Triple Jump Club

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

triple jump training

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.