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Learn how to long jump beyond 7m!

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Hang vs Hitchkick – Which technique is better?

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This is a very interesting question because elite long jump performances have been done using both techniques. The hang technique was used by former world record holders such as Bob Beamon, who jumped 8.90m in Mexico City and held the long jump world record for over 20 years.

The hitchkick has been used more over the past 30 years, with the current world record holder Mike Powell using the technique to jump 8.95m. Even Carl Lewis used this technique regularly to jump over 8.90m as well in the long jump.

Which technique is better?

It isn’t fair to say that one technique is better than the other. However, many elite long jumpers do find it easier to jump with the hitchkick. Whilst beginners in the long jump will opt for the simpler hang technique.

Remember that the speed is more important than the technique if you want to get a long distance in the long jump.

Don’t get caught up too much with the hang or hitchkick technique if you don’t have the speed. The techniques will simply allow you to stay in the air and maintain your jumping arc when you do the long jump. You will need to generate a top speed of 9-11 second pace over the 100m if you really want to experience the benefits from the technique.

Would you like to advance your long jump performance?

Buy our long jump training program that will help you become more powerful and explosive, so you can run faster and jump further in the long jump.

We expect you to improve your long jump performance by at least 30cm.

Click here to buy the long jump program.

How do you measure the long jump?

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There are a few things that you need to consider if you plan to measure distances accurately in the long jump.

An official needs to see the take-off point on the board.

The long jump board has a raised wooden plank and plasticine. As the athlete approaches and uses the board to take-off, the official must identify whether or not the athlete has taken off without touching the foul area on the board.

The distance measured is taken from the plank on the board.

The distances aren’t measured from the athlete’s point of take-off. Rather from the foul line on the board.

The distance is measured from the closest point to the board in the sand.

Wherever the closest mark to the board is, the measurement should be taken from that distance. Ths includes the athlete walking outside of the pit sideways or them putting their hand behind them in the sand.

You will need a measuring tape or an electronic measuring device to accurately record the distance in the long jump. You can purchase the following equipment.

Also make sure you measure the wind assistance.

Wind assistance of more than 2 metres per second will prevent your jump from being recognised for qualifications. However, it will be recognised if you do the jump in a competition. For example, if you jump 7 metres with a 2.4m/s wind in competition and it breaks the record, the record will not count. However, the distance will be counted in the competition.

How important is the penultimate step in the long jump?

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The penultimate step in the long jump is important, but it shouldn’t be overemphasized. The goal of the long jump event is to jump the furthest distance from the take-off board In order to accomplish that, you must maximise your top speed at the take-off point and maintain that speed throughout the jump.

The mistake many athletes make when they incorporate the penultimate step is that they do it in a way that causes them to decelerate.

This deceleration can cost them several centimetres when doing the long jump.

Secondly, athletes use the penultimate step to get extra height for when they do the long jump.

This ensures that they jump in an arc instead of jumping flat. However, if the athlete pops up too high, they will simply jump high in the air and won’t get the distance.

If the penultimate step is too low, the athlete will simply pop up and down when doing the jump.

The penultimate step is important. However, it needs to be incorporated with speed. And generally, the athlete will need to have a high speed on the runway to incorporate it in a way so that the benefits will be seen.

For example.

If an athlete runs 10 or 11 seconds over the 100m, a penultimate step will be beneficial as it will give the athlete enough height to carry the speed throughout the arc of the jump.

The video below shares very good tips from former Olympic medallist Dwight Phillips.

One of the best examples ever is the penultimate step of Bob Beamon, who jumped 8.90m, which is a former world record.

You can see a snippet of his penultimate step below.

Would you like to advance your long jump performance?

Buy our long jump training program that will help you become more powerful and explosive, so you can run faster and jump further in the long jump.

We expect you to improve your long jump performance by at least 30cm.

Click here to buy the long jump program.

How quick should your 100m time be if you are a long jumper?

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When it comes to long jumping, speed is critical. You do need to master the other aspects of the jump. However, if you want to give yourself the best chance of jumping far, you need to reach your top speed by the time you get to the board.

To give you an idea about how fast you need to be, we have shared some of the details in the table below with long jumpers best 100m times and their furthest distance.

Mike Powell

100m – 10.45 seconds

Long Jump – 8.95m (world record). Also 8.99m wind assisted.

Carl Lewis

100m – 9.86 seconds

Long Jump – 8.87m (8.91 wind assisted)

Bob Beamon

100m – No official record.

Long Jump – 8.90m

Ivan Pedroso

100m – Unavailable

Long Jump – 8.71m (official) 8.96m (Unofficial with a 1.6m reading)

Dwight Phillips

100m – 10.06 seconds

Long Jump – 8.74m

60m – 6.47 seconds

200m – 20.68 seconds

50m – 5.70 seconds

Greg Rutherford

100m – 10.26 seconds

Long Jump – 8.51m

60m – 6.68 seconds

You can use these as benchmarks for the type of speed that you need to have and the jumping distance that you want to achieve.

Dynamic Stretching tips with long jumper Greg Rutherford

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Greg Rutherford won the Olympic long jump title in London in 2012 and has also won gold at the world championships. He is a world class long jumper and shares a few stretching tips in the video below.