As strength coaches we focus a lot on exercise selection. But exercise execution is just as critical: perform the same exercise differently and you can train two entirely different physical qualities. On last month’s GAINcast with Professor Warren Young we got one great example: how you intrust an athlete to perform a drop jump can lead to drastically different execution.
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Jumps come in all different forms, and so does jump training. By tweaking how we perform jumping movements in training, we can focus on different physical qualities and skills.
For example a standard countermovement jumps or squat jumps are more knee dominant, primarily utilizing power from the quadriceps to extend the knee. Allow athletes to use their arms and they can create more momentum from the shoulders as well. Reactive drop jumps, on the other hand, are more ankle dominant. Top performers have great ankle stiffness that allows them to have shorter ground contact time despite the higher eccentric forces. But what about the hips? The hips play a central role in nearly all athletic movements, but jumps training often neglects the action of the hips and core.
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We often think of explosiveness as just one quality, but the fastest sprinter isn’t always the best bobsledder or long jumper. Explosiveness can be expressed in different ways. Olympic bobsledder Ben Simons is well known on social media for his jumping exploits. On this week’s episode he talks about optimizing your plyometric training, the demands of bobsled training, and much more.
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When it comes to the jumps in track and field, it is hard to beat the track record of coach Jeremy Fischer. Over the last two decades, Fischer has guided numerous world champions and Olympic medalists across the long jump, triple jump, and high jump. On this week’s podcast he breaks down how he puts together a training week, his strength training philosophy for jumping, and much more.
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Jumping is one of the cornerstones of athleticism and plays a central role in the athletic development for early every sport. On this week’s episode we look at introducing jump training to athletes, our progressions, how to make jump training sport-specific, and testing protocols.
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With the spring season nearing an end, many coaches are looking toward summer training. With summer training comes testing as well. Several of the football and rugby players that I coach will be subjected to a battery of fitness tests that include various jumps: depth jump, countermovement jump, squat jump, and single leg jumps.
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Over the last several decades Professor Warren Young has been at the forefront of redefining how coaches test jumping ability, reactive strength, and agility. The tools he developed, such as the reactive strength index, have helped coaches better measure and train the physical abilities needed in their sport. He joins us on this week’s podcast to discuss his career, best practices for assessment, and how to bridge the gap from testing to training design.
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Every month we take a deep dive into the latest research in sports science. In the December edition we start off looking at athlete availability. A new year-long study helps identify key times of year that injury might occur. We also look at the role of perception in the long jump, altitude training, back pain, cortisol response, probiotics, and more.
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Every month we take a deep dive into the latest research in sports science. In the November edition we start off looking at elite coaches. Player development pathways are often discussed, but what are the pathways and processes of elite coaches? After that topic, we dive into some analysis of talent identification in jumping events, within-sport specialization, putting ecological dynamics in practice, the Cirque du Soleil, and more.
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Every month we take a deep dive into the latest research in sports science. In the September edition we start off looking how wind affects sprinter performance. We then look at countermovement jump ability of sprinters, interpreting statistics, cannabidiol, bullsh*t, and more. Read more
