Want to jump higher off of one leg? Grab your running shoes, head to the track, get a stopwatch, and start running 150-400m intervals. Have I gone mad? Maybe.
Or maybe not.
As we covered in part I of this series, elastic strength is a big deal when it comes to running jumps, and the best way to get that strength is through the exposure and repetition of repeated movements that are biomechanically similar to a one or two leg leap at high speeds.
Nearly every athlete I have coached in the jumping arena has accomplished more when I incorporated some sort of long sprint work in their training. On the flip-side there is one recipe for elastic disaster in the world of track and field, and the theory behind the recipe is applicable to all sports.
The “disaster” is this: a kid who did two or three sports in high school and only does track in college. The athlete gets to college and can’t run much (or just doesn’t) when they gets there, typically because of lower leg issues that arise from running in only one direction, (usually from dorsiflexion limitations…. something they likely picked up from lots of team sport play and little coaching in how to run properly). Either this, or the coach doesn’t push running much, and doesn’t have a solid way to make up the elastic repetition.
Team sport play is vital to get solid accelerations and decelerations in, as well as tons of short contact plyometrics in multiple directions. Losing these benefits after one departs from consistent play will hurt any athlete in the elastic realm
These athletes have always underachieved for me in the jumps without exception. Their numbers always go up in the weight room… that’s easy. Their biggest problem always shows up in full run competition jumps and other reactive measures. They just don’t have the stiffness and high speed strength to handle the full jump process. To be honest, the best elastic work they got was playing the intermural basketball games they weren’t supposed to be participating in.
Long sprinting and repeated jumping style work has big benefits for reactive strength. The first article in this series gave an overview and introduction of the fact that this type of training can be useful for building up a one leg jump. The middle two articles in this series will tell you why. We will start with the concept of “drive”.
Building Drive
As mentioned in part I, long sprints don’t help a one leg jumper because they build some sort of “fitness base”. Long sprints help a jumper because they give them massive amounts of exposure to absorbing force through the hip and lower leg. This happens at a similar speed to what is encountered in their takeoff. It also gives them this exposure in terms of force being transferred from the heel to the big toe with each stride.
“Drive” is the ability of an athlete to explode through the hips and ankles. Technically speaking, it is the strength found in the last 1/4 range of a squat position, but in a dynamic environment. Having a big deep squat is not related to drive, and in many cases, can detract from it.
To jump off of one leg well, an athlete must be strong unilaterally in a rigid leg stance. No, doing 4” box step ups with 500lbs is NOT a good way to do this, as the muscle tendon complex will be scratching it’s head on how to coordinate…. and your spine might be inquiring what is going on as well.
The best of the best high jumpers have an extreme ability to drive through the hip and foot off of a rigid takeoff leg. This…and their build don’t make them big deep squatters, but this is for a reason
Developing the ability to drive takes repetition, just like any other skill. And guess what? If you don’t keep practicing it, you will lose it. A good way to get strong through the hip and ankle is to provide an athlete repeated exposure in that particular position with a reasonable amount of force.
Of all the joints that take a beating in a single leg jump, the ankle takes the cake. When you sprain your ankle, jumping off of one leg is going to be one of the last things you’ll be able to do on your road to recovery. In any activity, the shorter the ground contact time, the more the ankle and Achilles tendon is going to be a big deal. Nobody blows out their Achilles on the seated leg curl at the YMCA…. not even with 5x45lb plates and your friend sitting on the bar.
To build ankle/tendon strength, a good amount of repetitions in the short-contact range is required. Long sprints are a pretty easy way to accomplish this. Plyos are even better (but watch the volume), and even distance running can offer a form of improving stiffness. This is one of the reasons that I like easy trail running on “off-days” for jumpers, as the uneven surface adds an extra challenge for the foot and lower leg.
Exhibit A: Runner’s Calves. A nice muscle-tendon balance.
With that said, let’s get to some other reasons that long sprinting can be a great method to train jumpers.
Rhythm and Relaxation
Long sprints are a great way to teach economical movement and relaxation. In order to make it through a long sprint workout without overwhelming fatigue, athletes need to learn to run relaxed. Performing 1000m or more worth of sprinting in a session will force the body to learn to move in an economical manner. This exposure to relaxation crosses over well to full speed sprinting and jumping in terms of firing the right muscles at the right time and not having antagonists trying to contact when they shouldn’t be.
So with what we have so far, I’ll offer a quick summary:
- Long sprints and team sport play offer a significant volume of elastic repetition which helps maintain the reactive aspect of athleticism.
- Long sprints and quick contact plyos help to build the neuromuscular function of “drive”, or ability to explosively extend off of the hips and ankles.
- Long sprints improve the ability to relax and make movement more efficient.
I have one more article highlighting the benefits of this type of work before we jump into the practical applications of this method of training. Stay tuned!
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