Alternate Arms???

[TripleMyJump]

Last year as a freshman, I only did jump practice for about three weeks. I found out that I'm pretty good at them, and am probably the 5th or 6th best triple jumper on the team, first or second for sophomores. However, the guys ahead of me have had way more experience than I have, and use alternating arms during t/j. Being a rookie, I only really know how to do double loops with my arms, and my coach wants me to try out alternating arms, but I have no idea how to do them...Any help?

~JT~

[LAXCoach]

Last year as a freshman, I only did jump practice for about three weeks. I found out that I'm pretty good at them, and am probably the 5th or 6th best triple jumper on the team, first or second for sophomores. However, the guys ahead of me have had way more experience than I have, and use alternating arms during t/j. Being a rookie, I only really know how to do double loops with my arms, and my coach wants me to try out alternating arms, but I have no idea how to do them...Any help?

~JT~


I've always been a fan of single, double, double, and this in most cases produces the best results.

[GJones]

Last year as a freshman, I only did jump practice for about three weeks. I found out that I'm pretty good at them, and am probably the 5th or 6th best triple jumper on the team, first or second for sophomores. However, the guys ahead of me have had way more experience than I have, and use alternating arms during t/j. Being a rookie, I only really know how to do double loops with my arms, and my coach wants me to try out alternating arms, but I have no idea how to do them...Any help?

~JT~

Alernate arms won't necessarily get you farther. I actually think double blocking gets you out there better, but it's all based on preference. If you look at footage from some of the pro's you'll see that Kenny Harrison (AR Holder) uses double arm action while Jonathan Edwards, World Record Holder, uses one arm. Even with college athletes like from last years NCAA Champs, which I was very fortunate to see, Allen Simms (2nd Place finisher) uses single arm and the winner, Rodrigo Mendes uses double arms. Do you have a jump specific coach? What are the best kids on your team jumping? What are you jumping? If you give me some more info I might be able to help you out a little bit more.

[HJfrick]

I know a lot of coaches suggest double arm blocking because it is "more poweful", but really you should do whatever feels best to you.

[aidan]

Double arm, when done correctly, is more powerful... but even when directly, it will cause a slight loss of speed at the board


I'd say, the more powerful upper body you have,the more I'd lean towards double, and the quicker and lighter you are, the more i'd lean towards alternating... I've tried both, and much prefer alternating :)

[DUKETJ08]

I say go for the double. I’ve done both and this is what I can tell you:

Alternate
1)will be more comfortable for someone new to jumping
2)will better keep your balance
3)when done incorrectly, will not hurt you as much

Double
1)Will get you far more power off the board and off each phase
2)Requires a little bit more focus and concentration
3)looks cooler;)


FYI as a high school jumper, I singled and jumped 48'. My first year in college, my coach forced me to double and, aside from the obvious increase in training, I've jumped 51'

For now just go with whatever is the most comfortable, once you get more experience, you can decide what’s right for you.

[LAXCoach]

Double
1)Will get you far more power off the board and off each phase



Doubling off the board? really? :confused: sounds awful to me.

[NVJumper13]

Doubling off the board? really? :confused: sounds awful to me.
people do it though. last year at the Great Southwest track meet there were these two guys from Texas that both did a double arm swing at the board. they looked goofy because during the last 2-3 steps they didn't swing their arms in a running motion but instead slowly brought their arms back to prepare to do the double arm swing. i thought they looked rediculous, but they both were 49' jumpers so i wasn't about to criticize. i do the single off the board and then two doubles. this is kinda like comparing the hang and the hitch in the long jump. neither is proven really "better," so it is really a personal prefrence.

[TripleMyJump]

Alernate arms won't necessarily get you farther. I actually think double blocking gets you out there better, but it's all based on preference. If you look at footage from some of the pro's you'll see that Kenny Harrison (AR Holder) uses double arm action while Jonathan Edwards, World Record Holder, uses one arm. Even with college athletes like from last years NCAA Champs, which I was very fortunate to see, Allen Simms (2nd Place finisher) uses single arm and the winner, Rodrigo Mendes uses double arms. Do you have a jump specific coach? What are the best kids on your team jumping? What are you jumping? If you give me some more info I might be able to help you out a little bit more.
Yeah, we do have a jump specific coach.
The best kids on my team are jumping about 40' give or take.
We haven't had a meet yet, but I'd say that I'm anywhere in between 37-40 feet.
~JT~