Thursday, December 07, 2006

IPPT - Part 2 the Standing Broad Jump (Part 2)

Previouisy we looked at technique. But not we are starting to look at training. In this part we will need to check what kind of guy you are. Are you "bouncy" or "stiff". This will determine your training focus when you choose the kind of training you are going to do. A general test used to determine which kind of guy you are is to do the following.

First measure your vertical jump. Start standing sideways against a wall. then do the same as broad jump technique. Hands up, tiptoe, throw them down as you descend into half squat. Then explode up. Use chalk on a fignertip to mark your starting position and touch the wall at the top of yr jump. Measure the distance between the 2 chalk marks.

Second, measure your depth jump height. same thing except that now you start on a 30cm tall box. You drop (not jump) off and then IMMEDIATELY jump as high as you can. once again taking note of the height to which you jumped. This makes use of your spriniginess to absorb energy and use your body's stretch shortening cycle to reapply that force.

So now you have 2 stats. Normal jump height, and depth jump height. I am going to give a simplistic interpretation of your results.

If your regular jump is better than your box jump, you are stiff and need to train more explosive and plyometric things.

If your box jump is better than your regular jump, you are bouncy but not strong, you need to train more pure strength.

If your two jumps are pretty close (within 10-20%) train some of everything

If your jumps are poor (40cm or less) and you have finished puberty, you are weak for your bodyweight and should probably lose fat (if you are) and train in an overall total body manner. There isnt much point training technique when there is no foundation.

In the next section I will show some exercises for both the springy guy and the stiff guys. BTW stiff is just a word i use to describe the athelte. Its neither good nor bad and some of it is even genetic. Its best to be both super strong(stiff) and super springy which is what you will be when you train up your weaknesses. Personally I am geared toward strong and not springy. So for me, springy training takes precedence in my training.

BTW take the test 3 times each with 3 mins rest between attempts to make sure you get consistent results.

Goal for next year 100m sprint- training starts now

I have probably mentioned before, i have a goal for next year. to run the 100m sprint in less than 11 seconds. I am adding 1 tempo run day and one sprint start day to my training week. I feel I have the starting power to get that timing. I need the speed endurance and efficiency in my technique to run the remaining 60m or so after the acceleration peroid. I have no coach, only video and book resources. I will probably video myself and let some top track coaches take a look online and ask for their advice.

So far (past 2 months of training) i feel my start angle has improved (I'm taking off lower than 45 degres to the ground) and i think my first 6 steps are faster. This is quite a new goal for me so it will be interesting!

Maintainable leanesss for former fat boys

Not bad! abs still visible haha

This is a picture of me as of december 2006. This is a bodyfat percentage i can maintain forever with just normal eating (4 healthy meals, 2 shakes) everyday. I believe i can go leaner if I ate slightly cleaner but currently I will be training quite hard so this level of fat is ok for me. Its not as lean as my velocity diet days. But I am certainly stronger (and about 4kg heavier than the end of the velocity diet). This is the leanest non-diet condition i have ever been in. I feel really fast and bouncy on the track, field and court.

Remember I'm a former tubby so it is possible to stay lean forever even for us fatties. What has helped me is not eating outside food at all during my lunch break. I marinade chicken in large amounts and bring uncooked meat to my office pantry. I wrap it in aluminium foil and put it into the toaster there. 10 mins on high heat is perfect for chicken! The overnight seasoning in the marinade makes it taste good! Self cooking is the best way.