A Review: The Organization of Training Processes in the Long Jump

This article is an excellent semi-detailed explanation of a double yearly peak training cycle for the long jump.  However, the general concepts can easily be applied to any event.  The main concept that I found will reach across to any event is the trade-off from volume (Quantity) to intensity (Quality) and the systematic implementation of both components.  Popov seems to say that volume precedes intensity in the general preparation phase as more intensity is added and volume is decreased into the competition period.

I particularly like that Popov is also looking at things from a Macro perspective in varying training from year to year.  He counts how many run-ups, jumps from short, medium jumps (10 to 14 strides) and jumps from full an athlete takes in a year and will vary these numbers each year depending on the goal.  Although not necessarily practical, I could justify the idea of training a freshman college athlete different from that of a senior college athlete in the same event.  It would be interesting to keep track of how many jumps a college athlete takes in his entire career.

The detailed breakdown of training loads and each phase will be an excellent tool for me going forward. The only odd thing I saw in Papov's article was the intense warm-up on the day before competition.  It included 2-3 accelerations over 100 Meter, 3 to 5 runs in rhythm of the run-up, 5 to 8 crouch starts, 2 to 3 series of 5 to8 repetitions of jumps with weights and 10 to 12 throws of shots.  This seemed to me a little extreme and thought this routine could end after the run-ups.

-John Egan

The Organization of the Training Processes in the Long Jump

By V. Popov

Modern Athlete and Coach