From personal experience I have never seen anyone gain inches by changing their technique and I have seen quite afew people try. IMO even if you have sub-par coordination, once you get past the total beginner stage your body will automatically take in consideration your strengths/weaknesses and in return make you perform the best possible jump to maximize your strengths.
yup, well said, finding weaknesses from their plant/runup is the most important aspect of analyzing technique.. the most someone is going to improve on a double or single leg jump, if they've already been jumping their whole life, is 1-2" from some form changes.. you could improve your high jump by like 8-12" with form techniques though, but that's not on actual vert ;d
The only real use I see in over analyzing someones jump technique is to find out their weaknesses (ie. posture, flexibility, inhibited muscles, and more commonly strength/reactive ability) so they can go out and work on it (ie. stretching, mobility work, lifting, plyometrics).
oh i responded to that above ^
right for example, if you come in slow, quads = weak.. if you collapse really hard onto your heel, ankles = weak.. if you come in completely straight and try to jump very linear with the hoop, chances are you're pretty strength dominant and need alot of work in the reactive department.. if your depth is very low, again, strength dominant.. if your depth is very high, could be a problem, sometimes it isn't, most of the time it is, usually need more glute work or to consciously think about getting deeper.. if the runup has a stutter, your jump technique sucks, that's your weakness.. if you take a huge penult step, doesn't matter, short penult step, doesn't matter.. if your heels barely touch the ground, chances are you are very reactive, very good sign, usually need more strength.
stuff like that.
Although he does give some decent information in the videos some of what Linkenauger is saying is complete garbage. There is a reason why someone is slowing down before takeoff. There is a reason why someone is collapsing during takeoff. There is a reason why someone is barely accelerating in their approach. There is a reason why someones GCT is too high, etc etc. In most cases try to "fix" this and perform it the "right" way and someone will be jumping even lower.
yup great point, that's why im a fan of improving max strength, improving reactive strength, improving explosive strength, improving body composition, and getting those jump reps in.. if you do all of that, form will automatically change and fall into place..
for example, when i squat with frequency and barely jump, no reactive work, i become more of a strength dominant jumper, my heel collapses in the plant, i'm more of a "linear jumper" (squared to basket jump), my runup usually sucks.. once i phase in tons of reactive work, say a ton of MR halftucks (getting to the point where i can hit 10 x 30-50), i stay off my heels, runup improves a ton (much faster) and i plant with more of a rotation, digging myself into the ground sideways..
none of that is conscious, it just happens based on what im strengthening... that's how it is for everyone, not just me.
The only credit I give him is for being able to analyze the videos and point out what could be better, thats it. To turn around and say "oh your approach is too slow, go faster", "your knee collapses, dont collapse", "you are sinking your hips too low, less bend" and then follow it up by (real example from one of his videos) "If you dont decelerate before takeoff Im sure you will gain ~4 inches" its complete scammer talk. The jumpers problems and his analysis are obvious as hell, I mean what he does after and the promises he makes are complete bullshit.
ya he's full of shit, he's always trying to find an 'edge'.
"omg im so happy with all of the feedback ive been getting from the form jumping videos" = lmao.
What has happened in all cases I have seen ie. someone approaches too slow, if they increase their approach speed to "optimal" levels they are not strong enough to handle the force which will lead to increased GCT or horizontal jumping, and so on and so forth.
yup
Best thing you can do is to have a great workout plan, do all the right things in the weightroom/kitchen/court and your body will know what to do better then what anyone could tell you online in a couple of sentences.
yup
Also one of his biggest bullshit stories that probably gets a ton of people is that "day" where he woke up with the right technique and added ~7 inches or whatever to his high jump. Technique is much more important in high jumping and needs to be taught. High jumping, especially for beginners which is what he was, is obviously not all about how high you jump. He kind of puts on as if he gained 7 inches on his vertical... His vertical could have easily stayed exactly the same as Im sure it did, and he still could have gained 7 inches on his high jump by improving his technique (which Im sure 95% of everyone here or his customers couldnt care less about).
Anyways those are just my opinions, take them with a grain of salt.
EXACTLY........................................... 8 instant on a high jump, possibly, with high jump coaching, but 8" on actual vert?
get
the
fuck
out
bottom line, epic post by joner.
