- Dec 14, 2009
- 176
- 47
I wrote this for one of my private lesson girls and thought I'd share it with y'all.
Jumps
All jumps have three components: technique, flexibility and strength. Technique will always be the most important component, but good strength and flexibility will make any jump better. You will not have hyperextended jumps unless you are both strong and flexible (not just one or the other).
General Technique:
v Keep your chest up. In order to do this, it helps that you try to bring your legs up to you rather than forcing your body down to your legs. When you are jumping, it will help if you really think about kicking your legs all the way up to your head with all of your strength.
v Hit your jumps with your arms parallel to the ground. They should be in a ‘T’ motion in toe touches, but only far enough in front of you to just see them from the corner of your eyes. For hurdlers, your arms should be in a ‘touchdown’ motion; for pikes, your arms should be in ‘candlestick’ motions.
v “Face your butt to the crowd.” In your toe touches, you should try to roll your hips and knees so that they face behind you while you are jumping.
v Point your toes, and keep your legs straight by squeezing your quad muscles (located right above your knee).
v Only jump as high as you can with good technique. Do not sacrifice technique for a “better jump” because technique will always look better.
Flexibility:
v Static stretches involve holding a single position (e.g. splits, bridge, and heel stretch). For jumps, the static stretches that you should be doing are your left, right, and middle splits. In your left and right splits, your front and back legs should form a straight line and your arms should be on either side of you. Once they get very good, elevate your front leg. All left/right splits should be practiced with your front toe facing the ceiling. For middle splits, make sure that your hips are directly over your legs. Your knees and toes should face the ceiling, and either your hands or elbows should be on the floor in front of you.
v Dynamic stretches are stretches that involve movement (e.g. leg swings, butt kicks, toe pops). For jumps, you can work on leg swings (one leg at a time, kicking forward and backward as hard as you can). You could also work on slow and controlled leg lifts, where you try to lift your leg as high as you can without actually kicking it.
Strength:
v Core and hip flexor strength will help give you the strength to bring your legs higher, and can be most easily improved with L-sits. Start by sitting on something higher than the floor and put both hands by your side. Hold yourself up as long as you can with your legs bent. Once it is easy with your legs bent, you can try it with your legs straight but not yet parallel to the ground. Eventually, once you have the required strength, you can do this with straight legs on the floor. Another exercise is sitting in a straddle and putting both hands on either side of one leg and moving it in circles. You should do this on both legs.
v Leg strength will make your jump higher off the floor. You can work on calf raises (on both legs, and one leg at a time), Russians (one-legged candlesticks), and jump ropes (on both legs, and one leg at a time).
Jumps
All jumps have three components: technique, flexibility and strength. Technique will always be the most important component, but good strength and flexibility will make any jump better. You will not have hyperextended jumps unless you are both strong and flexible (not just one or the other).
General Technique:
v Keep your chest up. In order to do this, it helps that you try to bring your legs up to you rather than forcing your body down to your legs. When you are jumping, it will help if you really think about kicking your legs all the way up to your head with all of your strength.
v Hit your jumps with your arms parallel to the ground. They should be in a ‘T’ motion in toe touches, but only far enough in front of you to just see them from the corner of your eyes. For hurdlers, your arms should be in a ‘touchdown’ motion; for pikes, your arms should be in ‘candlestick’ motions.
v “Face your butt to the crowd.” In your toe touches, you should try to roll your hips and knees so that they face behind you while you are jumping.
v Point your toes, and keep your legs straight by squeezing your quad muscles (located right above your knee).
v Only jump as high as you can with good technique. Do not sacrifice technique for a “better jump” because technique will always look better.
Flexibility:
v Static stretches involve holding a single position (e.g. splits, bridge, and heel stretch). For jumps, the static stretches that you should be doing are your left, right, and middle splits. In your left and right splits, your front and back legs should form a straight line and your arms should be on either side of you. Once they get very good, elevate your front leg. All left/right splits should be practiced with your front toe facing the ceiling. For middle splits, make sure that your hips are directly over your legs. Your knees and toes should face the ceiling, and either your hands or elbows should be on the floor in front of you.
v Dynamic stretches are stretches that involve movement (e.g. leg swings, butt kicks, toe pops). For jumps, you can work on leg swings (one leg at a time, kicking forward and backward as hard as you can). You could also work on slow and controlled leg lifts, where you try to lift your leg as high as you can without actually kicking it.
Strength:
v Core and hip flexor strength will help give you the strength to bring your legs higher, and can be most easily improved with L-sits. Start by sitting on something higher than the floor and put both hands by your side. Hold yourself up as long as you can with your legs bent. Once it is easy with your legs bent, you can try it with your legs straight but not yet parallel to the ground. Eventually, once you have the required strength, you can do this with straight legs on the floor. Another exercise is sitting in a straddle and putting both hands on either side of one leg and moving it in circles. You should do this on both legs.
v Leg strength will make your jump higher off the floor. You can work on calf raises (on both legs, and one leg at a time), Russians (one-legged candlesticks), and jump ropes (on both legs, and one leg at a time).
