The pogo jump. What is it? and why is it effective for developing speed and bounce?
In the last blog post I highlighted the complexities we need to factor in when considering strength as a means for speed development. If you haven’t read that post already here is a link. Today I want to go over a series of exercises that I use regularly in my programs to maximise tendon stiffness and Rate of Force Development within an athlete.
One of the key factors to sprinting faster is the athlete's ability to apply huge forces into the ground (as high as 5x bodyweight on a single leg) in extremely short ground contact times.
If we compare elite to non elite sprinters one of the key distinctions between the two is the ability for the elite sprinter to remain stiffer upon ground contact. Essentially this allows the athlete to rebound off the ground like an inflated ball or a spring. If we take a look at the image below what you will see is an elite sprinter on the left and a team sport athlete on the right.
At first glance at the image on the left you will notice much less bend at the knee, hip, and ankle compared to the athlete on the right. What this will do is shorten the athlete on the lefts ground contact time and increase vertical force output, a critical factor for ensuring propulsive forces in top speed sprinting. Remember in my last blog post how I highlighted how elite sprinters can produce more force in the first half of the ground contact? Well enhanced stiffness is certainly a big factor in allowing for that.
So if you are still struggling to grasp the concept let me use an analogy. Let's imagine the elite sprinter on the left represents a fully inflated soccer ball. The team sport athlete on the right also represents a soccer ball however it is much more deflated.
What will happen if we throw both of these balls down a court at the same speed? Which one will travel further and faster?
The fully inflated ball of course. This is essentially what is happening with our tendons. The elite sprinter is able to utilise their tendons in a springier fashion compared to the team sport athlete. This is true for both sprinting and approach jumping.
So how do we go about developing stiffness within an athlete?
So sprinting is obviously a very specific and logical answer to increasing stiffness within an athlete however, this is where I believe the role of highly specific plyometrics can come into play for an athlete.
Introduce the Pogo jump
Pogos are a form of plyometric that predominantly stems from the ankle and knee that requires very minimal knee bend. This minimal bend forces the tendons to store and release elastic energy very rapidly, essentially requiring a high level of stiffness. Although there aren’t really any plyometrics that can match the same ground contact times as top end sprinting, pogos are one of the few plyometrics that can elicit the same peak forces and similar joint angles.
Ken Clark highlighted that a single leg pogo hop resulted in 5x Bodyweight forces upon ground contact. This is roughly the same vertical force output as seen in max velocity sprinting. Couple this with the specific joint angles and we have a very specific exercise for transference over to sprinting and jumping performance.
So awesome, pogos have the potential to have good transference over to sprinting and jumping performance, but what distinguishes good programming from average programming is understanding how can we put this together in a practical setting to ensure the best results
When implementing any form of plyometric we need to consider a variety of variables to firstly ensure that the level of plyometric is appropriate for that athlete's stage of development, but secondly how can we increase intensity across training cycles to ensure the athlete continues to progress. Although this will likely be a future blog post on its own, when measuring plyometric intensity I like to use Mike Young's intensity spectrum and consider 4 key variables.
1. Height - How high is the athlete falling from or how high are they jumping.
Higher heights dropped from or how high the athlete jumps will increase landing forces, increasing the intensity of the exercise. Dropping from a 70cm box is more intense than jumping 20cm.
2. Speed - how fast is the athlete moving forward, lateral or backwards.
The higher the velocity generated eg bounding for distance the higher the forces on the body upon ground contact.
3. Ground contact - what is the type of ground contact upon landing?
For example are they jumping into sand or onto a box where the landing is soft, or are they stiff like a spring on a hard surface. A stiffer landing is more jarring and will increase the load on the body. This isn’t a bad thing, just something to consider.
4. Distribution of load upon impact - is the landing single leg, double leg or split stance?
Single leg movements are significantly more intense compared to bilateral options as seen in the image below.
Now following this model we can now organise exercises to ensure the athlete is progressing appropriately with their pogo progressions. Below are 4 potential phases of progressions you could implement yourself or with your clients that follow these plyometric intensity principles.
Phase 1 - Extensive pogo jumps
If we follow our continuum above these rudimentary style jumps are quite low intensity in nature. The height is very minimal due to the submaximal intensity nature. Speed is going to be low due to more emphasis being placed on vertical force. The ground contact is somewhat stiff however, due to the submaximal nature ground contact times are going to be longer compared to the following phases to come. And finally, the landings can be predominantly double leg before progressing to a single leg.
I use these types of jumps year round in some capacity which allows me to build a higher volume of quality ground contacts. What we are looking for is to avoid the athlete being too toey and that the ground contact is more represented on the ball of the foot or a midfoot contact. This will demonstrate a more specific position for sprinting performance.
Phase 2 - Max effort double leg pogo jumps
The intensity has now increased due to the increased height we are jumping as well as a stiffer landing upon ground contact. Because of this, ground contact times will shorten and peak forces will increase. The same cues apply as previously mentioned, striking on the ball or midfoot compared to bouncing on the toes.
Phase 3 - Max effort band assisted single leg pogo hops
Although we have shifted to a single leg where theoretically impact loading can double, the band will allow us to reduce body weight and thus reduce collision upon ground contact. I feel this variation bridges the gap between double leg pogo’s and single leg pogos. For those that have tried pogo jumps i’m sure you would be fully aware that single leg variations can be quite intense even for high level athletes. Like any pogo drill, if technique or stiffness is compromised due to not being able to handle the forces than transfer will be suboptimal. The band assisted variations can allow us to get comfortable on a single leg. We can always decrease band tension as the weeks progress.
Phase 4 - Max effort single leg pogo hops
This is the final progression. If we look at the intensity scale this variation is intense in nature. Because the ground contact is stiff and it is a single leg landing, it is going to be on the upper end of the intensity continuum. Perhaps a lack of movement velocity prevents this movement from being super intense, however as mentioned earlier stiff landings plus a single leg ground contact is no easy task. Ensure quality is maintained and the athlete is getting off the ground as fast as possible with maximal effort.
So that's another blog post. Hopefully you gained something practical based on the research provided. If you liked this blog post make sure to share it and let me know what other topics you want to be discussed in the future.
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