So I’ve been sent back to school; triple jump school. I can’t say that I ever really left Triple Jump School since I’m constantly learning, tweaking and attempting to perfect different aspects of my craft. Actually, even if I jumped this far, I’d still be back in the “classroom” the following Monday or Tuesday (after a bit of celebrating of course).

Given the recent issue with my arms being out of sync like I mentioned in my last post, I am going to try and revamp my technique in the hop phase. The main goals are the same (maintain speed, hop far and be patient) but instead of literally running off of the board and using a single arm take off, I’m going to try a double arm hop. To be fair, it’s probably somewhere between a single arm and double arm take off but either way, it’s very different than what I’m used to. There are probably just as many “single-arm hoppers” as double-arm at the international level but in my case it will allow me to make use of my left arm in the second phase rather than having it tucked like I have been doing since I switched to a single arm hop way back in my sophomore year at Harvard.

Yesterday was the first time we’ve done short approach jumps with spikes on in a little while and it was also the perfect time to start perfecting the new technique. When I hit it right, it felt great and other times it felt like it was my first time really working at it.

Both jumps are about the same distance even though my 2nd phase on the 2nd jump isn’t as patient as it was on the 1st. I definitely had more speed on the jump phase though which is what made up for the weak step phase.

Given how things went yesterday, I’m really looking forward to giving things a go from a full approach.

Usually after about a couple months of training my coach has our training group do some jump testing. You’ve heard this before since my blog is a little over a year old at this point and I wrote about my November jump tests last year. Just like last year, I did my first jump test of the year in my good ol’ Nike Structure Triaxes; although I might have been in some Equalons last year. We also added an additional test this time around: 3 hops-1 step. If you’re looking to try some of these tests make sure that you’re ending up on whichever leg you usually end up on for your jump phases (although you you can’t avoid ending up on the opposite leg with the 4 hops). I’ve been working on some specific things and just as you might imagine, all of my tests were better…except for one. A good bit better.

In all fairness though, this time around I took a tiny “half-step” (rather than my usual 4 stride walk up) into my short 6 step approach so maybe that resulted in the improvements. I’d like to think that’s pretty unlikely though! I just want to get a consistent feel for things and since I now walk into my full approach, why not add a tiny step to this one? I also had a weight room session immediately before the tests this time around, but the weights were relatively light since this is something of a recovery week for me. In any case, the results were very encouraging but watching the video allowed me to see just how much work I have to get to where I need to be. Let’s just say that it’s a lot. I’ll let the videos do the talking though and if you’re interested in a side by side comparison of this year’s results and last year’s results check just below the final clip. Also, check the video title for a description of the drill.

__________________________________________________

November ’09 Results → December ’10 Results

I haven’t gotten to do jump testing just yet but I figured I’d share some results from the couple of tests that I did with the George Mason team a couple of weeks back. Besides, better to share them now before they’re too old and no longer relevant. It’s always fun to test though, even if you’re doing it just for the heck of it like I was. Analyzing these test results is pretty difficult for me since I’m not sure what they mean exactly for my jumping, if anything, but I think it’s at least confirmation that my explosiveness is where it should be. I’ll also be able to gauge how things are progressing throughout the season (assuming I do these tests again). If possible, I might jump into the team’s 30 meter dash test tomorrow before heading back to NY though and that’s one test that is definitely pretty easy to interpret.

Workouts have been on point since these tests. Here’s a quick video of some box drills and bounds (with the weight vest) from lastweek. This was our 2nd day on the boxes this season:

Making deposits; that’s pretty much what I’m doing from now until next August…making deposits. Each practice I complete is considered a deposit made into my Daegu 2011 Bank so that over the course of the next 308 days I am consistently adding to my repertoire and strengthening my weaknesses. I plan on showing up in South Korea ready to make it happen and just let my investments pay dividends. Admittedly, it is a tad bit early to be preaching about Daegu and the 2011 World Championships even though I’m thinking about it, so for now I’ll just let you know how my first couple weeks of practice went.

As I’m sure is the case with everybody else who is getting back into their groove right about now, the first couple weeks are pretty painful. This year, my coach and I set our starting point a good bit higher than last year so by Thursday of the first week even walking was painful. That’s probably due in no small part to the fact that my workouts on most Wednesdays in this part of the season consist of a full weight room session followed by by sled/tire pulls and then some nice, long 100m hills; lots of them. That said, this past week wasn’t nearly as bad and I’m glad my body got hip to the game pretty quickly. I do have one more workout tomorrow though but I’m feeling great going into it.

Without boring you with the details, I’m working in 3 week cycles for now (two weeks hard; one week “down,” but not really “down” if you know what I mean). Each week, I have 3 weight room sessions, two running sessions and two jumping/bounding sessions. Sprinkled in there are some body weight circuits, tire pulls, plyo circuits and hurdle/hip mobility among other things. We won’t get on the runway for a bit but each day I feel myself getting stronger and more prepared to make the most of the coming runway work. Believe it or not, because of that feeling of daily progress I actually enjoy the struggle that goes along with fall training; or any training for that matter. It’s also a blessing to be able to devote myself fully to the triple jump for a bit as it means that I am able to do the little things as far as training AND recovery are concerned.

Since my last time out down in Puerto Rico a couple weeks ago I’ve been training hard for what is shaping up to be my season finale at the Diamond League final in Brussels, Belgium on August 27th. Don’t get me wrong, if other opportunities present themselves while I’m overseas I’ll definitely consider competing at those meets too. It’d also be nice to represent the Americas at the IAAF Continental Cup the first week of September but according to the IAAF site the deadline for team selection (using the top two marks on the performance list) was July 31st, so that doesn’t seem very likely.

In any case, we spent a good amount of time in the weight room last week including a couple of days where I got to go push my max up a bit in the hang clean and hang snatch. My coach and I are fully aware that I need approach/rhythm work perhaps more than anything at this point, but we always like getting some quality time in the weight room during the summer since such lifting opportunities are few and far between when I’m overseas or away at any meet for that matter. Besides, I got some good runway work and a speed session in between the days where I was pumping iron so it’s all good. After a couple of much needed rest days thanks to last week’s volume, it was back to work on the runway yesterday; still working on strength though as  I got to bring out an old friend: my weight vest.

I’ve been trying to sharpen my Windows Movie Maker skills just for the heck of it (and because it’s fun…when it’s not frustrating) and also so I could avoid posting a whole bunch of separate videos. Check out the masterpiece I came up with. The two weight room maxes are on separate days; two days apart to be exact and for those who were wondering.

I probably shouldn’t invest in a copy of Final Cut Pro yet though huh?

But, my strength continues to improve and at this point I’ve hit the lifting goals I set out for the season. At the same time, I actually think my speed has continued to improve through this point in the season as well. That said, the only thing left to do then is end the 2010 campaign with a bang and of course there’s no mystery as to what’s held me back on the runway thus far. Fortunately for me I’ve got at least one more opportunity and Brussels is as good a place as any to get it right; especially considering the fact that the 47,000 seat stadium is sold out!

In the mean and in between I’ll keep training hard although there will be a bit of a taper in the volume and intensity as the 27th approaches. I’ve also been really appreciative of the free time I’ve had in between training sessions since it means I get to let my brain rot a bit with computer games (StarCraft II), movies, television and now Madden since it came out yesterday. I’ve been knocking some things off of my leisure reading list too though so it’s not all bad. Still, I’m ready for football season to get here like everybody else.

I did say I would try blogging more frequently with this extra time that I have now, so I suppose this is the start. I’ll try and mix things up a bit though since I’m sure hearing about just my training and competitions could get old. Be on the look out for some movie reviews as I try to put on the movie critic hat especially since I watch so many of ‘em. I’ll also probably get some World Cup commentary up (soccer/football was my first sport after all).

After last weekend’s meet I came into this week’s training with the mindset that it would be a fresh start of sorts. To be honest, I’m mostly satisfied with my season thus far anyways, especially considering that I’ve only competed 3 times,  but I wanted to focus on perfecting those things that have been holding me back. My goal was to begin that process in with week’s jump practice.

Of course, we started the practice with plenty of approaches. I didn’t tape them because I wanted to focus on getting the same internal rhythm down on every approach and in every practice without the assistance of the camera, so you’ll have to take my word on the fact that they were pretty good and certainly better than before. My problem arises in competition settings, but I was at least able to focus on not even thinking or peeking at the board and maintaining my speed by driving the whole way down.

We wrapped up the practice with 4 short approach jumps at near maximum intensity, followed by some plyometric exercises with additional weight. Here are jumps 1 and 3 of my series with the second one (jump 3) being the best of the 4. The patience in the first two phases of jump 3 aren’t bad at all and I’ll take it for a short approach. I feel as if the extension on my landing wasn’t what it usually is though and I didn’t have enough height in the jump phase. Lastly, I didn’t have nearly as much speed after 2 phases on the third jump as I did on the first one which probably cost me a good bit as far as distance is concerned.

It’s been a few weeks since my last blog post but considering that I’ve got a bit more free time thanks to my graduating last month I’ll try and blog a bit more regularly. In any case, this weekend’s Adidas Grand Prix will only be my 3rd meet of the season but it’ll also be my Diamond League debut and I’m looking forward to it for that reason (among others of course). I also consider the meet to be a homecoming of sorts since it’s being hosted in NY which means that my family and friends there can actually come watch me compete which is a rarer occurrence than I’d like thanks to most of my meets being overseas or on the other side of the country. Needless to say, I’m anxious to get back on the runway and back in competition…a meet schedule this spread out is new to me; although I must admit that I’ve gotten some quality training sessions in as a result

Considering that I’ve gotten some really good jumping work in the last couple of weeks, including a short approach personal best of 16.41m from 12 strides (which I plan on pushing out to 16.65m+ in the coming weeks), this week and part of last week have been about speed and sprinting mechanics. We’ve also gone from 3 to 2 lifting sessions for the past couple weeks. Here’s the end of the power clean portion of my workout from Monday:

I’ve never “cleaned” that much before (301 lbs/136 kg) although my goal from the fall was to hang clean that weight so I’ll be checking that off of my list next. Before the rep above I did 5 reps @ 85%, 4 @ 90%, 3 @ 95% and 2 @ 100%. And yea I definitely need to learn how to get my elbows all the way through and catch the weight in a front squat position, but considering that I’m a triple jumper and not an olympic lifter I suppose the catch isn’t quite as important as the rest of the lift (for now). Anyways, as you can imagine, I’m feeling pretty explosive and at the meet I’ll just be focusing on my approach and speed through the board like I’ve been trying to do in just about every meet since indoors because the rest of the jump tends to take care of itself after that. Like I’ve said before, the whole running down the runway and through the board thing is much easier said than done. But I suppose I can’t expect it to come too easily since it IS the key to jumping far after all.

As far as the meet is concerned, I fly up to NY on Friday and compete Saturday evening at 5PM. I keep telling people that I would have been fine with taking the bus or train from DC straight into Midtown Manhattan as opposed to flying to Queens and then dealing with the hassle of getting from there to the hotel but hey, at least transportation is taken care of so it won’ t be as much of a hassle as usual. Besides, “beggars can’t be choosers.” If you’re in the States, the meet will be live on NBC from 4PM to 6PM and believe it or not I actually think they’ll show a good amount of triple jumping, if the coverage of other Diamond League meets to this point is any indication. There are also plenty of ways to watch the meet live on the internet if you’re outside of the U.S. In any case, regardless of how much triple jumping they do or don’t show, the meet will be worth catching if you’re a fan of track and field at all considering the start lists for all of the events have some pretty amazing fields.

Since they’re having the high jump this weekend I’m also looking to catch up with a friend of mine, fellow Longhorn jumper Andra Manson, whom I haven’t seen since World Outdoors in Berlin. Of course I can’t forget the other Longhorns I know that’ll be there on Saturday (Jacob Hernandez, Leo Manzano, Michelle Carter) or my Haitian teammate Mo Joseph who will be running the 800. Sad to say, Mo is a Gator and not a Longhorn AND I’ll be the only Crimson at the meet.

Viktor Saneyev competed for the former Soviet Union in the triple jump from the 1960s all the way into the 1980s. He won 3 straight Olympic titles and grabbed a silver in his 4th Olympic Games in Moscow (1980). Along the way he was of course a several time European champion and also managed to set the world record a few times as well. Much of what my training partners and I do in training is somehow patterned after the methods of Eastern European jumpers of the past, like Saneyev; minus the probable chemical enhancements of course! As it turns out, Saneyev did some of the same jump testing exercises that my coach has us do a couple times a year and my coach is actually privy to some of his results.

Given my own results from last spring and this past fall (November ’09 results), I already had a distance that I wanted to hit on each test in mind. All in all, Wednesday ended up being a pretty good day in the office and I set personal bests in 3 out of 4 tests, with a couple of them being pretty significant. All of my previous personal bests were set last year around this time. With that said, I wasn’t able to reach the benchmark that I had set for myself: 75 feet. On a couple of attempts I should have been out over 76 feet but collapsed on a hop or wasn’t patient enough in the jump phase. Throughout the workout though, not only did I learn how to jump 75 feet the next time around, but I also learned that on the 4 hop test in particular, my coach had only seen two other people approach or surpass the 75 foot barrier (of course he could have been saying that just to help my confidence – mission accomplished): Viktor Saneyev and himself. I’ve gotten to see videos of Saneyev jump but haven’t had the pleasure of seeing my coach, Emmanuel “Skeeter” Jackson do his thing. From all of the stories I’ve heard from others though; I always imagine how much of a beast he was.

In any case, like my coach said, any of Saneyev’s achievements is something worth aspiring to. So I plan on first checking the 75 foot jump test mark off of my list (on all 4 tests)…perhaps I’ll just skip 75′ and go straight to 76′ though. I definitely feel like it’s possible. For now, here’s where I at the moment:

__________________________________________________

April ’10 Jump Test Results

I started “phase two” of my training on October 19^th. Phase 1, which happened to be the first four weeks of training for me, went by quickly and it was great. I felt amazing, minus a couple days of lower back pain before checking in with my chiropractor. The first phase consisted primarily of a high volume of lifting: 4 or 5 sets of 10 or 12 reps for each exercise, as well as the most running volume I’ll get all year. That’s not to say that I won’t run going forward, but I will most likely be running with a sled attached to me or uphill for the most part. Fun, right?

Also, If you know me, you’ll know that I take my lifting seriously. My big weight room goals for this year are to hang clean 300 lbs and hang snatch 200 lbs. I think that these lifts are a good indicator of how explosive I’ll be on the track/runway and good lifting sessions prior to a meet tend to = good meet results for me. Considering how the last four weeks went in the weight room, I don’t think I’ll have a problem hitting those numbers.

I’ve also been doing some light bounding here and there and in spite of the fact that I felt flat for the first week or two things, have picked up very quickly and my body is starting to get back to where it was last season. The triple jump is definitely like riding a bike and I’m fortunate for that since it means I can pretty much pick up where I left off in terms of training and even speed work although I haven’t even looked at my sprint or jumping spikes since starting up. I’m ready to take on more in this next phase of practice though, so onward and upward!