strengths and weaknesses in long jump essay

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strengths and weaknesses in long jump essay

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10 of the Biggest Mistakes Young Athletes Make in the Long Jump

Look out for these common long jumping errors when coaching young athletes.

What are the most common mistakes young athletes make in the long jump?

Below are 10 of the most common skill errors that I see kids make when long jumping. They’re listed roughly in the order that they will occur during the performance of the skill. I’d love for you to continue the list in the comments section of this blog:

1. Their Run-Up is Too Long

Youngsters will take the longest run-up that they are allowed. A run-up of about 10-15 strides is ample for a young athlete, depending on their age.

2. A One-Paced Run-Up

A good long jump run-up should increase in speed as the board is approached. In practice, try placing markers next to the runway as visual cues to remind the athletes to accelerate during the run up.

3. Slowing Down On Approaching the Take-Off Board

This is often caused by an athlete tiring due to a run-up that is too long. This is also seen if an athlete is overly conscious of the take-off board and is fearful of over-stepping the foul line. Develop a shorter run-up and try relaxing the focus on hitting the board while teaching a building up of speed along the runway.

4. Looking Down On Take-Off

Again, this is often caused by the athlete being too conscious of hitting the take-off board or being prematurely focused on trying to land safely. Try getting the athletes to focus on an object beyond the end of the pit.

5. Poor Use of Arms

Some youngsters throw their arms back behind them and some use a very timid, low -range-of-motion double arm flick as they jump. Get the athletes to really stretch like they are reaching for, grabbing and swinging on a trapeze .

6. A Lack of Height On Take-off

Many novice jumpers virtually skim across top of pit. There are many causes of this including:

A lack of knee and/or arm drive on take-off
Poor take-off leg extension
Head and/or eyes down on take-off
A lack of confidence in landing
A lack of power in the take off

Try holding an elastic high jump bar (or similar) across the pit, as an obstacle for the athletes to clear after take-off and before landing.

7. Landing On One Foot in the Pit

A number of novices simply step or run into pit after take-off. This is a very common problem that is usually caused by athletes who simply lack the ability to run, take-off from one foot and land on two feet. Remedial work is needed here. Take the athlete back to basic drills and games. E.g.:

Landing on two feet from a one leg balance.
Line up two hoops in front of the athlete. The athlete steps into the first hoop with one foot, jumps, then lands in the second hoop with two feet. This can also be done repeatedly along a row of hoops.
Walk, take-off from one foot and land on two feet from hoop to hoop, or into a pit.

An effective cue is to tell the athletes to only make one sound – not two – on landing.

8. Dropping Feet Into the Pit

Most beginners land with their feet under them, without the desired leg extension. This is often because it is the safest way for them to land. Teach the athletes to lead with their knees, then stretch out their lower legs so that they are able to “see their feet” in front of them. Try building a wall of sand a few centimetres high across the pit near to where the athletes are landing. The athletes have to try to avoid knocking the wall over.

9. Landing With Straight Legs

Many young athletes land standing in the pit with straight legs, but bent forward at the hips. This is awkward and may cause the athlete to lose balance and fall backwards on landing. The athletes must be taught to “give” at the joints on impact and land in squat position “like a frog”. Standing long jumps into the pit is usually my first point of call to remedy this.

10. Landing With Feet Apart

it is very common for beginners to land with their feet too far apart, either linearly or laterally. Encourage young athletes to land in a small area. In an effort to emphasize this and provide feedback, you can even try drawing a circle in the sand around where the athlete’s feet have landed.

What mistakes do you see young athletes making?

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How to Improve the Standing Long Jump Performance? A Mininarrative Review

1 Faculty of Sports Science, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China

2 Research Academy of Grand Health, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China

Anand Thirupathi

Minjun liang, associated data.

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Standing long jump (SLJ) is complicated by the challenge of motor coordination in both the upper and lower segments. This movement is also considered to be a fundamental skill in a variety of sports. In particular, SLJ is an important test index for middle school students for assessing their physical fitness levels. This assessment takes the form of a physical fitness test high school entrance examination in some countries such as China. This minireview summarizes recent studies that have investigated how to improve the standing long jump performance from different aspects which include arm motion, takeoff angle, standing posture, warming-up exercise, and handheld weight. The common study limitations, controversial knowledge, and future research direction are also discussed in detail.

1. Introduction

Jumping is a fundamental movement skill in a variety of sports that needs the complex motor coordination of upper and lower limbs to obtain a good performance, such as volleyball, basketball, ski jumping, and some ball sports in which the high velocity of muscle contractions is required. Standing long jump (SLJ) is considered a good predictor of sprint and jump performance, which presents correlations highly with isokinetic measures of lower extremity force [ 1 ].

The SLJ is an important physical fitness test index for middle school students in China. This assessment metric takes the form of a physical fitness test high school entrance examination in China. More often than not the outcome of this physical fitness test determines the eligibility of the student to be admitted to their high school of choice. Therefore, the SLJ score is of particular importance, and examining methods to effectively improve SLJ performance could be beneficial to middle school students. Previous researchers have also investigated various aspects of the SLJ ([ 2 – 4 ]. These studies have investigated body configuration and joint function of both upper and lower segments between adults and preschool-age children [ 3 ] and explored the significant correlations between a variety of isometric, kinetic, kinematic, and SLJ performance parameters [ 2 , 4 ]. The category of jumps can be divided according to the arm motion. i.e., jumps with restricted arm motion (JRA) and jumps with free arm movement (JFA). In terms of comparing the JRA and JFA jump categories, the influence of arm movement on SLJ performance was explored with respect to understanding whether the jumping distance could be increased by arm swing [ 5 ]. To detect more biomechanical mechanisms for improving the movement performance, the optimum takeoff (TO) angle 29°-38° of SLJ in adult males was found, although the biomechanical evidence for this result is unclear [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]. Meanwhile, the different TO positions for SLJ have also been studied by Mackala and associates where the different results of parallel or straddle foot starting placement for the quality of SLJ were determined [ 6 ]. Moreover, Koch et al. explored the potential effects of stretching and warm-up activities on the SLJ in moderate and well-trained subjects. The results presented show that warm-up activities had a slight effect on jumping performance, while maximum muscles strength showed a significant correlation with jumping ability [ 7 ]. On the other hand, according to the research by Minetti and Ardigo, the hand with halteres increased the TO speed in the SLJ mainly because the muscle exerted more force in the moderately loaded subjects in comparison to the nonloaded scenario [ 8 ]. The researchers compared the effects of hand-holding different weights on the kinematic and dynamic characteristics of SLJ subjects, and the relationship between the hand-held weight and jumping performance was clarified (Fukashiro et al. 2005; [ 8 ]).

Besides, the biomechanical characteristics of SLJ from a computer modeling perspective have been investigated by Hickox et al. Hickox and colleagues verified the effectiveness of SLJ modeling based on the two-dimensional sagittal plane evaluation, and the results showed that plane analysis was sufficient to detect lower limb movement [ 9 ]. In addition, Ashby and Delp documented that arm activity can improve the SLJ performance by using the optimal control simulation method [ 10 ]. These have provided us with an insightful understanding of the sports coordination mechanism of SLJ.

To date, a narrative review on the effect of motor activity on the standing long jump performance remains unavailable in the literature. Therefore, the purpose of this article was to summarize the methods for coaches and trainers to improve the SLJ performance from the perspective of several aspects based on previous studies.

2. The Different Analytical Aspects of the Standing Long Jump

2.1. the role of arm motion in the standing long jump.

Many previous studies have elucidated the role of arm movements in various jump activities [ 11 ]. There are several benefits to arm motion, such as arm swing increases the velocity of the body's center of gravity (CG) at TO, acquires the larger peak magnitude of the vertical ground reaction force, and creates an additional downward force on the body which allows for greater muscle force development [ 11 – 13 ]. To be more specific, Ashby and Heegaard have revealed the biomechanical mechanism of the role of an arm in the SLJ [ 5 ]. They conducted a comparative study between JFA and JRA subjects; the results showed that the average distance improved by 21.2% in the JFA group compared to JRA, the average velocity of the CG increased by 12.7% at TO, and the horizontal displacement of CG before TO significantly increased among the JFA subjects when compared to JRA subjects. In terms of kinetics, the peak value of horizontal ground reaction force (HGRF) in the JFA group was also significantly increased when compared to the JRA group. Additionally, it was considered that majority of the improvements observed in the SLJ were attributed to the increased CG velocity at TO during arm movements.

Three different theories have been proposed to explain the principle of how CG velocity was increased by arm movement at TO. The theory of “hold back” indicated that the lower limb extensor was activated by arm motion during the propulsive phase to limit excessive forward rotation, which would achieve an optimal landing. On the contrary, if arm motion was restricted, the jumper must “hole back” to limit the lower limb extensor thereby avoiding excessive forward rotation of the trunk and legs that would limit proper landing [ 5 ]. The theory of “joint torque augmentation” suggests that the arm swing creates a downward force on the shoulder, which slows down the shortening velocities of the lower extremity joint extensors thus resulting in a greater muscle torque [ 11 , 12 ]. The “energy transfer” theory is that muscles in the shoulder and elbow joints transfer energy to the rest of the body before takeoff, increasing the speed and displacement of the CG in both horizontal and vertical directions [ 12 ]. Ashby assessed the reliability of all three theories in jumping movement by using the optimal control simulations; it was found that the “energy transfer” theory is the primary mechanism for increasing the velocity of the CG in JFA at TO, because the large work of the upper limb joint muscles is produced by free arm movement which can be effectively transferred to the lower limb [ 14 ]. Above all, jumping with a free arm movement can significantly improve SLJ performance.

2.2. The Optimum Takeoff Angle of CG

The trajectory of CG movement can be likened to a projectile in the flying phase of the SLJ. Therefore, an appropriate projection angle is identified as a crucial factor to develop an ideal performance. Previous studies have suggested that the projection angle between 29° and 38° has been considered as an optimum TO angle for jumpers, but the biomechanical reasons for this projection angle option are not well explained [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]. However, the results showed that the TO angle was not the main factor contributing to a successful SLJ performance, especially that the distance affecting by TO speed was more important than TO angle [ 15 ]. In order to obtain maximum TO speed, the optimum TO angle in SLJ was suggested to be less than 45° [ 15 ]. Additionally, the authors also suggested that spiked shoes should be used at very low takeoff angles to increase traction at TO phase so as to reach a greater jump distance. There are few researches that have been done on the optimum takeoff angle in SLJ movement. Further studies should be conducted in the future to verify the role of appropriate TO angle in SLJ.

2.3. The Standing Posture of SLJ

The coordination strategies of a jumper can be affected by different standing postures. Despite the conclusions by previous researches suggesting that jump distance is insensitive to the initial position, which is determined by angle of knee flexion and posterior angle of the trunk at TO phase, the initial postures play an important role in SLJ movement for attaining a good performance [ 16 ]. Actually, the effects of various foot positions on the quality of SLJ have been studied extensively specifically from parallel and straddle position perspectives. The parallel SLJ setup involves placement of the feet at shoulder width apart or more and parallel to the starting line. The straddle SLJ setup contrastingly involves placement of the feet in self-selected straddle position ranging from 30 cm to 40 cm with one of the feet in front. Mackala and colleagues have investigated the effect of the differences in kinematics and kinetics between parallel and straddle placement in SLJ movement. In their study, three related muscle group activities were evaluated by electromyography (EMG) in different foot placement groups. The results showed that the average distance can be improved by 5.18% in the straddle position when compared to the parallel position. More specifically, larger flexion angles at the trunk, hip, and knee joints were observed in the straddle position. Larger peak joint moments were also found at straddle feet placement in comparison to the parallel position. The subject's whole body was more likely to tilt forward in the straddle position and produce a lower center of mass that can generate a larger momentum in the forward and upward movements, thus contributing to a better performance. In contrast to parallel posture, the greatest muscle activation was observed in the gluteus maximus and biceps femoris during the push-off phase in the straddle starting foot position, and the lower limb extensor muscles such as gluteus maximus and biceps femoris could exert more force in the straddle position compared to parallel position [ 6 ].

Besides the experimental measurement of SLJ, long jump simulation researches have also been conducted. The numerical simulation could take the advantage of decreasing the biased effects. In order to effectively study the influence of starting posture on SLJ, a planar 4-segment human model has been established by Cheng and Chen [ 18 ] to detect the joint torque activation level and TO time in SLJ movement. Three different starting postures included the squat, low squat, and high squat were tested; the height of the squat was determined by the initial center of mass heights at 78 cm, 88.4 cm, and 62.9 cm, respectively. However, the results showed that the jump distance was slightly dependent on the initial posture [ 18 ]. It is a little difficult to draw a conclusion based on the current researches regarding whether SLJ performances can be influenced by starting posture, since different strategies of starting posture in selected articles have been used. One of the articles focused on the feet placement [ 19 ], and another was concerned about the height of squat [ 20 ]. We may be able to get some information from limited studies including preliminary studies to provide clarity in understanding the effects the straddle starting feet placement may have on jump distance during the SLJ movement. To fully understand the complexities associated with improving performance in the SLJ, further investigations into feet placement, different squatting heights, and other postures associated with the SLJ need to be investigated and understood so that future projects can provide more valuable information to the jumper and coaches.

2.4. The Effect of Warm-Up on the SLJ

The warm-up exercises are considered as an important factor for injury prevention and a prerequisite for good athletic performance. Stretching movements have been widely applied in warm-up exercises for training and competition purposes in a variety of sports [ 7 ]. Researchers have shown that after warming up, the muscle's stiffness is reduced and relevant muscles have more compliance before the sporting activity is started [ 21 ]. Furthermore, some studies have found that stretching contributes to a negative effect on muscle strength, performance, and strength endurance. [ 22 – 25 ]. Similarly, Koch et al. also detected the negative effect of different warm-up exercises which included stretching, high force, and high power in trained and untrained men and women. According to this research, the results revealed that no significant differences were found in any warm-up exercise routines [ 7 ]. It was demonstrated that the effect of warm-up exercises on SLJ performance was not obvious, and the muscle strength was strongly associated with jump ability. This finding is consistent with the conclusion drawn by Koch and colleagues who found that no effect on sports performance was observed during their investigation of a static stretch involving a standing/seated toe touch and standing/seated quadriceps stretch [ 7 ]. Even in the vertical jump movement, previous researches have indicated that a small (3%) reduction in height of the vertical jump was found after the performance of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching [ 8 ]. Above all, the adverse effects of warm-up exercises on SLJ sports performance have been consistently confirmed by previous researches; therefore, the warm-up exercises are not recommended for SLJ movement.

2.5. The Function of Handheld Weight on SLJ Performance

The effect of handheld weights on jumping performance has been conducted by a few studies [ 8 , 26 ]. Papadopoulos and associates demonstrated that each hand carrying a 3 kg load would contribute to a 6% increment in the jump distance performed at the same TO speed. In addition, the computer simulation presented when subjects were jumping with 2 kg to 9 kg weights in each hand showed that the velocity of TO can be increased by 5-7% [ 27 ]. The loading effect during jumping allowed muscles to exert larger strength which led to a reasonable muscle contraction [ 27 ]. Researchers have compared the different effects of various handheld masses on the kinematic and dynamic features of SLJ [ 8 ]. They suggested that better SLJ performance could be achievable with extra weights between 3 kg and 6 kg due to the larger horizontal translation of the COM and the greater GRF that was yielded. This conclusion is consistent with Lenoir and associates who showed that a jump distance of 13.88 ± 0.70 cm was achieved without loads while the distance was significantly increased with extra weights (14.64 ± 0.76 cm) [ 28 ]. Ashby also indicated that jumpers who carried a 4.6 kg loading increased their jump distance by 0.39 cm [ 26 ]. Furthermore, using a simulation analysis, Minetti and Ardigo noted that a 5 kg to 6 kg load is the optimal weight for increasing jump distance [ 27 ]. Subsequently, Huang et al. tested the optimal weights for SLJ jumpers and found it to be 5.6 kg (Huang et al. 2005). According to the analysis presented, the improvement in SLJ performance by extra weight is mainly attributed to greater GRF force and greater takeoff velocity of COM in the horizontal direction. Therefore, the method of holding extra loading to improve SLJ performance can be applied in a training program for different sports purposes.

3. Conclusion

Many studies reveal the effect of the object on standing long jump from a different perspective. The five methods that could influence the SLJ performance were included in this mininarrative review, in which the arm motion, takeoff angle less than 45°, and 5 kg-6 kg handled weight play a positive effect on SLJ performance. All these biomechanical variables identified as the main factors to achieve an ideal SLJ performance generally improved takeoff velocity of COM and increased the power of the lower extremity. On the other hand, warm-up exercises have presented a negative influence on SLJ movement since it reduces the muscle's stiffness and increases muscular compliance. There was a contradictory view in the starting posture of SLJ movement as indicated by the different strategies of starting posture in selected articles. Further studies on muscle activities in the lower extremities during the SLJ movement are needed since muscle strength is a determining factor to achieve better performance. On the other hand, the application of specialist jumping shoes in SLJ movement is also an important research topic since running shoes have been extensively investigated; however, to date, no research has focused on jumping shoes.

Acknowledgments

This study was sponsored by K. C. Wong Magna Fund in Ningbo University.

Data Availability

Conflicts of interest.

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Illustrated Step-by-Step Long Jump Technique

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The long jump can just as easily be named the “run and jump” or “sprint and jump,” because the actual jump is only part of the process. Yes, there are techniques for pushing off the board, for flying over the pit, and for landing. But these techniques, while important, can only maximize your distance, based on your takeoff speed. Once you’re in the air, there’s only a certain distance you can travel, based on the momentum you gained during the approach run, no matter how good your flight or landing techniques. That’s why there’s a history of great sprinters, from Jesse Owens through Carl Lewis, who’ve excelled at the long jump . Successful jumpers understand that every truly long jump begins with a fast, efficient approach run.

Setting Up the Approach

There are different ways to determine the start of the approach run. One method is to stand with your back to the pit with the heel of your non-takeoff foot on the front edge of the board. Run forward the same number of strides you’ll use for the approach and mark the provisional starting point. Make several approaches from that provisional spot, then adjust your starting point as needed to make sure your final step hits the takeoff board.

Alternatively, set a designated starting point on the track and run forward. If your approach will be 20 strides long, mark the location of your 20th stride. Repeat the drill several times to determine your average 20-stride distance. If the average distance is 60 feet, place a marker 60 feet from the front of the takeoff board to begin the approach.

Remember that a strong head or tail wind can affect the approach. For example, if you’re running with the wind, back up your starting spot a bit.

The length of the approach will vary for each competitor. The goal is to hit the takeoff board at maximum velocity, while still under control. If you hit maximum velocity at 10 strides, it won’t help to take two more strides, because you’ll be slowing down, and won’t jump as far. Therefore, young long jumpers will have shorter approach runs. As they gain strength and stamina, they can lengthen their approaches to build more momentum. A typical high school jumper will take around 16 strides.

Different coaches have differing thoughts regarding the first stride. Some favor using the takeoff leg, some the opposite leg. Young long jumpers may wish to try both approaches to see which feels best.

Approach Run – Drive and Transition Phases

The Drive Phase is somewhat like a slower sprint start, but without the blocks. From a standing start, drive forward, keep your head down, with your arms pumping high. Each of the four approach run phases lasts four strides in a 16-stride approach.

Begin to lift your head and gradually raise yourself into an upright running posture to start the Transition Phase. By the end of the transition phase, you should be in proper sprinting form, keeping your eyes up as you continue to accelerate.

Approach Run – Attack Phase and Final Steps

The Attack Phase is where all of your efforts go into sprinting. Your body is already upright, your eyes are focused on the horizon – don’t look for the board – but you haven’t yet begun preparing for takeoff. Run hard and light on your feet while maintaining proper, controlled sprinting technique and continue to build speed.

Overall, the approach run through the first three phases should feature gradual, consistent, controlled acceleration.

As you begin the final steps, the idea is to bring maximum speed into the board, but still be under control. Keep your head up. If you look down at the board you’ll lose speed. Count on your training sessions to help you establish consistent strides so you hit the board and avoid fouling.

Land flat-footed on the second-to-last step. Stretch a bit farther on this stride, to lower your hips and your center of gravity, and to place your center of gravity behind your front foot. Push off firmly with your flat foot, then make the final step a bit shorter than average.

Generally, a right-handed long jumper takes off with the left foot. New jumpers may wish to try both to which style works best. When you hit the takeoff board, your body will actually be leaning slightly backward, with your foot in front, your hips slightly behind and your shoulders a bit behind your hips.

As you plant the takeoff foot, throw your opposite arm back and lift your chin and hips as you push off the board. Your arms and free leg move upward. Your center of gravity, which was behind your lead foot on the penultimate step, moves ahead of your lead foot on takeoff. The takeoff angle should be between 18 and 25 degrees. Keep focusing directly ahead; don’t look down at the pit.

Flight – Stride Technique

No matter which flight technique you employ, the idea is to maintain forward momentum without letting your upper body rotate forward and throw you off balance.

The stride technique is just what it sounds like – basically an extended stride. Your takeoff leg stays back, with your non-takeoff leg pointed forward and your arms high. As you come down your takeoff leg moves forward to join the other leg, while your arms rotate forward, down and back. The arms then move forward again as you land.

Flight – Hang Technique

As with all flight styles, the non-takeoff leg kicks forward after you push off from the board. Let the non-takeoff leg drop down to a vertical position, while the takeoff leg moves forward into a similar position. Your arms should be stretched above your head to prevent you from tipping forward. Just before the apex of your flight, bend your knees so your lower legs are approximately parallel to the ground. As you reach the apex, kick your legs forward so your entire legs are roughly parallel to the ground, while bringing your arms forward and down. Make sure your hands are above your legs when you land.

Flight – Hitch Kick

This style is like running in the air for the first half of your flight. The natural forward surge of the non-takeoff leg is like the first “stride” in the air. Bring it down and back as you lift your takeoff leg with a bent knee and kick it forward. At the apex your hands should be high over your head, your takeoff leg should point forward, approximately parallel with the ground, with your non-takeoff leg under you and your knee bent about as far as it will comfortably go. Leaving your takeoff leg in place, kick the non-takeoff leg forward as you descend, while swinging your arms forward, down, then behind your back. Pull your arms forward when you land.

Distance is measured by the part of your body that contacts the pit closest to the takeoff line – not the first part of your body that hits the sand. In other words, if your feet hit first, in front of you, then your hand touches the pit behind you, your distance will be marked at the point your hand hits. No matter which flight style you use, be sure to land feet first – with your feet stretched as far in front of you as possible – without any other part of your body touching the pit behind the original mark.

When your heels touch the pit, press your feet down and pull your hips up. This action, combined with the momentum from your takeoff, must carry your body past the mark where your heels touched down.

A successful long jumper has a unique combination of talents that would make many jumpers successful in a variety of track and field events, such as sprints, hurdles, and the other jumps. While there’s no substitute for speed, pure speed without control, and a consistent approach, isn’t enough. That means long jumpers must combine physical gifts with many hours of training to literally rise above the competition.

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A long jump is a power event that comprises the following four phases:

Approach run-up
Flight through the air

To achieve maximum distance in the long jump the athlete will have to balance three components - speed, technique and strength.

The approach run-up

The objective of the approach run is for the athlete to achieve the ideal speed . Rhythm in the approach run is important to ensure the ideal speed is achieved at take-off and accuracy in hitting the take-off board. The athlete must develop a good running rhythm before accuracy is addressed. The length of the run will depend on the athlete's age and speed. When first determining the number of strides in the approach run start by matching the number of strides with the athlete's age;

The start of the approach run should be marked and the athlete should commence the start from a standing start. Some athletes use a 'walk on start' or 'run on start' that will provide more initial speed but if not consistent will impact the accuracy of the approach run onto the take-off board. The athlete begins the run with a marked forward lean to develop speed but before they reach the take-off board, they should be upright. The athlete should be on the balls of the feet as in sprinting with a natural head position, the eyes focused beyond the pit and not at the take-off board.

The accuracy of the approach run onto the take-off board is established by:

Determine the take-off foot
Stand with your back to the jumping pit and the heel of your non-take-off foot on the take-off board scratch line
Run up the runway the required number of strides, say 19, and place a marker where the 19 th stride falls
Place the non-take-off foot on the marker and run back towards the board and take-off. The coach should note where the 19 th stride lands from the take-off board
If the foot is behind the take-off board, say 20cm, then move the start marker 20cm forward. If the foot is beyond the take-off board then move the marker back
Repeat the run-up and marker adjustment 4 or 5 times to establish a consistent approach run onto the take-off board
Once achieved measure the distance accurately and record it for future use
It is important to bear in mind that a headwind or tailwind will affect the run-up. A headwind may mean moving the marker slightly forward

Ideal Speed

Dr Graham-Smith and Professor Lees (2002) [3,4] have identified algorithms that will predict an average distance that an athlete would be expected to jump for a given speed. These algorithms are based on official approach speeds and distances collected over ten years from junior and senior championships and Grand Prix events.

Male - distance = (speed in m/s x 0.95) - 2.23
Female - distance = (speed in m/s x 0.99) - 2.81

The speed, in metres/second (m/s), can be determined by timing the athlete between two markers set at 11 metres and 1 metre from the take-off board.

The following calculator will give you some idea if your athlete's speed, technique and strength are in balance. Enter the time for the athlete to run between the 11 metres and 1-metre markers and the actual distance achieved in the jump and then select the Calculate button.

The calculator will determine the predicted distance and analyses the athlete's speed. If the analysis indicates to "Decrease approach speed" then the athlete's technique and/or strength may require development.

Select gender, enter the time for the 10m, the distance jumped and then select the "calculate" button for an analysis of the athletes speed on the approach run-up.

The take-off

The preparation for the long jump take-off begins in the later phases of the approach run. The long jumper prepares for take-off by sinking the hips and then raising the hips into the take-off phase. This usually results in the next to last stride is longer than normal and the final stride being up to 25 centimetres shorter than a normal running stride. It must be emphasised that the hip sink and stride adjustment all happen in response to the athlete's postural adjustments in preparation for the take-off. At take-off ensure the hips are slightly forward of the shoulders.

The vertical impulse is achieved by the upward acceleration of the "free" limbs, the arms and the non-take-off leg, against the braced take-off leg. These movements should be characterised by short radius (blocked), fast explosive actions.

The head should be carried in a normal position, in line with the spine and the eyes should be focused forward and slightly up.

Bilateral Training

Research by Focke et al. (2016) [5] suggests that bilateral practice should be established early in youth long-jump training programs to improve the jumping performance of their dominant take-off leg. An article by Katie Bell, " Bilateral long-jump practice ups take-off leg performance " provides an overview of the research findings.

A bilateral exercise is one where the stress is placed on both limbs e.g. a bicep curl with a barbell or a squat. A unilateral exercise is one where the stress is placed on one limb e.g. bicep curl with a dumbbell. A bilateral exercise is better for increasing overall muscle strength, but it may impact muscle balance, and unilateral exercise is preferred for developing muscle balance.

The flight through the air

Speed and lift generated on the runway and through take-off can result in a good distance. After take-off, the athlete tends to have a forward rotation that, if not corrected, will result in the feet hitting the sand early and a loss of distance in the jump. The cyclic forward movement of the legs and arms, as seen in the hitch-kick for example, will correct this forward rotation.

The landing

Optimum take-off angle.

The take-off speed of a male elite long jumper is about 10.5 metres/second in a "run through" (take-off angle of zero degrees) and 3.5 metres/second for a vertical jump (take-off angle of 90 degrees). This decrease in speed means that the optimum angle of take-off is well below 45 degrees. Linthorne et al. (2005) [1] identifies that the optimum take-off angle for a world-class long jumper may be 21.5°± 3.5°. Research by Lees et al. (1994) [2] identifies that the optimum take-off angle for a world-class male long jumper maybe 21°± 6°

The stride length of the final two steps before take-off

Based on an adaptation of the table titled "Step lengths of the last three steps before take-off" in John Shepherd's article [6] the approximate length of the 2 nd to the last step is the length of the 3 rd to final step plus 8.3% and the approximate length of the final step is the length of the 3 rd to final step minus 3.04%.

As an example: if the length of the 3 rd to final step is 2.26 metres then the length of the 2 nd to the last step is 2.26+8.3% = 2.45 metres [((2.26*8.3)/100)+2.26] and the length of the final step is 2.26-3.04% = 2.19 metres. [2.26-((2.26*3.04)/100)]

Long Jump Styles

The stride jump.

In the "stride jump" style, the athlete maintains the take-off position for as long as possible and only as the athlete comes into land does the take-off leg join the free leg for a good landing position.

The Hang Style

On take-off, the athlete drops the free leg to the vertical, which is then joined by the take-off leg. The arms go overhead to slow down the rotation about the athlete's centre of gravity. The legs are then lifted upwards and forwards whilst lower the trunk. The arms swing past the legs during the landing phase to ensure a good leg shoot.

The Hitch-Kick

Following take-off, the free leg is straightened and swung back and down as the take-off leg folds up beneath the hips and comes forward bent. The take-off leg then continues forward, straightening for landing. The free leg completes its backward swing behind the hip and then folds up and moves forwards bent, to join the take-off leg ready for landing.

Training Programs

A training program has to be developed to meet the individual needs of the athlete and take into consideration many factors: gender, age, strengths, weaknesses, objectives, training facilities etc. As all athletes have different needs, a single program suitable for all athletes is not possible.

Training Pathway

Athletes in the event group stage.

The following is a basic annual training program suitable for athletes in the Event Group Development stage:

General Jumps Training Program

Athletes in the Event stage

The following is an example of a specific annual training program suitable for athletes in the Event development stage:

Long Jump Training Program

Evaluation Tests

The following evaluation tests can be used to monitor the long jump athlete's development:

10 stride test
60 metres speed test
Flying 30 metres speed test
Jumps Decathlon
Leg Elastic Strength test
Standing Long Jump test
Strength test - upper body (Bench Press)
Strength test - lower body (Leg Press)
Sit-Ups test - abdominal strength
Sit and Reach test - lower back and hamstring test
Vertical Jump test

Rules of Competition

The competition rules for this event are available from:

International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)
British Athletics

Free Calculator

Long Jump Analysis - a free Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that you can download and use on your computer.
LINTHORNE, N.P. et al. (2005) Optimum take-off angle in the long jump. Journal of Sports Sciences , 23(7), p. 703–712.
LEES, A. et al. (1994) A biomechanical analysis of the last stride, touchdown, and takeoff characteristics of the men's long jump. Journal of Applied Biomechanics, 10 (1), pp. 61-78
GRAHAM-SMITH, P. and LEES, A. (2002) Finding the balance in the horizontal jumps - part 1 utilising speed. The Coach , May/June(10), p.30-33
GRAHAM-SMITH, P. and LEES, A. (2002) Finding the balance in the horizontal jumps - part 2 utilising speed. The Coach , July/Aug(11), p.42-45
FOCKE, A. et al. (2016) Bilateral practice improves dominant leg performance in long jump. European journal of sport science , 1-7.
SHEPHERD, J. (2018) Understanding Long Jump Data. Athletics Weekly October 25, 2018, page 34-36

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The first step will be to identify Adamsweaknesses and strengths in Long Jump and Triple Jump.

Analyzing and Improving

The first step will be to identify Adams weaknesses and strengths in Long Jump and Triple Jump. Adam has a good physical fitness as he endures in other sports such as football and cross country. As a result of his good fitness I have decided not to work on the physical aspect of Jumping, but the technical aspect as I think Adams technique lacks. Adams jumps are un-technical and he relies a lot on his speed and strength to pull him through.

The second step will be target setting, identifying and analyzing the problem. Adams personal best in Long Jump is 5.00m and his personal best in Triple Jump is 10.90 m. We both wish to improve these distances greatly over this six week program. To do this we will use much resource such as books, internet and one to one talking with each other. Adams training sessions will consist of:

Plyometrics

Sprint Posture Work
Technical Sessions

Each of these sessions will take place once a week for 6 weeks. To see if Adam has improved I will first test Adam with three jumps in both Long Jump and Triple Jump to see his potential at this moment in time and at the end of the six weeks I will then test him again to see if he has improved.

The whole six week training course will be applying to the SPOR and FITT factors.

S pecific – The work we are doing is very specific to jumps and only jumps as plyometrics is gaining “spring”.
P rogression – Progression will come in the later stages of the program as I am building him up for the last testing session, this is called “Peaking”.
O verload – I will be training Adam very hard and all the information I will be giving him will overload his mind with many things, how he will improve is if he processes this information.
R eversibility – Both Adam and I will talk about what we are doing each time so it hopefully sticks in his mind, this will ensure he does it right every time. He will reverse only if he forgets the technique.
F requency – we will be training once every week, which I think is enough because the sessions will have a high intensity rate.
I ntensity – the sessions will be very intense, he will not feel it as he is doing it and he will not feel it after but he will feel it the next morning as he will find out he has used muscles he hasn’t used before.
T ime – in the bounding sessions I will give him a number of repetitions to perform. When I think he is good enough I will increase these to progress Adam even further.
Type - I have pointed these out many times, Plyometrics = Spring, Sprint Posture = Speed and Technique = Large Distances.

As you can see in my list there is no general fitness heading as I explained in my first step his entire general and much needed fitness will come from his Football and Cross Country training. Fitness is a key factor in the summer as it is the time for competitions and he will need to perform consistently all four to five months of the season. A good health and general fitness will carry him through and make this able.

Safety is a key factor in any sport and should not be taken lightly. I will be around all of the time when Adam is performing. There isn’t much concern for the Speed Posture and Plyometrics sessions but on some days in the Technical sessions there will be great concern as it is greatly stressful and will need a large amount of concentration.

My Bounding session will take place on Tuesdays before my circuit training. Bounding is performed to increase muscle strength and size in and around the joints so you can cope with the strenuous impact during the Long and Triple Jumps. Bounding is basically jumping around but with stability, balance and most of all control.

My bounding session will mainly consist of:

Alternate Bounding with Double Arm Action

Pushing off with the left foot and bring the leg forward, with the knee bent and the thigh parallel to the ground. At the same time bring both arms forward with great force to help propel the body forward. As the leg comes through, the right leg extends back and remains extended for the duration of the push off. Hold this extended stride for a brief time, quickly bringing both arms behind the body, then land on the left foot. The right leg then drives through to the front bent position, the arms come forward, the left leg extends back, and the arms move back. This drill is an exaggerated running action; make each stride long, and try to cover as much distance as possible.

Alternate Bounding with single Arm Action

This drill is simply an exaggerated running action. Push off with the left foot and bring the leg forward, with the knee bent and the thigh parallel to the ground. At the same time reach forward with the right arm. As the left leg comes through, the right leg extends back and remains extended for the duration of the push-off. Hold this extended stride for a short time, then land on the left foot. The right leg then drives through to the front bent position, the left arm reaches forward, and the left leg extends back. Make each stride long, and try to cover as much distance as possible.

Combination Bounding with Double Arm Action

In combination bounding you bound on one foot in a set sequence: Right-right-left, of Left-left-right. Bound from one foot, to the same foot, then the other foot. Swing both arms forward on each bound, very quickly, to keep the body balanced and the motivation of the bound smooth.

Combination Bounding with Single Arm Action

This is a preview of the whole essay

In combination bounding you bound on one foot in a set sequence: Right-right-left, of Left-left-right. Bound from one foot, to the same foot, then the other foot. The right arm moves forward with the left foot, and vice versa. Continue bounding by repeating the cycle.

Combination Bounding with Vertical Jump

Do a combination bounding sequence (right-right-left of left-left-right), then follow immediately with a strong vertical jump. On the third bound, bring the nonbounding foot up to meet the bounding foot so that the jump is of both feet. Use a double arm swing to assist in lifting you vertically. As soon as you land from the vertical jump, complete another bounding sequence.

Speed Posture

Proper Sprinting Posture – When Adam is sprinting I will always tell him to practice proper sprinting form, in time the posture will come second nature to Adam and he will automatically do this.

Forward Lean – I will tell Adam to lean with his whole body, not just at the waist. If he "leans-over" at the waist it will not allow his leg to move through the full range of motion needed for sprinting. Arm/Shoulder Action – I will explain to Adam how to throw his elbows back as hard as you can, not forward. Foot Contact – Adams feet should make contact directly in front of him and on the ball-toe of the foot.

Concentration – Adam should always be focusing on what he is doing, if he is not speed is lost.

Tensing Up – Adam should try and be as relaxed as possible, if he is tense his legs will “trunk”, this will stop a full range of movement in his legs.

Skip Like a child’s skip but with quicker feet and good sprinting form - This drill is done to teach timing.

Pump Like high-knees, but focus is on driving the foot into the ground then getting it back off the ground as quickly as possible (This drill is applicable to the Acceleration Phase).

March Leg fully extended while kicking out as high as you can, you will have a backwards lean

Backpedal Stay low, lean forward and pull from your hamstrings

Paw Stand in place, raise knee of one leg, extend leg out towards the ground, make contact with ground, and pull through. This movement should resemble the "pawing" action of a horse.

Sprint Put all the drills together in a sprint at about 75-85% - Make sure you are consciously thinking about each drill as you run.

Technique plays a major part in jumping as without it, control, style and efficiency would not occur. Technique is not only applied in the air but in the run up and at the board to. My technique work will consist of:

Driving for the board

At the board

When driving for the board the body should be upright and the arms have to be moving as fast as possible to get the correct speed for take-off. At around nine metres from the board you should be hitting top speed and at this point the body should be changing from sprinting position to jumping position. The last three strides are key to the jump, the first stride should be long and the second stride should be shorter, the final stride is fast and powerful as you slam your foot to the board. Your leg should be almost straight as your body comes through, this will give you a larger lift and when you take off the leg should be practically straight.

The Program

Decision Making:

I have decided to assess Adams jumps first by giving him three jumps in long jump then triple jump. After that we will then work on the basic technique for long jump and triple jump.

At the start of every session I will get Adam to warm up, the warm up will consist of a slow 800 metre jog. The first 400m will just be ordinary running then on the second lap we will incorporate dynamic stretches ranging from arm curls to side stepping. Then finally we will perform specific stretches that will get all the joints and muscles for the high intensity jumping sessions.

Adam focused well on the warming up and was very sensible as he did this, also in the first assessment he rose to the occasion pulling out two personal bests in both long and triple jump. His final jump in the long jump was his best; he accomplished a 5.15m jump. His second jump in triple jump was his best; he achieved a 11.01m jump.

After this high intensity performance I decided just to talk one on one with him about his performances and what he could do to improve his performances all around. We had agreed his take-off was not correct as he was thirty or so centimetres behind the board. Also we agreed a lot of work needed to be done with his phases in triple jump, he must even them out first to lengthen them.

Overview of session:

Adam was focused and seemed eager to improve his jumps.
He has good basic speed on the runway.
His timing, balance and rhythm are not too good.
His personal bests are good.

Today I have decided to move straight into the preparation work by starting the session with a good warm up then moving directly to some Plyometrics. I have decided to do the more easy exercises first to move him into Plyometrics and once he has mastered these I will move him on to the more complicated things. I will start with Alternate with Double Arm Action. As it is only his first session I will set him three sets of three reps with a two minute rest in between. This is very stressful on the joints and bones so to finish of the session I will work on Adams Sprinting Posture to see if we can improve his driving to the board. We will start with the basic drills e.g. high knees, and bum flicks, then move onto skipping, pumping and marching, then finally moving onto light sprinting at 90% with good posture.

Adams response to the work was extremely good as I underestimated his potential in Plyometrics. The Plyometrics involves timing and rhythm which I thought Adam did not have in the last session due to his poor phases in the Triple Jump. But after close analysis I found out that he only has problems with his timing and rhythm when he is jumping at speed. As he is coming down the runway he is concentrating on his sprinting and not what he is going to do when he jumps. I decided I wouldn’t tell him about this until we did the sprinting drills so I could change this then. He Jumped well in the Plyometrics and surprised me with his “spring” and strength that he must have gained from football.

Before the second half of the session I discussed with Adam the problem with his timing and rhythm, as I identified this he realised what he was doing and became more aware of the problem. This is what I had hoped to achieve by telling him. We started the Sprint session and I had told him to apply what I had said into his running, he did this by keeping relaxed. I could see this change in his sprinting as when he ran before his cheek and facial muscles were extremely tense. Now when he sprinted his facial muscles were a lot more relaxed. I had also got him to use his arms better as he was only using around 30% of his arms potential. I changed this by applying no movement from the wrist or the elbow, but only in the shoulder. When he did this his arms were rising further back and further forwards keeping a right angle at the elbow. This increased his balance when running also.

His balance and timing was bad only when he was at speed.
Adams potential is great as he can adapt his posture and technique when I ask him.
I don’t think there is much more work to be done on his sprinting as he adapted well to the changes.

This week I am going to try and really improve Adams technique in long jump and then next week I will work on his triple jump. I am going to work on his height, style and control in the air and also work on his take off around the board. First I will concentrate on his take off, when he hits the board his head should be up and his body should be upright, this will give him some height. The next step will be to work on his leg being straight at take off. His last stride should be longer than the last and the leg should be extended and almost straight before he hits the board, as his body runs through and his leg is under him the leg should then be extended at full length to get full potential out of the jump. This will give the basis for a good height throughout the jump. In the air your driving knee should drive as long as possible while your straight leg pulls back and trails. After the optimum height the driving leg is brought down to join the leading leg, this will raise the hips even further. As this is happening the arms should be both either rotating forwards in a cycle action or both should be up in the air in a star position. This whole movement is called the hang technique. After this phase everything reverses. The legs are brought up and the upper torso and arms are brought down. This involves the legs rising as straight as possible horizontal to the floor. The arms are brought down and the hands to the shoulders should be below the knees. This can only done if sufficient height is attained and if Adam is limber enough.

As this technique training is extremely stressful I have decided to do no more and apply a long cool down to the session, this will incorporate a slow jog for around 300m and then a slow walk for 100m. Then I will show Adam some stretches so he will not ache the day after.

This was the real test for Adam, I had set him really hard tasks and I wanted to see how he would adapt to major changes in his style. We started the session with a good warm up then applied short run up jumps so he could attempt the changes at slow speed. We performed this a number of times, each time I pointed out what was good and bad. In turn this made him realise he should change some things in his jump and not others. E.G. Adam performed one jump where he gained good height of the board from a straight leg and in the same jump his arms were not doing anything. So I pointed this out and he kept the good height and also used his arms. This shows good progression and adaptability.

After I was pleased with his technique we set out his run up and he tried this at full speed. At first the jumps were extremely sloppy but as he adapted his speed and changed his body position he put it all together to pull out a really good jump.

Adams adaptability factor is really high.
His timing is lacking in the air.

As I said before the last session I will be focusing on triple jump this session. I will be working mainly on distances between the three phases. The phases need to be around the same distance to create a top class jump. To do this we will concentrate on the height he gets through the phases, his balance and his timing. For this to work Adam must be extremely focused and confident that he can complete the task.

As we did with the last session I will let Adam take short run-ups so he can practice the technique without the speed. This is a lot easier to perform but as the height in the phases comes in we must add the speed as when speed is applied Adam will have the tendency to run thorough the board as apposed to generating lift like in long jump. The first two phases are all about covering as much ground as possible without straining too much so you can’t get a good jump on the end. To get the distance in the first two phases Adam will have to get the correct height so he doesn’t come down to early and so he doesn’t injure himself landing from too high.

Adam performed really well, he is now learning how to control and manage his speed and height in the air and between phases. His sprinting style has changed some what as he is preparing for his jump a lot sooner than he would usually also he is driving more towards the start of his approach, this will give him more time to build up speed.

I am mostly impressed with Adams ability to adapt his body and actions to what I say, and if I say something is wrong he will change it immediately to suite his needs. Now I am pleased with all aspects of Adams jumping, he is connection well with the board on both long and triple jump, which is hard because both are very different from each other. His height is good throughout the jumps and he is attacking the board a lot better so he is at optimum speed when he hits the board.

Once again Adam is very good at adapting his body and actions.
He is focused all the way through the session.
He can maintain good speed and height through the Jump.

Due to the outstanding progress Adam has made I have decide to test him on some full approach jumps. I have done this because the progress and technique he has learnt from the last session is still fresh in Adams mind so I want to keep it there permanently by asking him to perfume it a number of times. This is very high intensity work so I am only going to let Adam do four reps of each jump alternating them. I will give him as much time as he needs to rest and regain his breath as I am not looking for endurance strength or speed endurance.

The second part of the session will involve Plyometrics. I will be showing Adam the harder bounding exercises this session as I am pleased with his recent progress and I think he is ready to carry them out. I am also going to increase the work level in doing six sets of five Alternate Bounding with Double Arm Action.

Adam has once again performed well, which I am pleased with once more. The jumps were technically sound apart from a few miner adjustments he forgot to add but after the three jumps I am satisfied he will break his personal bests by far. In the second half of the session he performed the Plyometrics once more but this time with harder bounding exercises. He performed then well but I still think he balance and coordination is lacking. This can not be helped and it would take a long time to correct so I am trying to improve on the positive side of his jumping. Next week is the big test for Adam. We will see if he does in fact break his personal bests. I have great confidence that he will perform well due to his long jump and triple Jump training.

Adams first jumps were technically sound.
He also performed the Plyometrics well.
He still has a slight problem with his timing and coordination.

Week 6 – The Test

At the start of the session I will give Adam a briefing, I will tell him I am not helping him with anything eg warm up, stretching or the technique of the jumps. He will have to do it all himself and this is what I have been preparing him for. I have not told him about this and he still thinks I will warm him up this session; I have done this purposely so when he does find out there will be an added pressure on him. I think this will give Adam a boost of adrenalin, which in turn will make him perform better. Now it is up to Adam to perform.

Analysis of Jumps:

Long Jump 1

The jump was technically sound but I think he wasn’t going full out down the runway. I am pleased as he has increased his personal best.

Triple Jump 1

Technically good broke his personal best straight away good jump.

Long Jump 2

I tried to hard an overlooked it slightly and he tensed up towards the board. Just short of his personal best.

Triple Jump 2

He Increased his personal best again by a good clear margin.

Long Jump 3

“It was a big one” he pulled out a monster jump of 5.57, I was so pleased that he had got everything correct his speed, connection with the board and the timing in the air, great jump.

Triple Jump 3

Once again “A monster Jump” 11.54 which increases his personal best by fifty six centimetres. We were both really pleased.

I was the first to congratulate Adam as I was ecstatic about his jumps. He increased his Long Jump Personal Best by fifty seven centimetres and he improved his Triple Jump personal best by sixty four centimetres.

At the start of this six week training course I was given a task, that task was to analyse a friend/athlete in their chosen activity and create a six week program to improve their performances in the activity. I have achieved this greatly by using a number of different training methods ranging from Sprint Posture training to Plyometrics Bounding work. I have been greatly involved in this program as I have always been there to aid and guide him through by motivating him and creating constructive criticisms to improve his performance.

When I was first setting targets I never once decided a fixed distance for Adam to jump. I did this so if Adam did not get the target jump he would not be disappointed in himself. I applied in my “First Step” explanation that I wanted Adam to increase his Jumps greatly. He did this by increased his Long Jump Personal Best by fifty seven centimetres and he improved his Triple Jump personal best by sixty four centimetres.

Evaluation:

I am very pleased with the out come of this six week training course as it has give me an incite into the world of coaching. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Adam as he was a pleasure to work with. I am now thinking about taking coaching as a career as I think I can offer a lot to the teaching profession.

If I did this Six week training course again with another athlete I would only change the work rate. I think all the exercises and activity’s we did were relevant to the training but after each session Adam maybe was not tired enough. This is only my analysis but I really think Adam could have got a lot more out of his jumps. Despite this I am ecstatic with the improvements we made to Adams jumping and I hope he does well in the future with his football, Cross Country or even his athletics.

The first step will be to identify Adamsweaknesses and strengths in Long Jump and Triple Jump.

Document Details

Word Count 4366
Page Count 14
Subject Physical Education (Sport & Coaching)

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10 Examples of Strengths and Weaknesses for Job Interviews

Learn how to answer the question, “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” in a job interview.

[Featured Image] A woman talks about her weaknesses during a job interview.

It is very common for hiring managers to ask about your strengths and weaknesses during a job interview. Like any question, your response holds weight. An interview’s purpose is to evaluate your ability to get the job done. Think of this as an opportunity to highlight your positive qualities and demonstrate a growth mindset.

Everybody has both strengths and weaknesses. Answering this question gives you the opportunity to provide a contextual example of how you use your strengths to shine and how you work to improve any weaknesses that are relevant to the role.

This article explains why interviewers ask this question, lists examples of strengths and weaknesses, and offers suggestions to help you answer wisely.

Why interviewers ask about strengths and weaknesses

This common question is a helpful tool for interviewers to understand your personality and working style. When hiring managers ask about your strengths and weaknesses, they evaluate a few things:

How you conduct a self-assessment

Whether you are aware of your positive traits and how you use them in the workplace

Whether you can address your weaknesses and how you’ve worked to improve them

How your skills and traits will balance out those of current team members

Read more: 15 Insightful Questions to Ask a Hiring Manager During Your Next Interview

Strategies for talking about strengths

It may be helpful to first reflect on this question from the hiring manager’s perspective. What qualities or competencies are they looking for in this specific role? Consider how you can leverage your strengths to align with a key competency of the job description.

For your strengths, be confident. Don't be afraid to brag a little. This is your chance to highlight what makes you such a great fit for the job. Mention one or two top strengths, and provide examples of how you’ve used them in the workplace. If you can back this up with measurable results, even better. Reflect on these two questions as you formulate your answer:

Why are you good at X?

How does X help you at work?

Here is a sample structure for a response:

I am [STRENGTH]. I learned this through [HOW YOU DEVELOPED STRENGTH], and this allowed me to [IMPACT of STRENGTH] at my current/previous job/experience.

Read more: Interviewing Skills to Benefit Your Career

When you approach this question, think about the positive qualities you embody and the skills you possess that serve you well in the workplace. Here is a list of strengths to consider:

Entrepreneurial

Detail-oriented

Collaborative

Problem solver

Leadership skills

Team player

Writing skills

Expert in a particular skill or software

Read more: What Are Interpersonal Skills? And How to Strengthen Them

Sample responses to “What are your strengths?”

These examples can give you an idea of the type of structured response. They demonstrate that you are confident of this strength and that you will use it to succeed in this specific role.

1. Collaborative

I am very collaborative. I’ve always enjoyed working on teams and it is one of my strongest attributes. In my previous job as a marketing research analyst, I led a project that involved diverse stakeholders, focus groups, and extensive field research, which taught me about my ability to inspire others in stressful situations. The client used our insights to create a sustainable (both environmentally and financially) product.

2. Technical know-how

I love staying up-to-date with trends in the tech industry. From my current role, I know the ins and outs of SAP very well, so I can anticipate problems before they arise. I get excited about tinkering around with gadgets in my personal life, and this trait has come in handy in the workplace when I get to know a piece of software or program intimately.

3. Detail-oriented

As a content creator, I love brainstorming new approaches to reach our consumers. But I am most known for my attention to detail. I care a lot about word choice because I believe that precise language can transform a piece from good to great (and I never miss a deadline). My blogs and articles consistently perform well and reach the top of Google searches.

4. Positive attitude

My positive attitude is definitely one of my strengths. I have been a restaurant server, a tutor, and a health aide in the past decade, all jobs that require plenty of energy and endurance. I can view a situation from multiple perspectives and empathize with my customers, students, and patients to understand their needs at any given time.

5. Solving problems

I am a solutions-oriented person and a quick learner. In my role as an electrical engineer, I learned to perform well under pressure when designing equipment because our team would not be able to win a contract unless we produced the blueprints quickly, with as few resources as possible. In these circumstances, I am not afraid to ask questions to figure out the challenge. I do extensive research for every client, so I can be extra prepared.

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Strategies for talking about weaknesses

We all have weaknesses—that's just a part of being human. But your capacity to recognize a weakness and work toward improvement can actually be a strength. The key to talking about your weaknesses is to pair self-awareness with an action and a result:

What's the weakness?

What have you been doing to improve?

How has that improvement had a positive impact on your work?

Variations of the weaknesses question

Your interviewer may approach this question in different ways, so you’ll want to be prepared for the possibilities. Variations might include:

• What would your current manager/colleagues say is your biggest weakness?

• If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

• How do you bounce back from mistakes?

• What areas in your career do you feel you could improve?

Explaining that you are aware of a particular weakness and have taken steps to improve is a sign of maturity and drive that is attractive to employers. Here is a sample structure for a response:

I used to have trouble with [WEAKNESS]. I've been working to address this by [ACTION] and I realized I was improving because [IMPACT].

Read more: How to Describe Your Weaknesses in a Job Interview

When preparing to discuss your weaknesses, choose one that gives you the chance to demonstrate growth and enthusiasm for learning. Here are some weaknesses that you might select from for your response:

Self-critical

Disorganized

Prone to procrastination

Uncomfortable with public speaking

Uncomfortable with delegating tasks

Risk-averse

Competitive

Sensitive/emotional

Extreme introversion or extroversion

Limited experience in a particular skill or software

Sample responses to “What are your weaknesses?”

It's normal to feel uncomfortable with the prospect of airing your weaknesses to a potential employer. But remember, this is an opportunity to showcase your ability to honestly assess your performance, respond to feedback in a positive way, and continually improve—essential traits in almost any role.

The following examples can help you formulate your response.

1. Self-criticism

I can be quite critical of myself, which can lead to negative self-talk and eventual burnout. I've found that I can avoid this by recording my goals, objectives, and key results and setting aside time to celebrate milestones and achievements, big and small. This not only helps me focus on how I'm benefiting the team, but it also has also helped me get better at prioritizing my most impactful tasks.

2. Fear of public speaking

I am a naturally shy person. Since I was a kid, I have always felt nervous presenting in front of the class, and that translated into the workplace. A few years ago, I led a big project and was asked to present it to board members. I was so nervous, but I realized I had to overcome this fear. I signed up for Toastmasters as a way to practice public speaking. Not only did this help get me through that first presentation, but it also helped me feel more confident as a leader. Now I'm helping my own team build presentation skills.

3. Procrastination

Procrastination has long been a bad habit of mine. I think it stems from a fear of failure, to be honest. In my last job as a real estate agent, keeping up with appointments and critical paperwork was essential to success. I started using Google Calendar and apps like Trello to manage my time better. Crossing things off my to-do list makes me feel accomplished, and I've learned to tackle harder tasks early in the day when I'm feeling refreshed and less likely to put them off.

4. Issues with delegating tasks

I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so I sometimes struggle to delegate tasks to my teammates. This has led to taking on too much. As a manager, I've tried to be intentional about recognizing the strengths of those on my team and delegating tasks that match those strengths. It was hard at first, but I've seen that by communicating clear expectations and trusting my team, they rise to the occasion and I'm able to manage projects more efficiently.

5. Lack of experience with skill or software

I haven't had as much experience with Python as I'd like. When I decided to make a shift into data analytics, I knew I'd need to use a statistical programming language to perform efficient analysis. I signed up for a Python for Everybody course, and I've found I really love it. I'm excited to start applying the techniques I'm learning to help make my workflow more efficient.

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When You Write

Strengths and Weaknesses in Writing

As a writer, I always strive to be better—and in some categories, the best. I believe that understanding my writing strengths and weaknesses helps me improve my writing skills and become a master of this art.

If one doesn’t understand their strengths and weaknesses in writing, it means they can’t genuinely edit their work and cannot pinpoint areas that need improvement and those that are their strengths.

Constant self-evaluation is the passe-partout of any practice or line of work, but to accurately evaluate yourself you have to know what you’re looking for.

Every writer has strengths and weaknesses. For example, you might have a rich vocabulary—which you efficiently use—or showcase good usage of literary devices. Those two would be called strengths in your writing.

You might also have weaknesses in your writing such as lack of coherence, long-winded sentences, and organization.

Let us delve further into writing strengths and weaknesses and understand how you can use your strengths and overcome your weaknesses!

8 Must-Have Strengths for a Writer

It is also important to know and have some particular strengths as a writer to be more than an ordinary writer.

Here are some of those essential strengths:

Focus is essential in almost everything you do. Without focus, you could have the best skill set and still produce average work dues to errors and complacency.

Every writer wants to stay focused, but it’s not easy. You have to teach yourself to stay focused, whether it involves conditioning your body or tricking your mind.

Do whatever is necessary and within healthy limits. When you start writing and reading routinely, your body and mind start responding to them as the normal order of your day.

Enough sleep and a cup of coffee also help you maintain focus during your writing sessions .

And, get rid of distractions! Put down your phone, turn off your Wi-Fi, and get away from your Tele.

2. A Rich, Diverse Vocabulary

We are not talking about having a rich vocabulary only, but also using the words expeditiously.

This diverse vocabulary should make you write pieces that are not readable and make your readers slave through their reading.

So, you should always make sure that you choose (from this excellent vocabulary and diverse word choice) the right and unique choice of words that would look appealing to your readers.

You have to keep learning new words and the correct usage of those words.

3. A Burning Passion for Reading

I hear a lot of writers—self-published writers to be specific—say that they don’t like reading. For them, writing is a natural talent that doesn’t need to be nourished by reading.

One thing they are oblivious of is that without reading, they can’t understand what they are doing wrong, what they’re doing right, and other things that made other writers successful.

These types of writers put themselves in a “box.”

By reading other people’s works, you get to see writing from different perspectives and you can analyze your writing, a vantage point that helps you perfect your writing skills.

You don’t even have to buy these reading resources because they’re gazillions of blogs, eBooks, novels, and others online.

4. Organized Writing that Follows a Logical Flow

If whatever you’re writing doesn’t flow and therefore isn’t coherent, it is nothing but utter rubbish!

Your writing needs to show a naturally logical progression of thought and must be easy to read for the intended audience. If the progression doesn’t make sense to your reader, then who are you writing for?

Your thoughts should be linked within and between paragraphs. The use of transitional words facilitates this purpose. Words such as “however,” “also,” “yet,” and “although,” among others help you show these transitions.

You should aim at making it easy for your readers to navigate and read through your content.

Organized writing is an essential strength for a writer. The way you present your ideas in sentences and paragraphs impacts the readability and navigability of your content.

Make sure your sentences are short and your paragraphs just meaty enough for the ideas presented in them—and avoid run-on sentences.

Your content needs to have enough signposts and breaks. Be efficient with headings and subheadings, and have so many if the information keeps changing from paragraph to paragraph to make it easy for your readers to find the right information in your content.

5. Creativity

For professional writers, creativity is of the greatest essence. It is even more indispensable for fiction writers.

Our goal as writers is not to bore our readers to death. We always have to think out of the box to craft pieces that will win the hearts of the readers and make them want more of our content.

A good and wonderworking—and sometimes libertine—imagination is necessary to craft unique, stirring pieces.

Sometimes, you have to let your imagination wander off and come back with crazy and wild ideas. If you’re a fiction writer, let your imagination help you create a unique world, with unique characters, using your own nomenclature!

Remember, there’s no single rule on what kind of imagination is bad or good in creative writing.

There are various ways of increasing one’s creativity, but I have discovered that I’m more creative when I take time to appreciate other pieces of art before I start writing. Before I write I listen to some music, read poetry, or just look at a painting.

It’s not for everyone, but it works for me!

Your writing should be as clear as a summer day, as lucid as you can make it.

This element goes hand in hand with the organized writing I discussed in strength number 4, your writing should be clear enough for your readers to grasp and appreciate the ideas in your content quickly.

For blogs, newspaper articles, and magazine pieces, writing chunky paragraphs is—for lack of a word—taboo. You should always be conservative with the size of your paragraph and be straightforward with your explanations.

Just make your writing simple but comprehensible.

7. A Unique Writing Style

One thing all successful writers have in common is a unique style. For example, when you read anything by Dr. Seuss, you understand that his style involved the use of mirthful new words. The best writers write using a distinguished voice or style.

You have to discover your writing style—and for many, it just happens naturally and in some cases, it’s the readers or critics that notice the uniqueness of the writer.

8. Understanding Your Audience

We write because it’s our passion, but if we think about it, that is rarely the sole reason for writing and publishing our work.

We want our audience to love our content or appreciate the message in it. So, it’s all about our interests, but also the needs of our audience.

If you want to make your audience happy, you have to know what they like first. Dr. Seuss understood what kids want to read and what characters would work well with a young audience. If you’re writing on a tech-related topic, tech experts and geeks like; likewise, if you’re about MLS, know what soccer fans like.

Armed with that knowledge, you can craft pieces that strike a chord with your target audience, leading to the success of those pieces.

Weaknesses in Writing and Ways to Overcome Them

1. lack of substance.

You might be a yeasty writer with much-needed experience, but if your writing lacks substance, it’s bound to run into negative reviews, and hence it is going to be less impactful!

This is especially crucial for nonfiction content, if your writing straggles and wanders all over the place, your content will be shallow.

For your content to have depth, you have to concentrate on one particular argument at a time.

And, to give your argument more depth, give supporting points and sprinkle some stats here and there.

How do you deal with the lack of substance in your writing?

Here are some tips:

Focus on the depth of your arguments rather than the length of your article (you could have a cherry-sized paragraph that is more insightful than a chunky paragraph).
Use literary devices to make your arguments more perspicuous.
Use stats, case studies, or research findings to further exemplify your key arguments (use infographics where necessary).
Your content should answer questions relevant to the topic.
Offer tips to readers.

2. Your Writing Is Too Draggy for Your Readers

Among the 8 strengths that I explained in the previous section was understanding your audience.

If you don’t understand your audience or ignore them when writing, you end up communicating with nobody.

It’s like you’re speaking to yourself, in a big hall!

As said in the previous section, we write to touch our audience in some way; whether we want them to laugh, inspire them, inform them, or educate them.

It is a terrible idea to think that you write for yourself! If that’s the case, why don’t you just hang your content on your wall?

Here are some tips for polishing draggy content:

Understand who you’re writing for and write for them. It doesn’t matter who (it could be you, your imaginary friends, anybody!).
Write to solve the audience’s problems. Your writing should be a solution to your reader’s pain, personal struggles, and it should also improve their lives in some way.

3. Lack of Rhythm

Ignore the importance of rhythm at your peril. In truth, writing cannot entertain without rhythm, especially creative writing.

Just like in music, rhythm steers writing and acts as a guide for the reader.

Readers can feel your writing’s rhythm and that alone can be stimulating (that is if your writing has rhythm).

If your content lacks rhythm the pace seems invariable, it neither speeds up nor slows down.

The content also seems to lack a lot of natural pauses.

This is how you can improve it:

While paying attention to context, mix up your sentence lengths; a long one here, a short there.
Use transition words to maneuver the passage from sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph.

4. Chaotic Flow

Imagine listening to a 5-year-old talk about all the wonderful things she experienced during the day: school, her cousin’s weird laughter, the dog’s thievery.

Unloading all that without any logical arrangement of information. None, at all!

I’d have said that that’s how your readers feel, but they are not listening to an adorable 5-year-old, are they?

They’re looking at a piece of writing—written by a supposedly mature individual—that’s full of hiccups and abrupt endings.

Your writing needs to be structured to unload information step by step. Your readers need to know that from A, they go to B. They need to know this is because of that, and this and that are related.

Your content has to answer your readers’ questions, give tips the reader would care about, and have contextual solutions.

Here are a few tips on improving flow in your writing:

Go through your main points and ascertain whether they feel logical. If they aren’t, re-organize them in a logical order or start all over again.
Look at the questions your content is answering and For every section, write down which question the content answers (or summarize in one bullet point)
When editing , slowly survey the content for inconsistencies. There are little details you could miss if you read fast.

How to Turn Your Writing Weaknesses into Strengths

Nobody is perfect. We all have weaknesses. But, some of these writing weaknesses can be turned into strengths.

As a writer, how can you improve your writing?

Ask for help . You can strengthen your writing skills on your own (no doubt about it), but it’s a lot less tedious when you reach out to other writers to help identify your weak areas and offer other insights.
Read . Not only will you get an education from books and publications, but you’ll also find inspiration.
Persevere . Perseverance can help you deal with problems such as writer’s block. It is also perseverance that will see you through periods during which you’re suffering from imposter syndrome.

Final Words on Strengths and Weaknesses in Writing

To be a better writer, you’ve got to know which areas to strengthen and which weaknesses to overcome.

You’ll—in abundance—focus, perseverance, creativity, and a lot of humility. It will be laborious work but worth every joule expended and every second used.

You have got to believe in yourself as a writer, but don’t let your confidence blind you—there will always be something that your writing is missing.

How to Answer “What Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses?”

Joel Schwartzberg

Advice and examples to help you craft an authentic answer to this common interview question.

Don’t take common interview questions lightly just because they’re predictable. Underpreparing for them can make the difference between moving ahead and moving on. One question that often comes up: What are your strengths and weaknesses? In this article, the author outlines clear steps for how to describe your strengths and weaknesses along with sample language to use as a guide.

Some questions come up again and again in job interviews . At the top of the list: “ Tell me about yourself ,” “ Why do you want to work here? ” and “What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?”

JS Joel Schwartzberg oversees executive communications for a major national nonprofit, is a professional presentation coach, and is the author of Get to the Point! Sharpen Your Message and Make Your Words Matter and The Language of Leadership: How to Engage and Inspire Your Team . You can find him on LinkedIn and X. TheJoelTruth

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Personal Strengths — Exploring Personal Strengths and Weaknesses for Self-Improvement

Exploring Personal Strengths and Weaknesses for Self-improvement

Categories: Personal Strengths Struggle Weakness

About this sample

Words: 865 |

Published: May 14, 2021

Words: 865 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

My strengths, my weaknesses, works cited, fostering organization as a strength, the strength of observation, confronting the weakness of confidence, resisting change: a challenge to overcome, striving for academic excellence despite intelligence challenges.

Buckingham, M., & Clifton, D. O. (2001). Now, discover your strengths. Simon and Schuster.
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. Bantam Books.
Grant, A. M., & Dweck, C. S. (2003). Clarifying achievement goals and their impact. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(3), 541-553.
Linley, P. A., Willars, J., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). The strengths book: Be confident, be successful, and enjoy better relationships by recognizing where you're strong. CAPP Press.
Lopez, S. J., & Snyder, C. R. (Eds.). (2009). Oxford handbook of positive psychology. Oxford University Press.
Marsh, H. W., & Yeung, A. S. (1997). Causal effects of academic self-concept on academic achievement : Structural equation models of longitudinal data. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89(1), 41-54.
Neff, K. D. (2011). Self-compassion: Stop beating yourself up and leave insecurity behind. HarperCollins.
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. Oxford University Press.
Rothwell, W. J. (2015). In mixed company: Communicating in small groups and teams (9th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Stajkovic, A. D., & Luthans, F. (1998). Self-efficacy and work-related performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 240-261.

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NAME OF THE PERFORMER: Penwell Boemo Siringa ACTIVITY: Long jump INTRODUCTION THE ACTIVITY Long jump is a track and field events I which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point IDENTIFICATIFICATION OF KEY SKILLS 1 Approach run 2 Take off 3 Flight a. hang b,sail c. hitch kick 4.

Coaching Young Athletes

10 of the Biggest Mistakes Young Athletes Make in the Long Jump

1. Their Run-Up is Too Long

2. A One-Paced Run-Up

3. Slowing Down On Approaching the Take-Off Board

4. Looking Down On Take-Off

5. Poor Use of Arms

6. A Lack of Height On Take-off

7. Landing On One Foot in the Pit

8. Dropping Feet Into the Pit

9. Landing With Straight Legs

10. Landing With Feet Apart

What mistakes do you see young athletes making?

Further reading

Click here to subscribe for free to the Coaching Young Athletes email list and receive a complimentary mini e-book!

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How to Improve the Standing Long Jump Performance? A Mininarrative Review

Anand Thirupathi

1. Introduction

2. The Different Analytical Aspects of the Standing Long Jump

2.2. The Optimum Takeoff Angle of CG

2.3. The Standing Posture of SLJ

2.4. The Effect of Warm-Up on the SLJ

2.5. The Function of Handheld Weight on SLJ Performance

3. Conclusion

Acknowledgments

Data Availability

Illustrated Step-by-Step Long Jump Technique

Setting Up the Approach

Approach Run – Drive and Transition Phases

Approach Run – Attack Phase and Final Steps

Flight – Stride Technique

Flight – Hang Technique

Flight – Hitch Kick

The High Jumper – Strength and Conditioning

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The approach run-up

Ideal Speed

The take-off

Bilateral Training

The flight through the air

The landing

The stride length of the final two steps before take-off

Long Jump Styles

The Hang Style

The Hitch-Kick

Training Programs

Training Pathway

Athletes in the Event stage

Evaluation Tests

Rules of Competition

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Strengths and Weaknesses in Writing

8 Must-Have Strengths for a Writer

2. A Rich, Diverse Vocabulary

3. A Burning Passion for Reading

4. Organized Writing that Follows a Logical Flow