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One of the most common inquiries I get is which tests I utilize to identify athletes who may excel in the jumps in track and field (long, triple, high). While I do not lose sleep over many things, one thing that does worry me is not placing athletes in the area where they can be the most successful—or placing them in that area too late. Some of my biggest frustrations as a coach have involved asking an athlete to try out a particular event as a senior and watching them absolutely tear it up.

One thing that worries me is not placing athletes in the area where they can be the most successful—or placing them in that area too late, says @HFJumps. Share on X

As much as I try to think “glass half full” and be glad that we were finally able to place the athlete correctly, I also cannot get away from kicking myself for failing to recognize the placement earlier in their career. In a program that generally begins with more than 100 athletes (this past season, we had 140), this can be a huge challenge—especially when 80% of those athletes view themselves as sprinters. Before going into the tests, I think it is imperative to mention a few thoughts that can help you ensure the right athletes make their way to your jump squad:

• Even though I do my best to see everything, I cannot. The process of athlete placement is the combined effort of the entire staff. I would even go beyond that and say it can extend outside the staff. Physical education teachers and coaches of other sports can be a great asset in communicating about potential athletes and encouraging them to give track and field a shot.
• Watch the warm-up! The tests I will discuss give objective measurements to help drive decision-making. Watching the warm-up is a way to add a subjective evaluation to the evaluation equation. Furthermore, it can serve as a safety net because an athlete may be absent for one or more days during the early-season testing.
• Create an appealing environment for new athletes. Returning members of the jump squad will be your best recruiters. If you make practice enjoyable and they perform well over a season, your returners will deliver the ideal message to newcomers. Typically, the only “recruiting” line I may use is, “Anyone can be a sprinter, but true athletes are found in the jumps.” This, of course, also applies to the hurdles and the other field events, but I have to be a champion for the group I lead!

The following six tests are ones we administer over the first two weeks of our 19-week high school season. I have them listed in order of significance (largest to smallest), although the order is certainly debatable.

1. 10-Meter Fly

All of the jumps in track and field occur at a speed that is below an athlete’s maximum velocity. This is due to the coordination required to execute specific movements prior to the jump and takeoff from a specific target. If an athlete has a faster maximum speed, they will have a faster submaximum speed. Every elite jump coach I have spoken with agrees that take-off speed is the most critical factor in performance potential (yes, even in regard to the high jump).

At the high school level, I advise a 20- to 30-meter sprint into the fly zone. While I allow flexibility during training, I think it is essential to be rigid with the run-in distance during testing. Not only does this allow for legitimate comparison among the current athletes, but it also allows for year-to-year comparison.

Every elite jump coach I have spoken with agrees that take-off speed is the most critical factor in performance potential (yes, even in regard to the high jump), says @HFJumps. Share on X

There has been debate in the past regarding the 10-meter fly versus the 30-meter fly—I think both are great. Since the focus of this is testing early in the season, I find the 10-meter fly to be most appropriate for the majority of our athletes.

2. Bilateral 6-Bound for Distance from a Bilateral Start

I believe we perform this test a little differently than others do. The athlete starts behind a line with both feet together. They jump and land on either their right or left foot, then alternate contacts until the seventh contact hits the ground. This guarantees three true bounds on each leg.

I prefer this test over the standing triple jump since I have found it easier to teach because it is all unilateral after the initial jump. We perform this test on turf in trainers, and I have found that when athletes are tested with a bilateral landing in these conditions, it gets unsafe really quick—which is why we switched to a unilateral landing. Note: We do not tell them to “stick” the landing on the last contact. The last contact simply hits, and they roll through. This method has also enhanced safety.

This test could certainly be done on a runway with a sandpit and a legit jump landing, but most of the athletes we are testing do not have any experience. So, again, this has been a simpler method for us.

When administering this test with large groups, I advise having two lines on each side of the tape measure. One athlete goes, I verbally yell out the mark, and then the athlete in the other line goes. I always put a cone down for the top mark to give the athletes something to go after. To potentially drive even more intent, you can have a cone for the top mark for each year in school. Always find ways to enhance intent!

3. Backboard Test

This test is somewhat less objective than the others. It simply asks the athlete to take an approach, jump, and touch as high on a backboard as possible. I like this test because it shows whether an athlete can use horizontal velocity to get vertical. It certainly correlates the most with potential in the high jump, but the athleticism of being able to do it bodes well for the coordination requirements in any of the jumps.

We do not get exact numbers for how high the athlete gets off the ground, which makes it more subjective: you can use a simple numeric rating from 1–5. If you want to add more intent, use post-it notes and have the athletes stick them on the backboard. If you have multiple hoops, you can break the athletes up by class or, even better, by height. Enhancing intent for the win!

I like the backboard test because it shows whether an athlete can use horizontal velocity to get vertical, says @HFJumps. Share on X

If an athlete performs this test and jumps off two legs, make a note of the performance, and then ask them to repeat it by jumping off one leg. In my experience, the athlete who jumps off two legs tends to be more “muscular” versus “elastic” in regard to movement strategy. This is, of course, up for grabs if the athlete jumps really well off one or two feet.

You can certainly use this test as a stand-alone to identify jump talent, but I find it to be most valuable when used in comparison with others to find diamonds in the rough (more on that later).

4. 20- to 30-Meter Acceleration

Most of the time, the 10-meter fly will give me the information needed to target an athlete based on their running ability. However, there are times when an athlete has a poor fly time in comparison to their acceleration time. Someone who accelerates well—but does not have top speed that correlates—could still jump well, especially if the top speed issue is resolved.

Remember, all the jumps occur at a percentage below maximum velocity. If an athlete who accelerates well but has poor top-end speed can jump at a higher percentage of their maximum velocity, there is a chance they could find more success than an athlete with a higher maximum velocity. Usually, the factor most involved in this occurrence is coordination.

Coaches can run regressions using acceleration and fly times to help see if an athlete meets this criterion or simply look at where the athlete ranks on the team in each category. If the athlete ranks 25th on the team in the 10-meter fly, I may be inclined not to pursue that athlete; but if they also rank eighth in a 20-meter acceleration, my decision could change.

5. Scandinavian Rebound Jump Test

I have written about the SRJT before (here and here). It is definitely my favorite test to measure RSI if you have the technology to measure flight time or jump height and ground contact time. The test identifies athletes who can sync their upper and lower bodies well and, more importantly, identifies athletes who can “bounce”—the ability to produce high outputs in minimal ground contact time.

6. Countermovement Jump

As a stand-alone, I think the CMJ is a subpar indicator of potential success in the jumps. I have had 7-meter long jumpers and 15-meter triple jumpers whose CMJs were between 24 and 27 inches on a Just Jump mat. However, that does not mean the test is worthless. What I find more common is that an athlete may have a good CMJ but struggle jumping off one leg. This mostly tends to be a general lack of exposure.

This past season, we had an athlete who was in the middle of the pack in all tests besides the CMJ, where he was in our top five. He had an interest in jumping, but if he did not, I would have targeted him anyway because of his CMJ performance. As the season went on, he became more and more comfortable jumping off one leg. I think he will have the ability to jump 1.90 meters or better in the high jump this year. If we did not test the CMJ, and he did not have an interest, I may have missed him!

Note: When I train private clients, I like to test a squat jump and CMJ without arms, which can assist in determining if an athlete is more muscle- or tendon-driven. This helps identify athlete strengths and weaknesses, and each can be emphasized at certain times throughout the macrocycle.

Sifting Through the Data

During the first two weeks of our season, I analyze the data collected during a session. Because we do not do all the tests on a single day, it becomes an ongoing process of adding and subtracting the athletes I intend to target. Since we have been completing the same tests from year to year, we have created a set of norms for each test (besides the backboard test) for all athletes and by year in school. While there are testing protocols that have norms provided and are excellent for reference, I think it is extremely important to use your own data, as it is the best representation of what you are dealing with from year to year!

As we continue to perform more tests and I continue to sift through the spreadsheets, certain athletes begin to stick out. This is where I start to lobby our staff to have all the elite athletes jump! That being said, the most time-consuming part is looking for the athletes who do not stick out but may fit the part (such as the high jumper mentioned earlier).

While some testing protocols are excellent for reference, I think it is extremely important to use your own data, as it is the best representation of what you are dealing with from year to year. Share on X

Another key point to consider beyond the data is body type and physiological age. A 6’4” athlete may test poorly, but it could be because he grew 8 inches in six months. Getting him involved in the jumps may pay big dividends once he learns how to coordinate the new length.

If I have to approach an athlete about trying out the jumps, I usually say, “All of the metrics we have collected lead me to believe you can find success in the jumps. What do you think about giving it a try?” Most of the time, they are interested. However, last year I had an athlete tell me, “I completely disagree, so no chance.” The funny part is that by the end of the season, he was talking to me about wanting to be a jumper next season.

I’m not sure of the reason for his change of heart, but I’d like to believe it is because of the culture our jump squad has built over the years, of which a key component is working with a staff with a unified vision. Again, the goal is to place everyone properly, which is best done via a team effort!

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

Softball athletes spend time year-round practicing skill development in hitting, pitching, throwing, and fielding. Few work on strength and speed, and even fewer address the need to prepare for playing in high heat and humidity. Most outdoor athletes, specifically softball players, face the prospect of playing ball in extreme heat at some point in their seasons—the ability to play 3–4 games in 90+ degree weather with matching percentages of humidity is a skill in itself.

Many athletes underestimate the stress on the body that heat can add and, as a result, suffer from heat-related illnesses or deal with symptoms related to it. Heat stroke is now the leading cause of death in sports.¹ Evidence suggests the prevalence of exertional heat stroke among high school athletes is largely due to young athletes not acclimatizing or physically adjusting to the heat, and the heat policies available to prevent this are not always enforced.²

As coaches, we can do our part to help athletes better manage the heat, and we can do this in several ways.

Many athletes underestimate the stress on the body that heat can add and, as a result, suffer from heat-related illnesses or deal with symptoms related to it. We can help them better manage the heat. Share on X

On the strength and conditioning side, especially regarding movement, we spend most of our time trying to help the kids we work with become more efficient. Efficiency equals more strength and endurance for longer periods, less chance of fatigue and injury, and, as a result, increased performance. Part of this efficiency in movement carries over into managing stress—and playing in the heat becomes a game of balancing the stress on the body. If we add a huge stress like heat to the body, we must make sure the body isn’t already overloaded due to other stressors.

Efficiency of Movement

The first thing we address is patterning in quality, fluid, and effective movement in the weight room (see “3 Mistakes Softball Players Make in the Weight Room” for details on this subject). For me, this starts with developing core endurance—the body stays in good alignment and is most efficient when the core is stable and strong. We mix up training the core in different ways throughout a workout to address this need.

Start with Core Endurance

When the body is fresh and strong, we train the core at the beginning of a workout with explosive exercises like:

• Rotational kettlebell swings.
• Med ball slams.
• Med ball throws.
• Banded Pallof marching.
• Plyos and jumps.

We keep reps short with the intent to work fast and violently, under control.

The next time we work core is in the middle of the strength session as a superset to heavier lifts. These movements are sandwiched between variations of squats, bench, and cleans and are most often ISO holds with focused breathing through the nose. Four options we use are:

1. Low-sit plank holds (on elbows and knees).

Video 1. “Ribs stacked over hips” and other cues to execute the low sit plank hold.

2. Deadbug variations with offset weight.

Video 2. Key to the deadbug, not letting the athlete’s back rise up off the ground.

3. Med ball or plate squat distractions (partner game).

4. Slow crawling.

If we add a huge stress like heat to the body, we must make sure the body isn’t already overloaded due to other stressors, says @shestrength. Share on X

Then, we end the week with core work at the end of the workout in the form of a long, slow EMOM (every minute on the minute). We include cardio-like movements in the workout as well.

For example, for 10 minutes, every minute on the minute, the athletes complete:

• Five calories on the Air Assault bike.
• Four dumbbell bear rows/arm.

Cardiovascular Endurance

After we’ve addressed core endurance, we next focus on cardio endurance in terms of the cardiovascular system. We focus on training different systems: anaerobic, aerobic, and phosphagen.

I like using games with my softball players to address these areas of training. Again, we do these at the beginning, middle, and end of the workout to challenge the body’s ability to handle stress. Some of our favorites are:

1. Playing Chase or Capture the Flag

Each athlete places a hand towel in the back of their shorts. The athletes are given a designated space and time frame to collect the most towels. We do this individually or as teams, using different color towels for each team.

2. Med Ball Tag

For this game, each athlete is given a med ball, all different sizes and weights. The athletes are given a designated area to stay within. They can vary, but we usually make rules such as the ball can only be held in one hand while the athlete moves and maneuvers themselves within the designated area. The goal is to try and knock other people’s med balls out of their hands. If the athlete’s ball gets knocked out of their hand, they must walk to the outside of the designated space of play and complete 5–10 reps of a specific exercise before re-entering. We vary using push-ups, squats, lunges, jump squats, and sit-ups within the 5- to 8-rep range.

The other rule is that no balls can be lying on the ground throughout the whole game. This quickens the pace of the push-ups and squats or other designated exercise. If a ball is left on the ground, everyone stops and does an exercise.

3. Shoe Drop Game

Video 3. Acceleration and deceleration game based on reacting to visual and auditory cues.

4. COD Bat Game or Stick Game

Video 4. For this game, everyone stands in a circle. Each participant holds their bat at arm’s length in front of their body with the wide end of the bat on the ground and the knob just under their hand. The athletes should stand close, about 1–2 feet apart.

One person not inside the circle is designated as the “caller.” The caller yells out “right” or “left,” and the entire circle should move in the direction called, leaving the bat but moving their hand to the top of the bat next to them with the goal of trying to keep the bats all standing. If the bat a girl is reaching for hits the ground before she reaches it, she is out. The circle stays the same distance apart but has fewer people, making the game more challenging. Or, if the caller wants to add speed to the game, she can cue everyone to take a step back each round, making the bats harder to reach.

Breathing and Mindset

We also spend a lot of time talking about breathing and its important role in quickly reducing the heart rate. We start our workouts with patterning in diaphragmatic breathing through various positions and holds. My favorites are alligator breaths, bird dog positions, and assisted squat holds.

Video 5. Breathing tips for athletes during a squat lift.

I remind my athletes to return their breathing to nose breathing as soon as possible after a cardiovascular effort. Nasal breathing performs the same amount of work with less energy expended. In addition, mouth breathing increases dehydration and, as a result, the chances of heat exhaustion.³ So, the less time we spend mouth-breathing, the better.

I remind my athletes to return their breathing to nose breathing as soon as possible after a cardiovascular effort. Nasal breathing performs the same amount of work with less energy expended. Share on X

We work on this concept by wrapping our fingers around our mid-section to turn intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) breathing back on and lower the heart rate by squatting down or bending over and resting our hands on our knees. We practice these concepts between sets and reps in the weight room or on the field to help build habits that show up in the game.

We also focus on relaxation techniques through end-of-practice activities, such as meditation and visualization. We have the girls line up against the fence or the wall with their legs elevated, one hand on the chest and one on the belly. We tell them to focus on only raising the belly hand to breathe as they work through the body little by little, visualizing the tension and stress melting out of their body and into the floor.

Take Care Off the Field

At the end of the day, though, the biggest pieces for a softball player to manage the stress of high heat in a tournament are what they do off the field:

• Getting enough sleep.
• Drinking enough water.
• Reducing the volume of practice and games leading up to a tournament.
• Eating enough QUALITY calories—not running off energy drinks and Sour Heads.
• Keeping body weight and body fat in normal ranges.
• Reducing sugar and processed food intake.
• Managing emotional stress and trauma with help.

Playing in the heat is a game of checks and balances. If you are going to add a HIGH stressor, like extreme heat and humidity, to the body for long periods, an athlete needs to have removed or diminished another stressor so the body can handle it all.

At the end of the day, the biggest pieces for a softball player to manage the stress of high heat in a tournament are what they do off the field, says @shestrength. Share on X

This is where smart training comes into play in the weight room, in practice, and at home. Much like training for the sport, training for playing in the heat is just as important—but often goes neglected.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

References

1. Casa DJ, DeMartini JK, Bergeron MF, et al. “National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Exertional Heat Illnesses.” Journal of Athletic Training. 2015;50(9):986–1000. doi: https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-50.9.07

2. Adams WM, Hosokawa Y, Casa DJ, et al. “Roundtable on Preseason Heat Safety in Secondary School Athletics: Heat Acclimatization.” Journal of Athletic Training. 2021;56(4):352–361. https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-596-20

3. Lacomb, COP. “Oral vs. Nasal Breathing during Submaximal Aerobic Exercise.” UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. (2015).

For many coaches, the summer is the only time of the year they get to catch their breath and enjoy some extra family time for a change. For me, however, it is the complete opposite—I am the director of performance at a private sports training facility in Wichita Falls, Texas. Throughout the year, we will normally carry 125-150 athletes at any given time, but in the summer that number jumps to 250-300. Between our college athletes coming home for the summer, school kids having more free time to train, and football and volleyball getting ready to compete, we are overwhelmed.

I love the challenge that this time of the year provides, and I try to thrive and not just survive the whirlwind. Because of this, I’m always looking to learn more about how to create better athletes and run a better business. With this being the seventh summer for my business, I wanted to step back, breathe, and reflect on seven lessons from summer 2022 that I will build on moving forward.

1. Less Is More

Confucius has been quoted as saying “A healthy man wants a thousand things, but a sick man only wants one,” while in the book of Matthew it is written that “No man can serve two masters.” And in 1768, Christoph Martin said “Too much light often blinds gentlemen of this sort. They cannot see the forest for the trees.”

Long before the invention of the barbell, wise individuals were trying to teach us the rule of intentional focus. And yet still so many of us convince ourselves of the lie that quantity beats quality. I have seen extremely talented athletes get backtracked by overzealous coaches. Pharmacology uses the term effective dose, which is the deliberate amount of something needed to induce a biological response. In strength and conditioning, this is the amount of training needed to create adaptation. It is a deliberate amount of intentional work that yields the best improvements.

Long before the invention of the barbell, wise individuals were trying to teach us the rule of intentional focus, says @endunamoo_sc. Share on X

Over the course of the summer, our best results came from the guys who were NOT doing 50 forty-yard sprints (yes, a real thing here in Texas) or those who were not subject to five sets of eight every single week. And when you take a step back to see the whole picture, it makes sense. If you adapt to what you do and you run dozens of slow-fatigued-halfhearted sprints, you develop slow-fatigued-halfhearted athletes. Although I am ALWAYS tempted to do more, I am reassured at the end of the training cycle that less is more. The effective dose always wins.

2. Recognizing Why My College Athletes Come Back Worse Each Semester

Every December and May, I get a flood of really talented and hard-working college athletes coming back to my facility. Unfortunately, the majority of these studs are returning slower, weaker, more fragile, and less explosive than when they left. Why is that? It couldn’t be that they were not working hard or that they lacked the resources to train.

After many conversations and training sessions, I came across three common causes:

• For starters, at the end of a tough season, some of these athletes were WORN OUT. Between hard game play and brutal “conditioning” workouts provided by a sports coach, their bodies just need a break.
• Secondly, a myth that many aspiring coaches (aka me 10 years ago) believe is that if someone is a D1 coach, they must be top-of-the-line talent. Unfortunately, just like when I was a 20-something running workouts, you don’t always get the cream of the crop in college. Sometimes it’s a GA, first time assistant, or a coach cutting his or her teeth on a new group of athletes.
• Finally, some coaches are stuck in a system that the school developed years (even decades) ago that hasn’t evolved with the times—even though they have the latest Tendo units and squat racks available. I’ve sent female athletes to D1 schools that refuse to do free weight training or plyometrics because it “is bad for their hips and knees.”

Because of these stumbling blocks, I approach work with this level of athlete differently. We talk about how the season went, and then pick key areas that they believe will improve their quality of play and longevity (big emphasis on the latter). Knowing that I have 8-10 weeks to undo 6 months of backtracking means that we have a long road ahead of us—and that’s okay. The only rule is that we get better where it matters and create a long-term plan for when they return.

The only rule is that we get better where it matters and create a long-term plan for when the athletes return from school, says @endunamoo_sc. Share on X

3. How to Spot “Tourists” and Create “Locals”

All of the local “sporty” families know who we are, and we typically have waitlists to enroll in certain programs. Each summer, we also pick up dozens of new tourists that we try and turn into locals. Likewise, we run into dozens of tourists that are only here for the t-shirt and Instagram post. They think that by buying in, they are bought in. Just to give an example, we have a minimum unenrollment date to cancel your participation in our program for that month—like with your phone bill, tanning membership, or even Netflix account.

At the end of every busy season, a parent will storm our front desk and inform us that little Tommy is now doing private basketball and baseball lessons and is on a select football team and will be traveling three times a week and can no longer attend his workouts—and they want a refund. These people never accept the first “No” as an answer, and will yell at our staff members as if they called back the game winning touchdown on a bad holding call. We don’t like these kinds of tourists at out facility, but we have to go through a sea of them to find our possible locals: the families that actually buy in.

Years ago, I decided to create enrollment rules that benefit our coaches and staff members more by creating better clients. If people don’t want to follow these rules, they are clients worth firing. Although it hurts the bottom dollar at times, it makes our program stand out that much more. Every summer, I find new groups of locals to develop and enjoy and a new group of tourists to say sayonara to.

Years ago, I decided to create enrollment rules that benefit our coaches and staff members more by creating better clients, says @endunamoo_sc. Share on X

4. Bilateral & Unilateral Strength Training Are Actually Best Friends

It wasn’t that long ago that many coaches on Twitter were making bilateral and unilateral lifts face off in the metaphorical octagon. If you followed the discourse, it was like an ugly breakup between some of the best and brightest coaches. I’ve already written about these differences before, but my stance has been strengthened by what I witnessed this summer.

Our program put equal value, intensity, and volume on both unilateral and bilateral strength training. To be honest, we have always trended towards bilateral strength; however, it was made evident to me that I could move the performance needle more by intentionally adding more unilateral strength. After finding a way to complement our training and schedule, I was able to get kids to hit long awaited PRs in the weight room and on the track. Needless to say, I won’t be going back.

It was made evident to me that I could move the performance needle more by intentionally adding more unilateral strength to my bilateral strength, says @endunamoo_sc. Share on X

5. The Best Conditioning Comes from Playing Games

I had a sports coach approach me with a very basic question when it came to his team’s fitness. He bragged about how much they conditioned throughout the year, but he followed it with a very contrasting, “But it takes us weeks to get back into game shape.” An obvious answer to me, but one he had never thought about, was that “You’re not training them to be in game shape, you’re training them to pass your fitness tests.”

He nodded, I nodded, and then he asked, “Then what gets kids in shape to play a game?”

My answer? “Play more games.”

Now, you obviously can’t get away with just playing games, but you can incorporate more game-like drills into your schedule. Something that we have begun pushing is warm-up games and finisher games. For example, we will dedicate the very first 5 minutes of a workout to some kind of silly game where the objective is to force kids to move more without over-taxing their system. Dodgeball is a great example of working up a sweat without really having to move maximally.

At the end of that training session, we will spend 10 to 15 minutes playing a more intense and dynamic game. Something like ultimate frisbee, freeze tag, or even pick-up basketball will work multiple energy systems and “trick” the kids into getting some game-like conditioning in. What I learned from this dual game play system is that kids look forward to the mental warm-up of the first game, but also to getting one final chance at a WIN. Not only were we checking the physical box, we were checking the mental.]

Not only were we checking the physical box, we were checking the mental, says @endunamoo_sc. Share on X

6. Go Fast to Get Fast

If there is one thing I wish I could share with sports coaches, it is that speed breeds speed. Too often I will get a kid at the end of track season who, to his knowledge, is the fastest he has ever been—until we put the lasers to him. In many instances his 10- and 40-split times are way down from last time. Why? Around here, track season is more about who can survive the beating than who is the fastest.

I’m not anti-track, but I am anti “if he survives, he survives” workouts. Granted, if you want to be the best 400-meter dash runner, I applaud you; but if you want to be one of the fastest guys on the football or baseball field, your training needs to support those goals. One of the things we did this summer was break out the timing systems more and have more competitive running drills. By showing the kids their speed times, we encouraged more high-speed outputs. By racing in a way that rewarded winning—but also adjusted for those who needed more realistic competitions—we were able to get better reps from each kid. The result was dozens of lifetime 10- and 40-yard dash PRs from kids aged 12 to 22.

By showing the kids their speed times, we encouraged more high-speed outputs, says @endunamoo_sc. Share on X

7. Building Habits Is Better than Creating Goals

I have always been a huge advocate of setting goals and building mental resilience. Each time we test our athletes, we spend time setting new goals. This year we shifted the focus from the goal to the habits that support that goal.

In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear says, “You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.” We use several of his strategies on our goal cards to build intrinsic motivation and consistency. Each card starts with our members identifying who they are as an athlete. Then we establish good habits we want to amplify, and bad habits we want to reduce for the upcoming month. Finally, each athlete picks two tested areas that they want to improve. These cards are successful when it is placed where they see it daily. As James and other professionals have said, “Your habits shape your identity, and your identity shapes your habits.”

Looking Ahead

In ancient Israeli cultures, the number 7 represented completeness. We have seven days in a week. The oceans were once described as the seven seas. Everyone knows about the seven deadly sins. But, as I look at this list, I know that it is not complete.

By 2023, I will have seven more nuggets of wisdom that influence the way I coach, run a business, and try and impact those around me. As we tumble into the fall season and my sport coach peers get back to the grind, I finally get to enjoy the spoils of what we spent the entire summer building. And like all good things, it’s only a matter of time before hundreds more athletes come knocking on my door and I get another crack at sharpening my skills. When it comes to getting better, Roy T. Bennet said it best: “Let the improvement of yourself keep you so busy that you have no time to criticize others.”

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

Is the bench press functional? I’m sure most of you have pondered this question, and for good reason. On one side of the argument, we have the “You don’t ever lie down and push a barbell in (enter sport here)” camp, who tag-team with the group that believes your shoulders will explode upon becoming muscle-bound from the mere thought of bench pressing. They often validate their argument with prescriptions of yoga, BOSU ball drills, or anything resembling a postoperative exercise seen in rehabilitation clinics. Believe it or not, I’ve actually heard this misguided advice over the years in the swim and baseball worlds, where these old wives’ tales seem to have staying power.

On the other side, we have the “Ride or Die” powerlifting types who place the bench press on the “be-all and end-all” altar, appeasing the 1RM gods. As fervent as the arguments from both camps are, the value of the bench press (like many other exercises) lies somewhere in the middle, buttressed by context and application.

A Question of Transfer

For those who validate their exercise pool via transference (or the perception of), it is easy to conclude that the only sport where the skill of the bench press completely transfers is powerlifting. Does this mean a lesser (or different) degree of transfer diminishes the use of the exercise?

Of course not.

The bench press and versions of it have been a part of strength and power development for athletes for going on several decades. Dr. Anatoliy Bondarchuk, for example, found a solid transfer with bench pressing up to 180 kilograms for discus throwers and shot putters. For them, the pattern of the bench press provided general strength improvement in the propulsive muscles of the triceps and shoulder girdle. The surplus from this level of strength led to bigger throws.¹ While 396 pounds (180 kg) may seem an excessive—or downright impossible—level for most to attain, contextually, for discus and shot, the weight of the implement and momentum requirement for big throws would call for larger forces to be created via a maximal strength surplus.

Using this line of thought, we can apply the context to throwers of a different ilk. In a study on handball players,² we can find that the bench press exercise provided an indicator of throwing velocities. Using a radar gun, ball-throwing velocity was evaluated with a standard three-step running throw. “Ball-throwing velocity was related to the absolute load lifted during the 1-RMBP (r = .637, P = .014), peak power using 36 kg (r = .586, P = .028) and 46 kg (r = .582, P = .029), and peak bar velocity using 26 kg (r = .563, P = .036) and 36 kg (r = .625, P = .017).”²

Essentially, the handball players who threw the fastest could not only produce higher forces but produce them in a shorter window of time. Given the lighter weight of the handball (15–16 ounces) versus the discus and shot (4.4 pounds and 16 pounds, respectively), the requirements to throw this lighter implement for higher speeds indicate less reliance on maximal strength but heighten the need to exhibit that strength in an accelerative and explosive manner. Similarly, the technique in the handball throw eerily resembles that of a quarterback, baseball pitcher, or water polo player, as well as the relative weight of those respective implements. In examining the study, we can draw inferences on how power and higher speed bench pressing techniques can develop throwing speed in the aforementioned team sport athletes.

On the intangible side, coaches who work with developmental athletes will struggle to prevent their trainees from bench pressing—especially pubescent males highly influenced by Instagrammers and TikTokers who celebrate international bench press day every Monday with entertaining (albeit performative) feats of stupidity. As coaches, if we take the bench press off the table, we risk our young ones pressing on their own, leaving them to their own devices and demises and losing any “buy-in” for our entire program.

Speaking from experience, I can say this argument is not worth the consequence.

Practically speaking, we can embrace this situation by implementing a proper progression to take advantage of their enthusiasm and adaptability. With developmental athletes, general strength is the low-hanging, fruit-bearing benefit of improved coordination, increased power, and psychological palatability. In the wise words of the legendary Joe Kenn, “Confidence transfers.”

A Question of Safety: The Hardware

For the general public and those with a physical therapy bias, the bench press is an easy culprit to demonize. If you were to survey any gym bro, veteran powerlifter, or ex-athlete who pressed heavy at some point in time, I’m sure you’d find complaints of pain, injury, and dysfunction later in life. In this instance, the author certainly is not exempt; but again, context is king. For those who push the envelope in any discipline, there are no free lunches. For the developmental athlete or strength enthusiast, we can put bench pressing in its place as a general or general-specific exercise that is used to drive athletic qualities.

For the general public and those with a physical therapy bias, the bench press is an easy culprit to demonize. Share on X

In 1987, Jobe and colleagues³ identified two groups of muscles involved in pitching, labeled Group I muscle:

• Supraspinatus
• Infraspinatus
• Teres minor
• Deltoid
• Trapezius
• Biceps brachii

These were found to have greater activity during the early and late stages of the throw, with less activity during propulsion. The muscles served primarily to position the shoulder and elbow for the delivery of the pitch—what we now define as stability to load and decelerate the throw. The Group II muscles (pectoralis major, serratus anterior, subscapularis, and latissimus dorsi) had stronger activity during the propulsive phase of the pitch, accelerating the arm and baseball forward in space.³

From basic anatomy and kinesiology, we can conclude that the Group II muscles determined in the study are also trained as prime movers in the bench press exercise. This gives us a bit of validation on the transfer argument, and I would contend on the safety argument as well. Going back to the necessities of subsets of strength—would it not be prudent to expose the muscles used in throwing to varying levels of force in a controlled manner in the weight room? The obvious answer would be yes, as these exposures give us a general foundation of strength and coordination. As more advanced training is called for throughout an athlete’s time, more specific subsets of forces—namely through power—can also be trained with the bench press.

In a real-world example, the crew at Driveline Baseball uses the bench press as a diagnostic tool and regularly includes a variation in the development of their pitchers, stating:

“The prime movers in a bench press are the pectoralis major, pectoralis minor, and anterior deltoid, whereas the triceps and serratus anterior work to stabilize the movement. The antagonist muscles are the latissimus dorsi, posterior deltoids, and biceps. The rhomboids help keep the scapula retracted during the movement. From an injury-prevention standpoint, because the muscles used in the bench press help accelerate the shoulder, stabilize the scapula, and aid in upward rotation, it’s important to see if those muscles can apply force quickly since the throwing delivery is a very fast movement.”⁴

You may ask why not look at a push-up, and I would agree, especially from a general perspective, but the open chain environment of the bench press may allow you to see some coordinative leaks from head to toe, as in a throw. Despite what most people may think, the lower body is involved in a stable bench press. Contrary to what you hear in some weight rooms, the dancing feet won’t help you cheat—this can give some weight to the coordination enhancement argument.

Despite what most people may think, the lower body is involved in a stable bench press. This can give some weight to the coordination enhancement argument. Share on X

Brain Games: The Software

On the topic of software, there is also the other side of the coin in terms of “safety.” Readers of this forum may be familiar with the concepts of Dan Fichter in how training affects the brain (reflexively) and vice versa. In the weight room, Fichter seeks to train “involuntary” (reflexive) movement, which the PMRF governs.

A quick word on the PMRF.

“The ponto medullary reticular formation (PMRF) is the powerhouse of your posture, the center for postural control. The PMRF inhibits flexion of the Posture System to efficiently resist gravity. Patients who present with dysfunctional output of their PMRF have flexor dominant posture, a common postural presentation of forward head posture, anterior rolling of the shoulders, chest flexion, and hyperkyphosis.

The PMRF is in the brainstem among the pons and medulla. It is the home of 8 cranial nerves that perform vital functions and contribute to proper posture. The reticulospinal tract descends from the PMRF to the spine to inhibit flexor tone.”⁵

In Fichter’s view, manipulating how the sensory input enters via the PMRF is critical in affecting range of motion, stabilization, and pain control. He feels classic programs only train 10% of what actually occurs in the body, whereas 90% of movement is governed by these brain-deep reflexes, going on to explain a cost to classic bilateral movements as they “temporarily paralyze the brain” and dampen reflexive outputs.⁶ As far as inputs impacting reflexes are concerned, he certainly has a point in regard to training chaotic team sports such as the one he also coaches (football): In this case, the general qualities developed will influence the software of the system (reflexes, brain) along with the hardware (muscle mass, tissue strength, etc.).

Being a practical coach, Fichter also doesn’t fight the “don’t let them bench press” debate. Instead, he manipulates the input to the PMRF by using asymmetrical postures while performing the exercise. For him, simply manipulating the grip with one hand in supination and the other in pronation will stimulate the paraspinal. Of note, Fichter also trains opposite movements together in a push versus pull fashion—think a triceps extension on one side with elbow flexion on the other or a row with a press. This may prove to be a bit impractical with bench pressing directly but is worth sparking thought with other exercises.

7 Ways We Spice Up Our Bench

Here are methods we use at P.I.T., which I’ll categorize here as either “hardware” or “software” driven.

Hardware Methods

1. Manual Eccentric Overload: This is simple and a great way to incorporate teamwork into a group session. Have the spotter push down hard as the athlete lowers the bar to the chest, obviously resisting. The spotter will immediately release the pressure about 2 inches from the chest, unleashing a neurological PAP effect that will send light bars through the roof. The premise here is a manual weight releaser that is more stable and doesn’t cost a dime.

Video 1. Coaches can use this to train eccentric overload and explosive concentrics in the same set.

2. Manual Oscillatory Isometrics: The same setup as above, except the lifter holds a position off the chest ranging from 2–4 inches. The spotter will apply “pulses” of force over a specified period (5–30 seconds, depending on what you want to train) before releasing.

Video 2. The lifter can explode up with a rep, or it can be racked if a longer duration is applied.

3. Timed Max Effort: The timed max effort is more of a training modality than a tactic and can be used as a quantifiable way to develop power endurance. I know I read about this in an article, and I cannot seem to find it online, but I must give credit where it’s due to Elitefts and Louie Simmons.

The application is quite simple: Pick a weight and move it as fast as you can for a specific rep range while a coach or a more experienced training partner times the set with a stopwatch. A good rule of thumb is one rep per second or under for the initial set; if this is accomplished, add 5 pounds to the next set but give an extra second to complete it. Do not add weight if the athlete cannot complete the set within the specified time.

I usually have them perform three sets per session, but you can go up to five if you like. I’ve applied this quite successfully with male swimmers timing 10-rep sets and beginning the cycle with about 40% of their body weight. Many progressed to near body weight for 10 reps in 10 seconds. For swimmers, output over time was something they could understand and therefore compete on without trashing them.

Software Methods

4a. Offset Load: This is simple—overload one side of the bar by 10–20 pounds.

Video 3. Bench press with offset loading.

Start with symmetrical hand spacing. For a challenge later, you can use one of the following grip configurations.

4b. Mixed Grip: Again, simple. One hand is pronated, the other supinated, symmetrically spaced.

Video 4. Start by symmetrically loading the bar but feel free to offset the load or hand spacing for a deeper challenge.

4c. Offset Grip: Put one hand closer to the middle of the bar and one hand wider. 

Video 5. Begin with a pronated grip, but you can use the two configurations above in conjunction with it.

If this is your first exposure to these concepts, and you are as much of a purist as I am, then you are probably asking yourself the same thing I did: “How the hell do I program this?” My solution is to do them in warm-up sets. Practically speaking, if the brain stimulation capabilities of these simple tweaks are true, then why not use them when we are trying to prime the body for performance? If you have three warm-up sets, you have three places to start with the above methods. 

Practically speaking, if the brain stimulation capabilities of these simple bench press tweaks are true, then why not use them in warm-ups when we are trying to prime the body for performance? Share on X

5. Chaotic Loading: If you don’t have the tools (earthquake bar) mentioned in the references above, you can use a stronger PVC pipe cut to a 7-foot length to match barbell dimensions with the suspended load of kettlebells or plates. Bungee cords may also work if you don’t have bands. Use this for lighter sets for athletes with a decent grasp of technique and a decent strength level (BW for 10 reps) before employing.

6. Isometric+: A play on the badger protocol here.⁷ Hold the bottom of the bench press position about 2 inches off the chest for a specified time, touch, and then perform reps. As alluded to above, I have found the combination of extended holds followed by reps to be a superior method for learning technique.

Video 6. In this case, we hold for 10 seconds and follow with a minimum of eight reps and as high as 20. Just keep in mind that the higher the reps, the fewer sets they will need.  

7. Two-Minute Drill: Hold the bottom and top for 10 seconds and do it for two minutes straight. This is an advanced method, but I like to use it for:

1. A challenge.
2. Intermediate trainees who need to learn to kick their technique up a notch.

I prefer using a chaotic setup via the earthquake bar and suspended plates here.

Video 7. The task is simple: hold the bottom for 10 seconds, then quickly press to the top and hold for another 10 seconds. Alternate this sequence for six total reps. At 20 seconds per rep, that equals two minutes.

Training Both the Hardware and Software

Work capacity, tissue strength (tolerance), skill, and resilience are the orders of the day, to some degree. If coaches can train many of these qualities at once, we will certainly try. This chaotic loading style can offer coaches a unique tool to replicate the demands of most team sports and allow for heightened stress on the stabilizers and proprioceptors for a pre/re-habilitative context.⁸ Studies cited and examined by Dr. Mann revealed several aspects of stable versus (various conditions of) unstable loading.

Although EMG measurements of the prime movers were not significantly different between both regimens, the EMG activity for the stabilizer muscles was far greater in the unstable condition (Lawrence, 2018, p. 1351). In another study (Ostrowski, 2017, p. 1349) that used untrained or recreationally trained individuals, there was no difference between the prime movers for the conditions. Mann explained, “this indicates that you can get the same prime mover activity with much lower loads in the unstable regime, indicating the same muscular stimulus without as much joint strain. This is crucial for the older or restricted lifter whose previous injuries and restrictions preclude them from training heavy any longer. For the younger lifter, this may allow them a prophylaxis to injurious situations from long term heavy lifting.”⁸

Although these muscles can be trained with other regimes, most notably high-impact plyometrics, trainees can enjoy a decrease in overall training stress by incorporating the unstable regimen that spares the CNS fatigue and joint damage from higher stress means. This would inherently save the heightened arousal for when it’s needed—the contest!

It is hard to argue with Mann’s contention that the stabilizer muscles are important in decelerating, stopping, and reaccelerating the body, external load, or limb in the arena of competition for athletes. Witness any contact sport, and you see this in live action.

These EMG revelations should also appease the “injury prevention” crowd, as these typically neglected stabilizers can now be trained during a lift typically scoffed at by this same camp. Most notably, the middle trapezius and bicep brachii activity was significantly different in unstable conditions. The increase in EMG activity of these muscles shows how they are important stabilizers for the shoulder, specifically in regard to protecting against SLAP tears.

Anatomically speaking, the long head of the biceps crosses the shoulder and the scapulothoracic joints, inserting where the slap tear occurs (the supraglenoid tubercle). Given that the stable bench press typically “pins down” the mid traps and dampens the biceps activity, the use of unstable loads can “wake up” these dormant muscles and improve the resiliency of our hardware.

Given that the stable bench press typically ‘pins down’ the mid traps and dampens the biceps activity, the use of unstable loads can ‘wake up’ these dormant muscles and improve their resiliency. Share on X

Couple this with a decreased demand in necessary load, “…the condition with the highest bar path variability required 67% of the bench press 1RM to maintain the same EMG prime mover and stabilizer activity” creates a resiliency stew so the body can more completely heal and recover between training bouts.⁸

I contend that the unstable loads develop a larger bandwidth of motor learning. We have all read or heard about variation improving learning, and in the Lawrence study, the barbell path was tracked under four different conditions. “…in the stable load, there was very little variation in the bar path (starting, touching, or ending position for the bench press). In the earthquake bar and thick bands, there was a significant alteration in the bar path between repetitions in terms of touch point, yet the pressing was fairly straight on each repetition. In the earthquake bar with plates with thinner bands, the bar path starts off smooth and starts to have some greater displacement from the path with each subsequent repetition. In the earthquake bar plus thin bands and kettlebells… no two repetitions went in the same path; the path chart resembles chicken scratch. There was a marked instability in this condition. In the study the numerical expression for the congruence of the repetitions shows not just the anterior posterior and superior inferior (bar movement toward the face and hips as well as vertical difference), but a medial lateral movement as well (from side to side). The fourth conditioning showed more than five times the variability in the repetitions as the stable load.”⁸

Given the above regarding the medial and lateral movement of the bench press during unstable loading conditions, I would contend heightened brain activity, a la the reflexive actions of the paraspinals as suggested by Fichter, exists as well. The “chaos” created by the unstable loading creates a repeated instantaneous panic response that forces the postural reflexive muscles to fire. Combine this with offset grip, mixed grip, or “quick style” reps (as seen in Fichter’s programs), and you have even more variations that are joint-friendly, brain-friendly, and highly challenging.

Mel Siff, the co-author of Supertraining, coined a term for this style of chaotic loading—“imperfection training”—as a counter to most common approaches to “injury prevention.” To paraphrase Siff⁹: The current emphasis on preventing injury is the avoidance of the demonized exercise as well as seemingly excessive amounts of volume and intensity. This approach is limited because it neglects to develop the ability to cope with suboptimal training and competitive situations. (P.S. This is why I think most scientific studies on training are flawed—the environments are too sterile.)

Sports that include many open skills and multiple qualities (that of a chaotic nature) must have a training component where athletes learn to cope with the unexpected. Share on X

Sports that include many open skills and multiple qualities (that of a chaotic nature) must have a training component where athletes learn to cope with the unexpected. In combat sports, motor racing, or any sport with an extreme risk to bodily health, athletes must develop the ability to deal with these potentially dire consequences. The ability to anticipate the threatening situation, rapidly react to the unexpected, and know what action to take to avoid injury should be adopted as a standard extensively in the repertoire of all athletic development. The idea or occurrence of truly perfect movement or “balanced” training loads is rare. Having the ability to manage and utilize “agile” training modes may be a subconscious but logical approach in this endeavor.⁹

As any coach in the weight room knows, our dual aim is to prepare our athletes for the demands of practice and play while Doing No Harm. We achieve this by coaching technique, managing volume, and developing a wide bandwidth of movement capabilities. Some coaches may write these off as the snake oil of the functional trainer types, but I’ll later explain and demonstrate how to implement these concepts without sacrificing the meat and potatoes of strength and power that you are trying to build.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

References

1. Miller D., “Benchmark Lifts to Throw 50 Feet (High School Shot Put),” Throws University, 12/14/20.

2. Marques MC, van den Tillaar R, Vescovi J, and Gonzalez-Badillo J.J. “Relationship Between Throwing Velocity, Muscle Power, and Bar Velocity During Bench Press in Elite Handball Players.” International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. 2008;2(4):414–422.

3. Gowan ID, Jobe FW, Tibone JE, Perry J, and Moynes DR. “A comparative electromyographic analysis of the shoulder during pitching. Professional versus amateur pitchers.” American Journal of Sports Medicine. 1987;15(6):586–590.

4. Rogers K., “Bench Press: A Deep Dive with Programming Considerations,” drivelinebaseball.com, 11/15/18. https://www.drivelinebaseball.com/2018/11/bench-press-deep-dive-programming-considerations/

5.Burns K. “Neurology of the Posture System.” American Posture Institute. 1/21/17. https://freetraining.americanpostureinstitute.com/neurology-of-the-posture-system-2/

6. Brain Games: Fichter Webinar. Upper Body Training for Athlete Development

7. Jovanovic M., “The Badger Protocol: Grease the Groove with IsoSandwich,” Complementarytraining.net, 7/13/21. https://complementarytraining.net/the-badger-protocol-grease-the-groove-with-isosandwich/

8. Mann B., “Unstable Load Training for the Bench Press,” Elite FTS, 3/7/20. https://www.elitefts.com/education/unstable-load-training-for-the-bench-press/

9. Verkoshansky YV and Siff MC. Supertraining. 5th edition, 2000.

Performance testing is commonplace in most strength and conditioning programs. By implementing the correct tests, you can get a snapshot of an athlete’s strengths and weaknesses while also quickly comparing that athlete to their peers. Nearly every physical quality can be tested, with options available for any budget. Among the cheapest, low-tech assessments are jump tests—specifically, horizontal-based variations like the broad jump. These are excellent assessments of lower body power, and athletes also love seeing how far they can jump compared to their peers.

For an S&C coach, the attractiveness of these tests is that all you need to do is lay down a tape measure, give some simple instructions, and start collecting data. Coaches now have a metric (jump distance in either feet or meters) to rank athletes…but is this the best use of this assessment?

A common trend in performance testing is to calculate an athlete’s “relative” strength or power. This is because athletes of different body sizes—despite being similar in other respects, such as gender, age, or absolute scores—may have wildly different relative scores. Moreover, having a superior strength- or power-to-weight ratio is more advantageous for an athlete than simply having higher absolute scores, especially in sports where weight categories are used (e.g., wrestling). This is why coaches care more about squatting 2x bodyweight than x amount of weight, as it is a more useful way of seeing how strong an athlete really is.

While many strength and power metrics are viewed under this lens, it is apparent that traditional jump testing has not been given this level of consideration.

Why Traditional Jump Testing Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story

There is a glaring weakness to using an athlete’s jump distance at face value. Take, for example, the hypothetical data set below.

Based on this limited information, if I asked you to determine which athlete is more powerful, or at the very least who is the better jumper, most coaches would automatically assume Athlete A. It makes sense, as the first athlete jumped nearly half a foot further. It is common for jump scores to be used this way (including vertical jumps) in practice; athletes who get a higher absolute score are slated as the better jumpers and more powerful athletes.

But how would this assumption change if we added a little more context?

As we can see, by simply taking the athlete’s height into consideration, we can see a different story emerge. We can now see Athlete B slightly edges out Athlete A when looking at the jump-to-height ratio. This is because we can now assess the athlete’s relative jumping ability, not just their absolute jumping ability. By using a jump-to-height ratio, coaches can compare athletes of different ages, heights, genders, and playing levels without having to buy any high-tech or expensive equipment. Just stick a tape measure on the wall and take the athlete’s standing height.

By using a jump-to-height ratio, coaches can compare athletes of different ages, heights, genders, and playing levels without having to buy any high-tech or expensive equipment, says @CoachGies. Share on X

I know what you’re thinking: “But coach, this is just a theoretical example. Surely this doesn’t mean much with real athletes!” Au contraire.

To provide some real-life context with elite-level athletes, I pulled the broad jump data from the 2022 NFL Combine for the Wide Receivers group (Table 3). When I applied the jump-to-height ratio and then ranked athletes on both their broad jump and ratio scores, something interesting started to emerge. Some athletes who were in the top third of broad jump scores suddenly dropped down the ranks, and athletes with some of the worst scores moved up. For example:

• Athlete 3 was 12th in the broad jump when looking at raw scores but is third overall when looking at his jump-to-height ratio.
• Athlete 11 was 28th in the broad (out of 33) but then jumped up to 11th with jump-to-height ratio.
• Athlete 26 dropped all the way down from 12th overall to 26th.

It also highlights just how freaky Athlete 1 is in terms of broad jump performance. This athlete was the shortest overall but had the second farthest broad jump corresponding to the top jump-to-height ratio. He is jumping 2x his standing height! The jump-to-height ratio helps put into perspective just how exceptional this athlete really is in terms of horizontal power production compared to other athletes.

I also looked at the correlation between broad jump distance, jump-to-height ratio, and the 40-yard times for the same group. When looking at broad jump distance and 40-yard times, there was a low to moderate negative correlation (r= -0.41). Meaning, as broad jump distances increased, 40 times decreased. But when looking at jump-to-height ratio, there was an even stronger negative correlation of r= – 0.51. Granted, it’s not a super strong correlation, and I am no statistician, but it does appear that the jump-to-height ratio is a little more informative than broad jump distance on its own—at the very least, it is something to consider when evaluating jump performance.

It does appear that the jump-to-height ratio is a little more informative than broad jump distance on its own… It’s something to consider when evaluating jump performance, says @CoachGies. Share on X

By adding this one quick change, coaches can level up their performance assessments.

Introducing the Jump-to-Height Ratio

Hopefully, it is apparent that simply using raw jump data is an incomplete method for comparing athletes. Typical standing broad jump normative data only gives us a grading system based on raw values.

For example, consider data looking at normative reference values for the broad jump in adolescents (Table 4). This large data set gives us a good idea of what different-aged athletes can perform for this test; however, as height is not considered, we are in the dark on whether the athletes in the higher percentiles are there because they are more powerful or simply because they are taller than their peers.

All things being equal, taller athletes should be able to jump farther than shorter athletes. This is for a few reasons:

• Taller athletes have longer limbs (i.e., longer levers), which increases the biomechanical advantage and torque produced around the joints, which can increase the amount of force produced during jumps.
• Taller athletes have longer legs, meaning they can reach further forward before landing.
• Some taller athletes may have more muscle mass and, thus, more force potential.

However, there are some disadvantages, like taller athletes being heavier, which could negatively affect their jump performance. The point is that simply looking at jump distance doesn’t provide enough nuance to make informed decisions on how good of a jumper an athlete is. Utilizing the jump-to-height ratio would clear up this confusion and provide more information when ranking athlete abilities.

Simply looking at jump distance doesn’t provide enough nuance to make informed decisions on how good of a jumper an athlete is. Utilizing the jump-to-height ratio would clear up this confusion. Share on X

While absolute data can prove useful, it is difficult to use this data in isolation when assessing athletes who may have a foot of difference in standing height, which is common for those who coach 12- to 18-year-old athletes. The simple answer is that you can’t, but with a few quick changes, you can start applying the data in a useful context.

We use the jump-to-height ratio with three different styles of jump:

1. The standing broad jump.
2. The single leg hop and stick.
3. The lateral bound.

For the first two, you will need the athlete’s standing height, but for the lateral bound, you will need the athlete’s standing split.

Protocols:

Standing Height: Ensure you measure the athlete with their shoes off, from the base of the foot to the top of the head.

Standing Split (Lateral Bound Only): Have the athlete stand with their feet as far apart as possible and measure from the inside edge of one foot to the inside edge of the other foot. Some key points in standardizing the standing split:

1. Hands must be on hips.
2. Torso must be completely vertical.
3. Feet must remain flat.
4. Knees must remain straight.
5. Toes must be pointing forward.

Video 1. Standing Broad Jump: Have the athlete stand behind a marked line and jump as far forward as possible. Measure the back of the athlete’s heel. If the athlete falls or steps back, the rep does not count; if the athlete falls or steps forward, measure where their heel initially touched the ground.

Video 2. Single Leg Hop and Stick: Have the athlete stand behind a marked line on one foot and jump as far forward as possible, landing on the same foot. Measure the back of the athlete’s heel. The athlete must stick the landing. If the athlete bobs around to regain balance or steps down with the other foot, do not count the rep. Make sure to repeat with both sides.

Video 3. Lateral Bound: Have the athlete stand behind a marked line with the inside edge of their foot against the line and jump as far sideways as possible, landing on the opposite foot. Measure the inside edge of the foot. The athlete must stick the landing. If the athlete bobs around to regain balance or steps down with the other foot, do not count the rep. Make sure to repeat with both sides.

Have them attempt each jump 2–3 times to find the athlete’s best score. You can now divide the jump distance by either the athlete’s standing height or standing split.

Applying the Jump-to-Height Ratio

Now that you have your athletes’ jump-to-height ratios, you can start applying that data to begin understanding your athletes’ jump abilities on a deeper level. You can rank groups of athletes (age groups, sports teams, positions, etc.)

The jump-to-height ratio gives coaches a clearer picture of which athletes are better jumpers without getting distracted by the shiny object of an athlete jumping the farthest overall. Share on X

Rehabilitation Uses

Jump-to-height ratio can be an impactful metric when considering lower body rehabilitation exit criteria and return to play. An interesting study from Ohji et al. (2021), which looked at single leg hop distances normalized to height and return to sport status post ACL reconstruction, found that a distance <70% of standing height on the operated leg was negatively associated with return to sport status. The authors concluded that improving single leg hop score to >70% of height may be important in supporting return to sport post-ACL surgery.

This shows the potential of jump-to-height ratios in providing clear exit criteria and training goals for athletes recovering from injury and potentially identifying risk factors for future injury. It should be mentioned that this is an understudied area, so you should take caution in over-interpreting this data. However, having historical jump-to-height ratios for athletes can be helpful if they suffer a lower body injury, as you then have clear benchmarks to work toward during the rehab process to ensure a safe return to sport.

Performance Uses

Though this is not a commonly used metric—meaning there is little in the way of normative data—we have started building out scoring standards that we hope will be improved as more coaches adopt the jump-to-height ratio. The beauty is that the more data you collect with your athletes, the more accurately you can produce scoring standards that apply to your specific situations (age groups, sports, genders, playing levels, positions, etc.). It can then help inform training interventions based on the ratios that best fit those athletes.

Closing Thoughts

S&C coaches have used relative metrics to gain deep insights into an athlete’s athletic potential; however, horizontal-based jumps have not been given this same level of consideration. By utilizing a simple jump-to-height ratio, coaches can quickly and accurately compare jump data between athletes of different heights, sports, or stages of rehab. Rather than relying solely on the total distance jumped, I encourage you to dig a little deeper to get the most out of your testing data.

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References

1. Saint-Maurice PF, Laurson KR, Kaj M, and Csányi T. “Establishing normative reference values for standing broad jump among Hungarian youth.” Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. 2015;86(sup1):S37–S44.

2. Ohji S, Aizawa J, Hirohata K, et al. “Single-leg hop distance normalized to body height is associated with the return to sports after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.” The Journal of Experimental Orthopaedics. 2021;8(1):26.

3. NFL Combine Data accessed: https://www.draftcountdown.com/combine/2022-nfl-combine-results/