Improving Your Power with Jumps
By Susan Ellis, January 2003
Jumps have long been done for off-ice training as a means of improving power. Jumping is one of the fastest ways to improve starts and accelerations. Jumps to improve starts should be short in duration and very powerful. An example of an off-ice jumping program for starts is 2 x 3 x 6 explosive jumps from basic position. The rest periods should be as long as you need to do the next set with the same explosive power, so in general +3 minutes rest. Jumps may also be done for lactate training as well as aerobic power training. An example of training lactic power is 2 x 3 x 45" r 6' R 8' intensity 90-95%. An aerobic power program would be 6 x 3' r 3' intensity 80%.
Jumps on ice produce even greater gains if done with good technique as they are very specific. They also can have a good effect on helping to learn to push more powerfully. Jumps can be done end to end, on the straights, or on the corners, as part of the warm up or part of the training program for the day. Make sure to have the best technique possible when doing the jumps to reinforce good habits. This means closing the ankle and letting the weight come to the ball of the foot before pushing, delaying the jumps until the body is reaching a point of imbalance (weight transfer), and using the arms straight back and forth to minimize rotations.
A listing and description of jumps for the straightaway can be found in “The Speed Skater's Guide to Maximum Power and Speed” (no longer available).
Jumps on ice produce even greater gains if done with good technique as they are very specific. They also can have a good effect on helping to learn to push more powerfully. Jumps can be done end to end, on the straights, or on the corners, as part of the warm up or part of the training program for the day. Make sure to have the best technique possible when doing the jumps to reinforce good habits. This means closing the ankle and letting the weight come to the ball of the foot before pushing, delaying the jumps until the body is reaching a point of imbalance (weight transfer), and using the arms straight back and forth to minimize rotations.
A listing and description of jumps for the straightaway can be found in “The Speed Skater's Guide to Maximum Power and Speed” (no longer available).