Long jump -- waterfall approach

This video nicely depicts the waterfall approach for the long jump. Note that the athlete begins with both feet together and that his first step is with his jump leg. The athlete goes to his toes, leans forward and catches himself and begins his acceleration phase of the approach. The waterfall approach is designed to accomplish two things: 1) standardize the length of the first step and, 2) put the athlete in the correct acceleration posture. Both of these things are designed to increase the likelihood that the athlete is on the board with correct posture and speed.

This video also depicts the last few steps of the long jump allowing one to see the penultimate step in slow motion. This athlete is utilizing a modified hang-technique for landing which I sometimes call a 'hitch-hang' as it's not a true hang nor a true hitch kick.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• long jump
• waterfall approach
• approach
• track and field
• plyometrics
• landing
• penultimate step

[Airickson]

@gordysuggs Generally it comes down to how efficiently you can transfer your speed on the runway to your take-off. Since you have to brake a little bit in order to make your body go up when you just, the quicker and more efficiently this occurs, the farther you will jump. The two 'bread and butter' drills for doing this are the toe-toe-toe-flat-flat video that I've posted and also the run-paw-run videos.

The purpose of the waterfall is just to make the first few steps more consistent.

[gordysuggs]

i dont begin with both feet together i take a step forward with my jump foot then step back and lift my left heel and start with three long strides then begin to accelerate and bring my body to an more upright position ive been jumping 20-21 feet in my first couple weeks of practice when i land right but i have a habit of leaving my arms behind me is there any advice you can give to me im aiming on 22+ feet for this year but i know i can go way farther with better technique