【TAD Approach】Conditioning for Jumping
I will explain the conditioning points for achieving high jumps, categorized into three key areas.
Conditioning for the Ankles:
To generate power, it's essential to bend the ankles deeply.
A crucial aspect during this process is to enhance flexibility by bending the ankles dorsally.
Specifically, ensure to loosen the calf muscles.
Conditioning for the Knees:
To accumulate power, deep bending of the knees is necessary.
When bending the knees, it's crucial to relax the muscles in the front of the thighs (quadriceps).
Since the quadriceps are broad muscles, it's important to loosen each muscle group—inner, middle, and outer.
Conditioning for the Hips and Hip Joints:
To further accumulate power, bend the hip joints deeply.
To flex and extend the hip joints effectively, relax the iliopsoas and gluteus maximus muscles.
Practical Insights from Kurt Browning's Jumping Mastery
The advice from Kurt Browning, "The key to figure skating jumps is jumping high," may seem like a riddle at first glance. However, by dissecting the movement, I've elaborated on specific actions. Conditioning the lower body—ankles, knees, and hips—is crucial. Through this, skaters can unleash their body's potential, as experienced by Kurt Browning himself and figure skaters worldwide. To all figure skaters struggling with jumps, I encourage you to try this approach.
While I don't deny the importance of lower body muscle training, significant changes in a short period are unlikely. Conversely, conditioning alone may lead to higher jumps the next day. Therefore, muscle training without adequate conditioning may not yield the desired results.
This proposal comes from me, a massage therapist who has supported numerous figure skaters for 25 years, and Kurt Browning, a four-time world champion and figure skating legend.
(Note: TAD stands for Translate, Analyze, and Discuss, a method used in translation studies.)