Bounding is as old as time in track and field. The triple jump has been in existence for around 100 years (in its form from a run-up instead of standing), and coaching manuals have devised creative means to train it for over half a century.
The link between bounding and sprinting is a bit unclear, but it is there. Some sprinters are great at bounding, and there have been equations to link bound and standing triple jumps distances to prospective 100m sprint times. There also exist fantastic sprinters, sub 10-guys, who are terrible at the skill of bounding, yet can light it up on the track. For team sports, some coaches, use the method, some don’t, and both camps still produce fast running athletes.
The way I see it, ultimately if you can bound, you can make tremendous use of elastic energy, and train reflexive qualities heavily which have recruitment, coordination, recovery, and connective tissue strength enhancement capabilities.
The flying 10 meter sprint is a staple in terms of training, and assessing an athletes maximal running velocity, as well as if the cues an athlete is using to try and best their old mark are actually working, or holding them back (the majority will hold them back). As Tony Holler puts it, the 10-meter fly is a good chance for athletes to, on their own, try things each sprint to see if they go faster, and take what works with them. Self-directed learning definitely works best.
A fun twist on the 10-meter fly is a bounding version, which can also have application towards other track and field events, such as triple jump. To do “speed bounds” which I like as a finisher to short sprinting, or, as a warmup for jumping events, is to lay cones out about 2-4 feet longer than an athlete’s sprint stride, and have them “bound” through the course as fast as possible.
This type of work has a tremendous demand on the reflexive systems of the body (something Dan Fichter went into detail on in podcast #93) It also trains the subconscious in a manner that times the arms and legs to preserve velocity something that can be lost when bounds are really drawn out in length. It also serves as a “base” of movement that can be expanded upon by placing the cones a few inches farther apart each week.
For the sake of pure speed transfer, looking for shorter strides, relatively speaking, and for jumping ability, longer strides, seems to be a fair trade. There are many ways coaches can set this up, and if there is no timing system, simply extending out the length of the course to say, 40 meters, and hand timing can be an option.
At the end of the day, finding new opportunities to put challenges on simple existing paradigms is one of the best ways to work the subtleties that allow good athletes to become great, and great athletes to become elite.
If you enjoy this series, and want to see how to put these exercises together in context of a complete program, check out our books and training groups, particularly “Vertical Ignition” and “Legendary Athleticism”. Be a part of the revolutionary training systems that are getting dozens of athletes to lifetime bests in speed, jumping and explosive power!
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