yup, if your ankles break down, then everything will break down. one thing you'll notice about all of these jumper/sprinter galleries, is that they all have insane ankles, which could be completely a matter of long achilles tendons OR other factors such as strength.

the most important things these hj'rs are doing, is jamming their leg stiff.. it's almost like a piece of bamboo, jamming stiff into the ground, bending under the force you jam it, and then rebounding reflexively. That "stiff leg plant" is hardcore.


for double leg jumpers, the best stuff is:
- single/double leg bounds (non weighted & eventually utilizing weighted variations)
- stiff leg ankle hops (non weighted & eventually utilizing weighted variations)
- lateral barrier jumps
- rfi line hops (non weighted & eventually utilizing weighted variations)
- sprints
- depth jumps
- heavy calf raises

for single leg jumps it's pretty similar, but you have to take care with some of the double leg stuff depending on what phase you're in.

After detraining my vert for so long, i'm getting back into it. If my old hamstring tendon injury holds up then we'll see what happens, but the plan for now, is to target specifically the ankles. Limit all lifts to them, lots of sprinting/reactive movements etc. I want to see what my jumping will look like, focusing entirely on the ankles.

pc

yup, holm especially.. ridiculous slow motion footage.

One more thing: look at Holm's right leg as he swings it (his position) and look at Thomas'. Holm has his right leg parallel, sideways, to his left, while Thomas has his right leg a little more backwards, which means he puts more strength into the jump and less tendon, in my opinion, since that will increase the amortization phase because the right leg swing will be longer.