Masters floppers can benefit from high jump curve calculator
Floppers over forty, take note. Peter Hlavin, my Lahti housemate, writes that former NCAA high jumper Todd Acheson “has created what I believe is the first high jump curve calculator that is available to the general public on the Internet. . . . This . . . would be a valuable tool for masters jumpers. Why? Using easy-to-gather information (e.g., average stride length of final 5 strides on curve), it establishes the optimal curve for each jumper (based primarily on speed and takeoff angle), as well as beginning of the curve mark. Very easy methodology to draw out the curve and then run curve over and over in practice. Of course, some trial and error work is usually involved but, hey, having a starting point is better than nothing.” Todd, 41, tells Peter he may even get into masters track. Here’s the site.
Get your stride length and plug in the numbers. Repeat every couple years.
18 Responses
That’s awesome. NOW Ken, please use this to keep your head off of the standards!! HaHa!! You know we love you! Bubba
I agree with Bubba Sparks.
Ken, be careful!
Read Point 1! “This distance is called XSTD”
Or take a helmet from a pole vaulter?
Nice.
I have a bit simpler thing, metric of course, at http://home.xmsnet.nl/weiatletiek/RunUp.html
But Ken hadn’t studied it рџ™Ѓ
I have been a competitive high jumper for over 25 years (current M40 US Indoor Champion and World Champion at Lahti and Sydney) and while Todd Acheson’s curve calculator is a start, there is so much more that goes into high jumping than what the formula implies.
The curve calculator isn’t new. I studied similar formulae when I was part of the Soviet athletic machine in the early 1980s. If high jump approaches could be reduced to formulae, then everybody would be jumping 7 feet.
Especially for masters jumpers who may have experienced injuries in the past, it is important to tailor one’s jumping style to capitalize on one’s strengths and to avoid repeat injuries.
I have had both Achilles tendons replaced so I have developed my own jumping style that is successful but takes into consideration my body’s strengths and weaknesses. I do not jump according to a formula.
Acheson’s calculator is a start for beginning jumpers, but even for beginning jumpers, developing a love of flying through the air is more important than plugging numbers into a formula
Karl makes some good points. Still, I felt that the article, which has a good discussion of the flop approach was useful for most jumpers. More helpful than the curve formula alone.
When I read you had both of your achilles tendons “replaced”, I was like “say what”? So I did a search to find out what you were talking about and all I came up with was there was some experimenting on doing it on a rabbit. Just out of curiosity, where did you get your new tendons?
I have to agree with Karl. I have jumped/coached for many years. I have also attended numerous clinics on the event given by some of our highest level coaches and experts. It seems they all have some variations to what works best for them or their athletes. There are many other variable involved with determining the proper curve for a jumper. From the jumper’s height to their mechanics to their running speed. Even consideration of particular injuries. So, Karl is correct, in my opinion, that the calculator is a good place to start.
Re: where I got my “new” tendons…
In the old USSR, despite gulags and breadlines, they made very good use of cadavers.
You are lucky. I don’t think that anyone in the U.S. has had this surgery yet. I thought that tendons had to be supple, especially for an athlete and a dead guy gets rigor mortis pretty fast.
I like your comments on high jumping. But I think you are pulling our “leg” about achilles tendon replacement. Not only does a dead body lose flexibility in the tendons through rigor mortis right away but even if you took the tendons right at death and chilled them, they shrink down to 1/3 the original size. And you can’t stretch to make them fit. So, there may be some other surgery you had but not this one.
The chart shows a 84″ stride length. Isn’t the 84″ stride length longer than most Masters athletes acheive? I would guess that most Masters have a much shorter stride length.
Nothing in life is perfect…and that goes for curve calculators as well. Running a curved approach and attempting to throw your body over a crossbar without knocking it over is a very complex thing. It’s so complex I can’t begin to analyze all the variables involved.
But, like many things in life, sometimes things can be simplified to give you a better probability of success. That’s the purpose of this curve calculator. I’ve tried to keep it as simple as I can so an athlete can accomplish the simple act of having a consistent approach where your plant foot is in roughly the same location at each take-off with a pre-determined angle.
I’m biased in my opinion of this of course because it’s worked so well for me (maybe tells you how inconsistent I was to begin with), but I’ve had plenty of correspondance with others that have used it and increased their PR’s by 2-4 inches on average.
Is it for the person that had both achilles replaced? Maybe. That’s so odd, I’m not even sure where it fits in here…but if you have a consistent stride length, the calculator should still work. I ruptured one completely myself when I was attempting 7′-0″ at age 31. I had it sewn back together and this calculator still works for me.
Don’t expect miracles from any tool like this, rather use it judiciously to supplement upon your current skillset and knowlege already gained from years of jumping.
OK. I am a LJ man. I could never do high jump for my life. However I do have some surplus energy. Tell me. In LJ I use my left foot At the end of this HJ run-up curve should my left foot be parallel to the bar on taking off? Or should it be inclined somewhat inwards to the curve (in which case I could sprain an ankle)?
Todd,
I don’t doubt that the curve calculator is helpful, but what I was trying to get to in my original comment is that the reduction of high jump…or any sport for that matter…to a set of formulae can’t help but to take something away from the sport. And while formulae may make somebody a better jumper, they don’t necessarily make somebody the best jumper.
Maybe it is because I have been a high jumper for so long, but in my own training and when I train others I try to resist anything that adds a robotic quality to the sport. Without sounding too metaphysical, I think developing a love of flying (and the pyschological benefits that come from that mindset) is the most important aspect of high jump training.
Certainly, there are elements of my own jumping style that are almost ritual by this point, but the enjoyment of the sport is more important to me than following a unvarying running pattern.
In fact, breaking patterns based on curve formulae that we imposed on me in the Soviet Union…plus the relaxation that comes from breaking strict patterns…I’m sure were the bases for my recent World Championships in Lahti and Sydney.
Karl,
“love of flying” mindset – how I loved that. Spot on! Applies to LJ too.
Karl,
I think we’re on the same page for the most part. Loving what you do can have profound implications on success, weather it be flying or anything else. And the right way to do one thing for you can be different than me based on the physics of body shape, style and running ability and a bunch of other variables. It’s impossible to reduce any event to merely a set of formulas. You’re right-on there.
If I were a long jumper, would I pick a random spot on the runway at my next championship meet and hope that I hit the board without scratching my jump? Probably not. I’d rely on something more concrete like a measurement obtained from running my approach in reverse, so I have a better probability of not scratching, and then let my love for jumping guide me the rest of the way.
I see high jumping as similar, albeit a little more complicated рџ™‚ Find an approach that gives me a a good chance of consistency and let my love of flying guide me afterwards. My best meets were a combination of a consistent approach and relaxed mind, free of technical analysis during the competition. I was living in the moment where time slowed down and high heights were achieved. (wish I could get that back someday!)
I am only speaking in generalities here; and that’s the purpose of the curve calculator, to address the generalities most of us face in approach/run-up in high jumping. Only through trial-and-error will you find if it works for you or not.
Nice one, there is actually some great ideas on this blog some of my subscribers will maybe find this useful, I must send them a link, many thanks.
I know it has been a long time since someone has commented on this page, but I have to give this a shot. I have been using the high jump calculator for a few years now for my atheltes and I must say it has helped them to succeed and improve greatly. The problem I have is that the calculator is no longer accessible. I’ve been searching for months and with no success. I’ve tried other methods and none compare to this! Does anyone know where I can find it or does anyone have the formula that I could work out on my own? Thank you for any help you can give!
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