FIT FOR LIFE ON AND OFF TRACK
THE ATHLETE METHOD
Tell us about The Athlete Method. What’s it all about? The Athlete Method is an online fitness platform created to inspire, educate, and bust common fitness myths! Founded by Olympian and Team GB sprinter Ashleigh Nelson and personal trainer and ex 400m hurdler Kerry Dixon. We share our favourite exercises and workout routines, run monthly fitness challenges and run live workouts. What do you as athletes bring to your workouts/sessions? As athletes we bring motivation, strength, fitness, teamwork, and experience of the most effective training methods. Although we train for performance many of the workouts we do are effective to burn fat, build lean muscle, strength, power and speed. We also know how to have fun and work hard! What plans have you got for The Athlete Method? We plan to continue to grow our “Team” (of followers) and we are in the process of designing fitness programmes for release in 2021. And we are exploring the idea of launching a YouTube channel of follow-along workouts. Our workouts are not just designed for athletes, as the type of training we do is beneficial for anyone who wants to get fit, build strength and burn fat. We ran bootcamps in the summer in between lockdowns and would love to run them again in 2021! How have you been coping during lock-down? Have you kept your training going and what tips have you got for other athletes in the same situation? It has not been easy as we all know! Ashleigh is still training for the Tokyo Olympics so many training sessions were adapted to run on the grass in the park and do more bodyweight and resistance workouts at home to maintain strength and speed endurance. We ran a lot of live HIIT, strength and core and glutes targeted workouts live on our Instagram page and teamed up with other personal trainers to collaborate. It really helped the fitness community keep up morale and maintain a fitness routine. For athletes in a similar situation, hopefully their coach will have provided an adapted training routine they can do at home or outdoors for structure - however, the main element which has been lost during lockdown is the social interaction you get from training with a group. So be sure to call, check in, and share your progress withteammates, friends, or family to stay motivated and share encouragement. How can people find out more about you? Do you do 121 as well as group classes? What about on-line??? We have our main @theathletemethod page, but you can also follow our persoal pages. @ashleighnelson shares glimpse of her training, competing for Team GB and curly hair tutorial. @kerrydixon loves to travel and shares snapshots from her adventures. We currently offer on-line 121 training, which you can enquire about through our website, and many of our live workouts are saved on our IGTV channel to be repeated anytime. What exercises would you recommend for improving speed? Any that people could do at home? Our two favourite key exercises would be a burpee and mountain climbers. Burpees are a great whole-body exercise which are extremely intensive and have the potential to develop explosive strength and speed. Mountain climbers work the entire body and offer a hard cardio and strength workout that contributes to improved anaerobic capacity. What are your favourite workouts - track and fitness wise? Ashleigh loves 150m track speed sessions and Kerry's favourite fitness workout is a med ball circuit.
ATHLETES
"The Athlete Method is an online fitness platform created to inspire, educate, and bust common fitness myths!"
"We currently offer on-line 121 training which you can enquire about through our website and many of our live workouts are saved on our IGTV channel to be saved and repeated anytime."
LAST ISSUE we featured Markus Lundborg from what was TRIPLE JUMPERS PODCAST. He's now expanded his event coverage to all track and field events - hence TRACKCAST BY TRIPLE JUMPERS. Up on the channel at the time of publication were interviews with sprinter Tianna Bartloletta, high jumper Morgan Lake and Para athlete Lex Gillette
MORGAN LAKE
LEX GILLETTE
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TIANNA BARTOLETTA
WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE YOUTUBE CHANNELS, INSTA PAGES AND PODCASTS THAT YOU SHOULD BE PAYING ATTENTION TO
"Eccentric training has many benefits for athletes. However, it also causes a great deal of sustained fatigue as well as DOMS."
JUMPS MEDIA WHAT TO WATCH AND LISTEN TO
CHRIS BEARDSLEY SPORTS SCIENECE Chris provides regular sports science posts on his massive Insta page. Trawling the world of sports science he provides snippets of information that will help you understand how to train. We recommend signing up for his weekly newsletter too. ATHLETE YOHAN BLAKE One of the fastest men on the planet has started his own YouTube channel YohanBlakeTV. In a short space of time Yohan has gathered 11k plus subs from around the globe - athletes and coaches no doubt keen to learn some of the secrets of one of the fastest men on the planet. The world class sprinter takes us behind the scenes of his training and provides training tips to help you become a better sprinter. Livetreams and technique analysis are part of his offer. HARRY AKINES-ARYEETEY Team GB sprinter Harry AA is massive on instagram with 198k followers. Checkout his social to be entertained and educated
ATHLETE
PROMOTION
GETTING ON THE RIGHT TRACK TO A US TRACK SCHOLARSHIP
Growing numbers of international student-athletes are seeking higher education opportunities at universities in the US. This comes as no surprise: the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) boasts the world’s most elite college circuit for 18 to 23 year olds, all while allowing them to continue their studies. It's the perfect stepping stone to the professional ranks of track and field, and one that can have very little if any, financial strain on aspiring athletes and their families. You would be hard pushed to find an elite US track athlete who hasn’t been through the college system. One name that does spring to mind is the most decorated track athlete of all time – Allyson Felix. A 17-year-old Felix chose to forgo her offer of a full scholarship to the University of Southern California to turn professional. However, Felix is very much and very far between – if you scour the history books and stats tables, you will see that almost all successful US track athletes have taken advantage of the collegiate system – many becoming NCAA champions before going on to win world and Olympic titles. JUMPERS International jumpers have seen similar success. Cayman Islander Kareem Streete-Thompson had success on the collegiate circuit before going on to become only the second man ever (to Carl Lewis) to surpass 28ft in the long jump and dip under 10sec in the 100m. British 7m jumper Lorraine Ugen also flew out to multiple NCAA titles in her time in the States, with Brit Julian Reid jumping 8m and 17m in the long and triple jump respectively as a college athlete. Canada’s Derek Drouin won multiple titles in the high jump, as did his compatriot Shawn Barber in the pole vault. The driving force behind this success surely has to be the level of competition these athletes are training and competing at. It’s not uncommon for a single college team to have five or six athletes with global senior qualifying standards. Results from the NCAA circuit often far exceed those from major senior continental champs across the globe – such as the European, African and Asian Champs. And of course such as national university championships like that in the UK British University and Colleges (BUCS). Training and competing in the US system lends itself to significant improvement both physically and mentally. Many successful student-athletes have cited how the NCAA system prepared them for major global championships. It follows that constant exposure to cut throat competition will prepare you for the best competition the world has to offer. From experiencing tough selection criteria/standards, to knowing what to expect in a call room, to responding to a huge crowd, to dealing with media appropriately, and to negotiating sponsorship deals and contracts - these are all skills cultivated in the NCAA. When you look at the resources, facilities and environments available to student-athletes, you would be forgiven for thinking that this was a professional system. Paid full-time coaches, on demand physios, doctors, S&C coaches, nutritionists, psychologists – you name it, the College team will have it. Indoor and outdoor tracks, vast S&C facilities, on-campus state of the art medical resources are all at each student's fingertips. And whilst pursuing excellence on the track, athletes are kick-starting their academic careers in the classroom. The term “student-athlete” does what it says on the tin – these young men and women are students first, and satisfactory results in the classroom are a prerequisite for approving athletic team membership and competition. Athletes are well supported in their studies, and the whole system is engineered to allow students to optimise both their athletics and academics: adaptations to timetables are made allowing athletes to train and compete, and extra academic support is on hand to enable focus during important parts of the season. Upon graduation, students are equipped with university-level knowledge and skills, which will be the foundation for any future career. HOW TO GET RECRUITED It sounds perfect. And the fact student-athletes can have all this for free by earning a scholarship surely makes the US move a no-brainer. But earning a scholarship to – and indeed succeeding at – one of these powerhouses is not without difficulty, especially for international students brought up away from the US high school system. Being recruited to a US college is as competitive as the NCAA competition itself, and navigating the complexities of this process can be unrelenting. While a student’s career is in the balance, it’s important to ensure you are well informed on the decision you will make on your future. RightTrack Sports was founded by three former international student-athletes, who recognised the need for support during the recruiting process and college career. To date RightTrack have supported over 80 student-athletes gain admission to some of the top academic and athletic colleges in the US, including Harvard, Princeton, LSU, USC and Michigan. RightTrack works with aspiring student-athletes, empowering them to make well-informed decisions on their athletic and academic careers. In the next issue of The Jumper, RightTrack will share 5 top tips to college recruiting, so you can navigate the journey to your dream school, and advice on how to have a successful collegiate career once you get there.
TRACK & FIELD FOOTBALL RUGBY & MORE RECRUITMENT
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS LOOKING FOR A US SPORTS SCHOLARSHIP THEN CONTACT RIGHTTRACK SPORTS
COACHING IN ZIMBABWE
"MAKE THEM ALWAYS FEEL SPECIAL" THE JUMPER CATCHES UP WITH COACH ATHERTON SQUIRE FROM ZIMBABWE THE COACH HAS TALENT IDENTIFIED AND COACHED SUB 10SEC SPRINTERS, 17M TRIPLE JUMPERS AND 8M PLUS LONG JUMPERS ... AND COACHED ELITE DUATHLETES AND TRIATHLETES!
Below Ngoni Makusha wins 200m at recent Zimbabwe champs
WORLD COACH
How did you get started in coaching? I started coaching athletics in 1988 after I finished my degree in Physical Education at a University in South Africa. I returned to my home in Zimbabwe to teach at Plumtree High school, situated 100km South West of Bulawayo in a small town called Plumtree. I coached and taught at Plumtree for five years and was blessed with some very talented athletes. One of those athletes was Ndabazinhle Mdholngwa who still holds the Zimbabwe men’s Triple Jump record and who came to me at the age of 14. He said that he wanted to go to the Olympics for athletics and we decided together that he should do triple jump as he showed some promise when doing some plyometric drills. Five years later in his last year at school he qualified for the Barcelona Olympics and later that same year won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships Were you an athlete yourself? Yes, when I was at school I ran middle and long distance and later went on to participate in many marathons and have completed the famous Comrades marathon run in South Africa (90kms) on three occasions. Have you always coached the jumping events? Is anyone of them your favourite and why? In Zimbabwe there are a lack of qualified athletics coaches in the schools so as the school coach I had to coach every discipline - but my favourites have been the triple jump and 400m hurdles. What’s athletics like as a sport in Zimbabwe? I am based at a small private primary school in the rural area about 32km west of Harare. Athletics is sadly not a high priority sport anymore but we as coaches have got together and formed a coach’s forum to try and revive the sport to a level it once was. Zimbabwe has had some talented jumpers, is there a reason for this and I believe you are looking to try to hep this talent by getting them to the US .... what do you look for in a jumper. How do you initially see that talent? I believe that many athletes in Zimbabwe are blessed with the ability to do very well in the horizontal jumps but sadly there are a lack of coaches that can give many of these athletes the coaching they need.When I coach athletes for the first time, I give them a light plyometric warm-up and can immediately see if they have the talent to kick on into the jumps. Washington, who I am coaching now after a long absence in coaching at the top level, came to me as a 400m runner and we are now doubling in triple and 400m in these early days to see which way he should go. He has been producing some very good jumps in training thus far. Tell us a little about athletics in Zimbabwe and how important it is .… Athletics I believe can be a way out of poverty for so many athletes but because of poor management, organisation and not many qualified coaches we are not fulfilling our potential as a good athletics nation. Ngoni Makusha (current Zimbabwe men’s 100m and Long Jump record holder) , who I discovered and then passed onto a friend of mine who ran an Academy, went onto compete in two Olypmics for 100m and long jump and just missed out on the bronze medal at his last Olympics. He got a full scholarship to Florida State University. Ngoni became only the fifth athlete to win both the 100m and Long Jump at the NCAA Division 1 Championships in 2011. He is now the head coach at University of California Davis. Ngoni came from a very poor background but with the right opportunities he has achieved much. I have always said that there are at least a thousand Ngonis in Zimbabwe. How has your approach to coaching developed over the years? As I have progressed, I have been far more open to getting a team together to help coach athletes rather than trying to do everything myself. When I started at Plumtree we were very isolated and the internet was not accessible, so I had to do everything but as the world has opened up I have reached out to coaches far more qualified than me for help. I have reached out to for assistance with my latest Athlete. Washington works on the Blueberry farm owned by the school and he came to me at the age of 25 for help in coaching. Unfortunately, Washington does not have the academic qualifications to attend a University in the USA, so all the coaching is going to have to be done locally and this is where I have no problem reaching out to other coaches for help. Are there significant things that you do differently now to in the past? Yes, I approach my coaching with a more scientific angle to make sure that athletes keep injuries to a minimum. It is very easy when coaching athletes from Zimbabwe who come from a poor background to incur injuries because often they have had a lifetime of poor diet and also because they are so desperate for a way out they can easily overtrain. How do people become coaches in Zimbabwe? Are there enough coaches at the clubs? Our association does run IAAF courses but not often enough and there are certainly are not enough coaches in the country to find and nurture the amazing talent we have. Do you work with other coaches? How many times a week approximately do you coach? I am working with Keegan Cooke who owns a Biokinetics lab in Harare and was an athlete himself. He Holds the Zimbabwe decathlon record. He has done a full analysis on Washington and manages to come out to the school to help coach. What advice have you for someone wanting to become a jumps coach? Love your athletes and want the very best for them and they will buy into your programme and will train until the cows come home. Any other athletes/occasions you are proud of? I have been very fortunate to be involved with a few athletes and not only track and field athletes. Brian Chubudu came to the high school I was teaching at in Harare and I coached him for two years in the long jump. Brian went onto Florida State University on a full scholarship and during his time there broke the Canadian men’s long jump record. Brian was born in Canada as his father worked for the Zimbabwe trade mission in Canada. I have also coached a two-time Olympian Triathlete in his early years as well as a world U23 Duathlon champion in his early years. I also coached triathlon whilst in Harare. When one teaches at a school in Zimbabwe you need to be able to coach a variety of sports. Tell us about an aspect of your training, perhaps plyometrics … I do two jump specific plyometric sessions a week both done on the runway trying to replicate parts of the triple jump. I have used this method for all three jumpers that went across to the USA and though it might not work at the elite level it is a good grounding for the younger jumper. As I have worked mostly with younger jumpers and because good weights facilities are not widespread I have not done much weight training with the jumpers I have been involved with and therefore rely more on plyometrics for "strength" conditioning. I also incorporate yoga on a daily basis for strength and flexibility. What are your key 5-6 exercises, for jumpers? 1: I like doing a session of triple jumps off 3 strides – we will do about 15 of these concentrating on incorporating a drill for one part of the 3 jumps using hurdles, markers on the ground etc. We then finish with a 5 jump competition off three strides. 2: Sprinting drills are done before every session of jumping 3: Session of 4 steps and a jump into the pit at the end – we measure every jump and place markers down where each step is so that we can see progression. We put a lot of emphasis on the average distance each session. My athletes love these sessions as they somewhat replicate a competition once a week. 4: Drop Jump off a box then immediately take off landing on a high jump mat in the landing position for triple jump. If you were coaching a young developing long jumper, what are the key things you would focus on? I don’t say I am an elite coach but what I have found coaching youngsters all these years is, treat every athlete as though they were your child and you would be amazed at what they can achieve. I have been coaching a variety of sports for 44 years (basketball, rugby, athletics, triathlon, tennis and cross country) and found that success comes from belief in oneself and that comes from the coach’s belief in the athlete. Make them always feel special. What type of periodisation model do you use, for example, for a training mature long jumper? Because we use a lot of plyometrics I use a short cycle with only 3 hours of training in the fourth week and have found that coming back after that we are seeing huge improvements. Watching the performances in the Diamond League this year after the COVID layoff might just say something for more rest than is usual. What are your plans for the future? My plans are to attract more athletes from the surrounding rural farming areas to join Washington so I can help them get scholarships to the USA. My dream for the future would be travelling around Zimbabwe finding talent and placing those athletes in schools on scholarships and eventually onto the USA. "I don’t say I am an elite coach but what I have found coaching youngsters all these years is, treat every athlete as though they were your child."
COACH
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Great Gifts for Jumpers! All under £30 There are run-up markers and marker tape, for example, for all jump athletes, whilst for vaulters there’s various grip aids, such as Venice Turps (Neuff's own recipe!) and various bungs for poles. Spikes are also in plentiful supply – you'll want to maximise traction and speed on the run-up and you can chose from various steel and ceramic options. Plus , there are some great pre-hab options, such as wobble boards.
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