High Jump Training – Speed Video Analysis

Sebastian´s first proper high jumping session in Sognsvann Hall Oslo, since his knee operation 18 months ago. He is 16 and growing towards 1.90m tall. We have trained a lot at Bislett Stadium, running and jumping in a straight line, all pain free. Bislett indoor section was rebuilt 2 years ago with a stupid low roof preventing proper high jumping on the only indoor Mondo surface in Oslo. So we have to high jump in Sognsvann, even though I dislike the floor surface.

High Jump Run Up - Sebastian

Last week we did some run up trials to calculate the best approach for Sebastian, using my Run Up Calculator. I chose an 8 stride approach, 3 straight and 5 on the curve. This will give a larger radius to his curve, keeping the twisting forces on his legs and knees low. I set his take off angle at 35 degrees to avoid any chance of pronation at take off, this will also keep the radius high. With a take off point of 50cm along the bar and 80cm out. I did this to encourage him to jump with speed from the beginning and to give him plenty of room to drive his knee over the bar.

Sorry about the focus on the video, my partner Julia is getting used to the Canon 550D for the first time, standard zoom objective used. The camera is placed at the centre of his curve and filmed in 1080p at 25 frames per second (1 frame is 0.04s). This is a good place to film from as the distance between the camera and the athlete remains the same. The length of curve, which is drawn out in calk on the floor, is 8.43m with a radius of 8.77m. The run up speed was calculated for each jump using the formula:

frames on curve / frames per sec e.g. 33/25 = 1.32 sec running the curve

curve distance / time on curve e.g. 8.43m/1.32 sec = 6.4 m per sec

We recored 17 jumps with run up speeds between 6.2 to 6.8 meters per second. My target for Sebastian is for him to be between 7.0 to 7.5 meters per second.

Below is a video from Tora Harris on his youtube channel, where he shows how the pro´s do it in training. Notice his progression of jumping with speed going from running over the bed to floping. A must see.

About Simon Hunt

As a professional for over 15 years with a strong academic background, Simon has developed dynamic style of personal training. Effective, functional training routines, tailored towards your personal health and fitness goals are what he loves to work towards. This style of training is based around a wealth of experience that includes, working with numerous World and Olympic athletes, developing Norwegian sport champions, preventing heart problems and other diseases through exercise as a medicine, as well as countless private clients. www.sihunt.wordpress,com www.youtube.com/user/SiHunt As professional athlete and personal trainer, i have over 24 years experience in athletics where my expertise lie in the jump events and sprints. I also have knowledge of basketball and gymnastics. I have 15 years experience working as personal trainer 6 of which as an exercise physiologist training heart patients, ranging from angina to transplant, as well as many other specialised conditions i.e. diabetics etc.

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