Triple Jump Club

Hop, step and jump your way to triple jump success!

Triple Jump Training

Train barefeet to get more strength & power for your triple jump!

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Many athletes overlook the importance of doing the foundation work to improve their athletic performance.

For athletes that are triple jumpers, it is important that they maximise the amount of strength and power that they can execute in the runup and in the different phases of the triple jump.

In this post, I will be sharing some insights and tips into strength and development training that will help you develop more strength and power for the triple jump.

Introduce barefoot training routines into your schedule.

You want to develop the intricate muscles that will help you generate more power and speed.

Because athletes typically train in shoes, it is difficult to train these other muscles.

You want to develop the following by introducing barefoot training into your workouts.

  • Ankle flexion
  • Toe strength and power development
  • Achilles development
  • Additional calf muscle strength (lower and upper)
  • Mobility strength

What exercises should you do?

You want to start incorporating progressive load training with weights.

You want to do these barefeet so you can train the more intricate muscles to respond to power demands.

Bulgarian split squat

Take two dumbbells and put one of your legs on a bench.

You will squat down with one leg through the ball of your foot.

You want to explode up with the weight. (Ideally, jumping off the ground and exploding through your toes.)

You want to work with a 10-12 rep max and complete the exercises until failure.

Once you have finished, swap to the other leg.

You will then rest for 60 seconds before repeating the exercise for another 3-5 rounds.

Dumbbell squats

You will hold two dumbbells in your hands and you will squat down to the ground using your normal range of motion.

Look up at a slight angle so that your range of motion is correct and that you squat back into your heels.

It is important that you squat back into your heels.

Do this with a weight that will allow you to reach your 10-12 rep max.

Do this for 3-5 sets with a 1 minute rest in between.

Glute bridges

Have both feet on the floor and use a barbell with resistance weight to push the weight upwards. You should push through your heels and toes, which you should also feel through your calves.

Use your 10-12 rep max.

Conduct for 3-5 sets with a 1 minute rest in between.

Reverse lunge

Barefoot reverse lunges are great.

Get two dumbbells with your 10-12 rep max and lunge backwards with the weight, completing 10-12 of each leg.

When you have finished, you can transition into explosive lunge jumps (vertical) until failure.

Do this for 3-5 sets with 1 minute rest in between.

Plyometrics training on grass

You can do bounding and hopping exercises on grass to help train your more intricate muscles to explode more power.

Skipping

The same can be applied to skipping. Just be careful with hitting yourself with the skipping rope. Wear socks for an added layer of protection.

You want to maximise the amount of time that you spend in the air.

Running

Conduct some short sprints on grass to train your muscles to react explosively.

These should be 20-30m sprints, with the aim being to reach maximum velocity by the end of the distance.

Do these over a 4-6 week period.

Share your improvements in the comments below.

Triple jump drills for high school.

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I thought I’d share a useful post that will focus on the triple jump drills that will improve your performance at school. Typically, school athletes will do last minute preparation. It is best to prepare and condition your body 3 months in advance. However, if you are unable to do so, you can focus on the following.

There are a few muscle groups that need to be strong and explosive for you to execute the triple jump successfully. These muscle groups are:

  • Hip flexors
  • Glutes
  • Calves
  • Abdominals

Improvements in the conditioning of these muscles will see you improve your triple jump performance.

Hip flexor exercises

The power that you will generate to project yourself horizontally will come from your hip flexors. You will need to train them to explode horizontal power. A few exercises that you can do include:

  • Bulgarian split squat with dumbbells. Make sure that you explode upwards in the movement.
  • Hopping exercises (add a hurdle and go for distance)
  • Hip thrusts (add enough resistance weight and focus on pushing with your heels)

Glute exercises

Power from your glutes will help you to jump further. Conduct the following exercises.

  • Explosive Squats with dumbbells
  • Explosive deadlifts
  • Single leg squats with dumbbells
  • Box/hurdle jumps for height

Calve exercises

Do skipping exercises to improve your reaction time off the ground. This will allow you to become faster by executing more power. Aim to do single and double skips 100 times. If you can do triple skips, aim to do them as well.

Conduct these exercises in the lead-up to your competition. Do not do these in the same week as your competition otherwise your body will feel fatigued and you won’t be able to jump as far. Rest at least 3 days before your competition so your body will recover.

Let us know your performance in the comments below.

How to improve triple jump phases.

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It is quite easy to improve your triple jump distance once you have learned how to improve the execution of each phase of the triple jump. However, you must first condition your body to execute each of the phases. Then you must train your mind and your body to have the connection to execute the movement so that you will be able to execute each phase successfully.

In this post, we will provide tips on what you can do to improve each phase of the triple jump so that you can jump further and continue to break your personal best.

The runup.

This is the phase that you need to get right before you even consider attempting a jump. If your foot doesn’t land behind the board, your jump won’t be counted.

Secondly, you need to be reaching a point where you’re about to accelerate into the next phases of the triple jump so you can keep the momentum going throughout each phase of the jump.

You will need to do the following.

  1. Count the number of steps that you will take to accelerate to the board. If you are new to doing triple jump, start with either 5, 7, 9 or 11 steps in your runup. Measure your runup with tape so that you take-off in exactly the same spot every time.
  2. Make sure that the first three steps that you take allow you to drive and maximise your acceleration. These may need to be 3 bounding steps.
  3. From the fourth step onwards, continue to accelerate off every stride until you are ready to take-off.

The hop.

Hop with a rotation so that you can keep the momentum going through and that you will be able to accelerate into the step phase of the jump.

To improve this phase, you will need to practice singular hop movements. Practice first by accelerating horizontally. As you become better, start adding small hurdles to condition your body to jump at an angle that will gain you extra distance.

The step

The step is the bounding phase. You will need to have the strength in your core and your hip flexors to hold this phase well.

Work on your core exercises such as leg raises and holds. And also do bounds for distance whilst holding the phase for as long as possible.

Also do hops (ideally over a hurdle) and go into an immediate bound so that your body will get used to having a quick reaction time off the ground.

The jump phase.

You will need to have a strong core. This will allow you to hold the final phase and the momentum in the third phase of the jump. Practice by doing bounds and then the final phase of the jump into the pit. Hold your hips high and extend your feet in front of you to complete the jump.

Practice these and keep on doing it as a repetition. Conduct this 2-3 times a week. And conduct a triple jump test once every 4 weeks to see how your progression is going.

Do you have any thoughts or questions that you would like to share? Please leave them in the comments below.

How to teach triple jump to beginners.

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Triple jump can be a tricky event to master. And for most people, it is a tricky event to learn since you need to train your body to move in a way that will allow you to maximise your jumping distance. Below, we have provided a few tips that will make it easier for you to learn how to do the triple jump if you are a beginner; once you understand the rules to do triple jump.

Figure out which take-off foot you are most comfortable with.

You will need to run off the board and go into the first phase of your triple jump. To do so, you need to know which take-off foot you are most comfortable with.

Train yourself to do a rotating hop.

You will need to do hops where you can get your heel to touch your glute. This will train your body’s timing in the air.

Practice bounding.

This will allow the athlete to improve their step phase and also their running speed and explosiveness.

Practice hop hop steps.

This will train the athlete to hold the phases of the triple jump so they can jump further. They will also become more powerful and faster, which will allow them to jump further distances when they compete in the triple jump event.

3-5 step triple jump approaches.

The athlete needs to become familiar with the triple jump phases. An approach of 3 to 5 steps should suffice. The focus is to get the athlete to focus on executing each phase successfully.

This should be enough to get started. As the athlete starts to become better in their triple jump development, more drills and exercises can be incorporated to help the athlete perform better.

Simple tip for improving your hop phase for triple jump beginners.

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If you are new to triple jump, there is an 80% chance that you are doing the triple jump hop phase with a straight leg. The good news is, you can pretty much improve your triple jumping distance within 2 weeks simply by training yourself to jump with a rotating leg.

What’s the benefit of jumping with a rotating leg hop?

You will be able to accelerate off the ground. Especially when you decide to execute the step phase of the triple jump.

Secondly, it will force your body to cover more horizontal ground. If you jump with a straight leg, you will force yourself to jump vertically because you won’t want your foot to scrape the ground.

How much extra distance could you gain?

Depending on how quick you take-off from the board and how well you control your speed throughout all of the phases of the jumps, you could gain an extra metre or more in the triple jump.

How can this be implemented?

One of the first things you can focus on is getting your heel to touch your glute when doing a hop on the spot. You can then train your legs to do this motion when you are hopping for distance.

In the video below, you can see a good demonstration of hopping using the leg rotation technique.

Initially, focus on getting the technique right and improving your balance and coordination. Over time, you will start to feel stronger and you will be able to control the movement fairly easily.

You will then need to start doing the technique for distance. You can start with standing hops for distance. Eventually, incorporate 3 stride run-ups, 5 stride run-ups and 7 stride run-ups so you can train yourself to conduct the hops at greater speed.

Make sure you track your progress.

Conduct a test once every 4 weeks to see how your progress is going. You should notice a considerable improvement in your hopping distance.

Triple jump training videos

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We’re lucky to live in an age where we have access to video content that can help us with our training. Below, I’ve shared a few triple jump training videos that you can use to help improve your performance in the triple jump.

I’ve listed the type of training that it entails.

Visualisation.

By visualising the perfect triple jump technique, you will be able to prepare your mind and body mentally before conducting any training.

Here are a few videos that you can use as a visual reference for the type of triple jump technique that you want to execute.
Jonathan Edwards world record in slow motion.

Christian Taylor’s 18.21m in 2015 at the world championships.

Body conditioning through plyometrics.

Bounding

Practice bounding 2-3 times per week. Use the video below as a training reference.

Hops

Use the hops to improve your balance and power.

You can also click here to see more triple jump training drills.

 

Circuit training

This circuit training video is also handy for improving your triple jump performance.

Weights training for strength and power.

There’s a series of videos that show different types of power drills that can be used for triple jump training. You can incorporate them into your gym workout. Remember that you are after quality, not quantity in your workouts. So aim to do as many as you can until you notice any changes in the quality of your technique or you are feeling tired.

Inspiration

I’ve added this top 10 triple jumpers video as well for inspiration so you can be inspired to become better than the best.

And here’s a video that shows how to have fun in the triple jump.

And this one shows the progression one athlete made by doing the triple jump training consistently.


What are the correct triple jump steps?

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It is not the hop, skip and jump.

It is the hop, step and jump.

This is one of the common misconceptions about the triple jump and as a result, the athletes get taught the incorrect technique from the outset.

Hop by running off the take-off board.

Don’t stumble to the triple jump board. Make sure that you hit the board and run off the board. Your leg should naturally hop in a running motion that will set you up for the next phase of your jump.

Accelerate from the hop phase into the step phase.

It’s important that you accelerate into the next phase of your jump. Aim to accelerate off the ground by being explosive when executing the next phase.

Hold the step phase for as long as possible.

Once you get into the step phase, hold the technique for as long as possible to maximise your distance. You then want to accelerate out of the step phase into the jump phase.

Accelerate into the jump phase.

You need to carry your body’s velocity into the final phase of the triple jump. Accelerate off the ground and project yourself as far as possible into the pit.

How important is balance when doing the triple jump?

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When executing the 3 phases of the triple jump, it is mportant to keep your balance if you want to jump great distances. It’s common for triple jumpers to zig-zag their way through the different phases. Or they start their jump from the middle of the runway, but end up on the left or right side of the pit once they have completed their jump.

The athlete loses several valuable centimetres because the force is getting wasted on movements that aren’t projecting them forward. Therefore, it is necessary for the athlete to train themselves to maintain their balance so they minimise their chances of losing momentum.

Here are a few ways the athlete can accomplish this.

Develop a strong core

It’s important to have a strong core, which includes the abdominals and hip flexors. This will prevent the athlete from using other muscles such as the lower back, which can cause movement issues and put the athlete off-balance.

Practice bounding and hopping so that all the force projects forward.

The best way for the athlete to improve is to practice bounding movements. The athlete must train themselves to project their bodu in a straight line; especially when they have to do it at a high speed. The more they improve their control, the greater the distance they will cover.

Practice the arm movements.

In triple jump, you can either use the single arm or double arm movement in the triple jump. This will allow the athlete to maintain their balance throughout each phase of the jump. The coach will need to work with the athlete to identify which technique is better suited for the athlete. The double arm pump is typically the most popular technique out of the two.

Are there any other balancing tips that you think should be here? Let us know in the comments.

Triple jumping tips from the great Jonathan Edwards.

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If you have ambitions to be the best triple jumper that you can possibly be, then you should see the tips and advice provided by the great Jonathan Edwards. Below are a few useful videos.

 

Would you like to read more about Jonathan Edwards triple jump career, progress, training and development? Check out the book ‘A time to jump’ on Amazon.

How to minimise bruising when doing triple jump?

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Something that triple jumpers suffer from when they start jumping greater distances is bruising on the bottom of their feet. It’s unpleasant for the athlete’s performance and aesthetically. The trouble with the bruising is that it is internal and can take a while for the body to repair. When the athlete is competing throughout the season, it’s almost impossible to get rid of the bruising and it creates alot of discomfort for the athlete.

How can bruising be avoided?

Focus on the technical form.

It’s essential that the athlete focuses on executing the technique of the triple jump flawlessly. The athlete tends to slap their foot on the ground instead of timing their landing in each phase to react quickly off the ground. The athlete will usually try to get more distance by aiming to accelerate off the ground. This needs to be done correctly otherwise the athlete can easily bruise their heel.

Practice the hopping and bounding technique at speed.

Executing the triple jump form flawlessly comes down to practice. However, you need to practice the triple jump technique at speed. You can perform hop hop step drills with a 5-7 stride runup and aim to maintain the speed and acceleration throughout each phase.

Do the same practice with bounding. This will allow the athlete to improve their timing off the ground.

Tip – Do the practice on grass.

You want to minimise the chances of bruising. So practice on grass until you are in the final phases of the lead up to a competition.

Train in shoes that have good shock absorption.

You will be doing several bounding movements, which means you need footwear that will protect your heels while you are perfecting your triple jump technique.

Gain an extra metre in the triple jump by holding your step phase for longer.

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How would you like to add more distance to your triple jump distance? One of the things that most people do is they don’t hold their step phase for very long. One of the common things is that people aim to skip in their step phase, instead of holding the form for as long as possible so that they can maximise their horizontal distance.

The other thing is that their body isn’t conditioned to holding the step phase for long. So there are a few things that you need to do in order to 1) condition your body to improve the step phase and 2) hold the phase for longer.

Body conditioning

Quadriceps

You can improve the strength that will allow you to hold your knee drive for longer by doing leg extension exercises at the gym. This will allow you to hold your knee drive for longer.

The second thing that you need to build is the strength so that your body will absorb and rebound from the shock of force in each phase. This will require you to do squat and plyometric exercises.

There are two things that you need to account for when you conduct your training.

Strength

Where your quadriceps can extend and hold a maximum weight for only a few repetitions.

Stamina

Where you do the maximum amount of repetitions with a maximum weight.

Because the triple jump will consist of up to 21 uses of your hip flexors and quadriceps, it is important to improve the strength-endurance (stamina) for your triple jump so that your body doesn’t fatigue by the time you reach the triple jump take-off board or even part of the way through your jumps.

Hip Flexors

It’s incredibly important to maximise the strength and the stamina in your hip flexors, since they are part of the key to your triple jumping success. Fortunately, there are simple ways to improve the strength of your hip flexors for the triple jump.

Lying leg raises

Lie down on the floor and raise your legs straight until it gets to 90 degrees.

Hanging leg raises

Hang onto a horizontal bar and raise your legs until it reaches 90 degrees. Ensure that you incorporate your abdominals and your hip flexors. Don’t swing your body when doing the movement.

Hanging knee raises

Hang from a horizontal bar and raise your knees until it reaches 90 degrees.

Aim of repetitions of 30 with each exercise.

Core strength

It’s important to develop your core strength so that you will maximise your step phase and also prevent your back muscles from being incorporated in the movement. Doing pilates exercises can improve your core strength. Additionally, conducting core strength exercises such as squats and deadlifts will further develop your core strength.

Drills

You will need to practice triple jump drills regularly so that your body becomes stronger and allows you to hold the form of the step phase for longer.

You will need to do the following drills.

Bounding

Do bounding drills where you aim for the maximum horizontal distance. Use a measuring tape and cones so you can keep a benchmark of your progress. It’s important that you maximise your distance whilst keeping your form. Don’t let your form break down when doing the drill.

Hop-hop steps

Aim to do 4 repetitions in concurrent sets. Emphasise extending your step phase. I have shared a video below.

Do you accelerate properly in your triple jump runup?

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The runup is the most important part of your triple jump approach. By the time you hit the board, your body must have accelerated to a point where you can control the velocity through each phase of the triple jump. There are a few things that you must achieve in order for this to happen.

Your runup must be consistent.

You cannot waste your acceleration efforts by stuttering towards the board. You must ensure that you hit the take-off board at full speed with your body in the ideal take-off position.

Therefore, you need to measure your runup so that you know exactly how many steps it will take for you to reach the take-off point.

You can use the information from this post about the triple jump runup.

Each step must allow you to increase your acceleration.

You must be at a point where you are accelerating at the board so you can maintain the velocity throughout the jump. Typically, jumpers will need to use a shorter approach to build and control their acceleration. As the athlete improves their ability to control the velocity throughout the jump and their maximum point of acceleration, they can improve their runup.

Build the acceleration in the first phase of your runup.

The first few steps of your triple jump are the most crucial. You want to make sure that they are powerful and maximise the initial acceleration prior to the point where your body will get into the take-off position. There are a couple of ways to do this.

Static bounding acceleration.

This is where you make the first three steps the most powerful from a stationary position. This will allow you to keep your runup consistent, whilst allowing you to get to your maximum acceleration quicker.

Rolling acceleration

This is where you use your body’s momentum through by adding a few extra steps to increase your acceleration quicker. The issue with this approach is that it can cause you to be inconsistent with your runup. It is usually a more advanced runup technique that triple jumpers can use. If you choose to use this technique, make sure that you always hit your mark and practice your runup so you hit the board every time.

Your running turnover should be at maximum speed by the time you hit the board.

Your body should be in the sprinting position where you are tall and your leg speed rotation is at its maximum. This should allow you to take-off and go into the phases of the triple jump naturally.

Give this a try and let us know how your performance is after implementing these tips.

Improve your triple jump by 1m+ with a rotating hop.

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Improving my hop was probably the best thing that improved my triple jumping distance when I was in my teens. In the beginning, the local coaches taught us that we had to “hop, skip and jump”. Hopping usually meant doing a hop with a straight leg. The thought of having your leg continue in a natural motion for your body’s mechanics doesn’t usually cross anybody’s mind. But if you look at the top triple jumpers, you will see that they all incorporate the hitch kick into their triple jump technique.

How powerful is the rotating hop?

To give you an idea, here is what I was able to accomplish as a youth.

14 years old – 12.65m – No rotating hop.

15 years old – 13.65m – Rotating hop.

16 years old – 14.07m – Rotating hop.

There are a few other factors to consider, such as muscle development and speed. However, I can honestly say that the incorporation of the rotating hop allowed me to extend the distance of my hop and also carry through the velocity through to the next phase of the triple jump.

What happens when you don’t use the rotating hop?

Your velocity slows down.

It is very difficult to accelerate through the phases of the triple jump if you are jumping with a stiff leg.  It is similar to running a race with straight legs vs leg movements in a circular motion.

You’re forced to jump upwards instead of horizontally.

This is important. In triple jump, you need to jump horizontally to maximise your distance. By jumping with a straight leg, you have to jump up to make sure that your foot doesn’t scrape the ground.

How can you improve your triple jump technique with a rotating hop?

It does require practice. There are a few fundamental things that you should aim to achieve when doing a rotating hop.

  1. Keep your toes up.
    This will allow you to perform the movement better.
  2. Aim to bring your heel underneath your glute.
    This will allow you to maximise the horizontal distance.
  3. Accelerate out of the phase.
    You will need your muscles to build strength so that you can control the movement.

Remember, the hop is the most important phase of the triple jump.

If you want to maximise your distance in the triple jump, you must be able to execute a flawless hop so that you can transition to the other phases of the triple jump. The rotating hop will allow you to do this.

Below is a video that you can use to practice the rotating hop to improve your triple jump distance.

You can also check out this post which has triple jump hopping drills that you can practice.

Running through the board in triple jump.

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If you want to maximise the distance that you jump in the triple jump, you must first learn how to project your velocity through the jump. The only way you can accomplish this is by running through the board and maintaining the velocity/speed throughout each phase of the triple jump.

There are a few things that you need to get right in order to set yourself up to run through the board successfully.

Have a take-off position that allows you to run through the board.

This is different to the long-jump take-off. You will find that your body’s take-off position will need to be positioned above the board, unlike the long jump take-off position where the body will be on more of an angle.

Your take-off position must allow you to initiate the hop phase correctly.

The placement of your take-off is crucial for the triple jump phase. So practice your runup so that you hit the board consistently and ensure that your velocity is taking you past the board.

Measure your run-up so that your speed is projected through the board.

You will need to work out what distance will maximise your acceleration at the point of take-off. There are a few aspects to consider.

  1. You must be at maximum speed by the time you hit the board.
  2. Your body must be able to accelerate or maintain its velocity from the point of take-off.

You will need to work out what stride length is ideal. For new triple jumpers, the shorter the stride length, the better. This will allow the athlete to control the velocity/speed through the triple jump phases and it will also ensure that they are at a point where they are still accelerating through the triple jump take-off point.

Avoid jumping upwards.

One of the biggest mistakes new triple jumpers make is that they jump upwards instead of horizontally. When this happens, it forces the athlete to decelerate in the next phases of the jump. This makes the athlete lose several centimetres in distance. So always ensure that you are jumping outwards and not upwards.

Running through the board will allow you to engage the hitch kick more easily.

When you hit the board and project yourself horizontally, your legs will naturally engage in the hitch kick movement. This will allow you to have a more fluid movement when engaging in the different triple jump phases.

Try these tips when during your next triple jump training and let us know how you go.