TAC COMBINE - STANDING + RUNNING VERTICAL LEAP

So far we've covered the 20m Sprint, Yo Yo and Agility tests with today being the final installment of the TAC Combine series.

FIND YOUR ECCENTRIC DEPTH/SPEED

For the standing vertical leap you are to stand, dip and explode up with no other foot movements.

The eccentric, or lowering portion of the jump, is what sets up your concentric, upward phase so it's a good idea to practice different eccentric heights and speed to see what fits you right now., hence the deeper dip.

For example if you are a strength jumper then you'll typically require a slightly deeper eccentric then a speed jumper, as you want to use the great force you can produce, but this takes more time to produce (not an issue in this test).

As we have no time to determine what type of jumper you are, then practicing to see what feels best and also what seems to provide more better and consistent results is a good thing to do in the next few days.

PRACTICE RUNNING JUMP TECHNIQUE

Like the sprint, it's surprising how many people use the backwards method of reaching with the hand of the foot you jump off which I couldn't do on purpose if I tried.

I'm not sure what goes in the brain when people do this but you're robbing yourself of precious cms that's for sure.

It may seem similar for going for a mark but it's not so you will need to practice and make sure you nail down reaching with the opposite hand of the leg you jump with so left leg/right hand or right leg.left hand.

PRACTICE YOUR APPROACH

You'll have a 5m distance that you can get a run up from so like a long jumper you'll need to step it out to fond an approach that suits you.

The general rules are:

- Gradually increase speed of each step you take

- ZERO shuffling steps, especially going into the penultimate step



- The penultimate step is the one right before take off which sets you up for your jump so a slow or braking penultimate step will result in a poor jump, so you must ensure that you not only plant hard, but you can still maintain and transfer the speed you've built up to use in your jump. Look what happens when you do this:

- Jump UP, not across

- Hit the marker things at the top of your jump, not on the way up

WORK UP TO YOUR TOP JUMP

You'll get 3 jumps which I can't remember are all in a row or 1 at a time but use your first jump at least, as a feeling out jump.

Hopefully you've already got a fair idea of where you'l test so you can gauge how your tracking based on that which will enable you to alter your technique depending on your result (faster eccentric, reach better, relax more etc).

Make the 2nd jump your top jump then go for broke on jump number 3.

Jumping is a skill like everything else so of course you'll need refine your technique to get the best result you can, regardless of your power output.