Jumping ability

[Alexander Moreen]

Coach Sommer says in the jumping WODs that a good athlete can do a chest high box jump, however I've not seen any similar standards for long jumping. My question is what is a "good" and "excellent " standing long jump? 10' and 12'? 1.5 and 2 times height? My best controlled(rock to rock) standing long jump is right around 10' or 1 and 2/3s height, while my best box jump is 62" or. 83 of my height. Is that balanced or do I need to focus on one or the other?

[Neal Winkler]

Just over 12' is the world record.

I'd say (all numbers for men):

8' = beginner

9' = intermediate

10' = advanced

11' = elite

[Nicholas Sortino]

You say your box jump is 62"? Standing? I don't mean to insult you but I have a very hard time believing this. The current verified world record is 56" and I found a few videos on youtube getting up to 61" (although it was pretty iffy). If you can do this, please record it, because that is just insane.

If this is a running start, that is still very good, but I will certainly have an easier time believing it.

Found this chart on broad jump distances, but of course it is just what the author of that website claims.

http://www.topendsports.com/testing/tests/longjump.htm

The world record is 12.2ft

[Neal Winkler]

Those numbers in the chart are pathetically low, Nick.

[Alexander Moreen]

There's a 5'8" Asian dude that can do a higher one than me in our parkour group. But he is crazy gifted. This is on a springboard floor but it is standing. Its onto one of those padded cubes. I've never been able to test it in a standard gym but 50" is very easy outside.

Ill do a video next open gym on my phone.

Edit: here's a video of me doing a very easy 48" ish jump. Don't have a tape a work but its about bellybutton height

http://www.YouTube.com/watch?feature=YouTube_gdata_player&v=t9db4sfzuyo

[Nicholas Sortino]

Those numbers in the chart are pathetically low, Nick.

I realize that. I just said it was something I found.

I do believe the numbers you came up with may be a little high though. But since there really is no standard, and it is a very rarely done event, it is really hard to determine.

[Joshua Naterman]

You say your box jump is 62"? Standing? I don't mean to insult you but I have a very hard time believing this. The current verified world record is 56" and I found a few videos on youtube getting up to 61" (although it was pretty iffy). If you can do this, please record it, because that is just insane.

If this is a running start, that is still very good, but I will certainly have an easier time believing it.

Found this chart on broad jump distances, but of course it is just what the author of that website claims.

http://www.topendsports.com/testing/tests/longjump.htm

The world record is 12.2ft

I have personally seen a friend of mine do a 12+ foot standing broad jump, from gripe pad to gripe pad in the wind tunnel on my ship, and I have seen him do a 1 step box jump onto at LEAST 60". What he jumped on was chin height for him and he is 5'9 and 162 lbs. I have never seen an athletically talented person comparable to him. He's the one that I saw do 10 one arm PULL UPS and then switch to the other arm and do it again without coming down. That's just something I never expect to see again in my life. The funny thing was that I could run about as fast as he could.

Anyways, keep in mind that the witnessed world records are often not the absolute best ever achieved. World records have to be asked for, so people who don't care about the attention slip through the cracks. Davis, I believe, was one of them. I never saw him train, ever. I know he did, at some point, but I don't know when. He did not have a steroid body. No veins hardly.

[AlexX]

For box jumps you have to remember that it isn't the height of the box that's important but where the box comes up to for the individual. I would say that below nipple line on the chest is beginner, nipple line to where the neck starts is intermediate. Anything above that would mean the person either trained for it specifically for a long time or has amazing mobility and leg strength.

A 56inch the world record? Myself and most of the people that I know who train for explosiveness can do that at an average height, I am 5'8 and I'm an advanced beginner at best in terms of jumping. Frank Yang can do an easy from a dead stop 58' and he is also 5'8, here is the video:

The box comes up to the bottom of his throat/very top of chest. He has also done a 60' jump pretty easily and this is throat level. EDIT: his best is 63" box jump standing. Now imagine if he was 6'3 and you can clearly see how important it is to measure the box in relation to a person's height instead of just the box height.

Broad jump records are similar to vertical jump numbers, because there is no official sport or standards everyone tests differently and many cheat (football player cheat on their verticals, in my experience, during testing). Having said that a 10 foot broad jump is good similar to a legitimate 36 to 37 inch vertical jump (both of which are pretty rare but attainable with training). I would say 11 and 12 shows a very explosive person like an above 40 inch vertical standing (both are rare even with training but few train specifically for such feats consistently). Of course these are merely comparisons and success in one doesn't necessarily guarantee success in the other.

[Nicholas Sortino]

I would think a nipple line box jump is pretty impressive. I know I don't have an amazing vertical, but I don't have weak legs and the highest I have jumped is the bottom of my ribcage from standing. I don't have resources to try any higher, but by those standards I would be a rank beginner. This is all standing jumps. Running start is different and I've never actually tried it.

[AlexX]

I am not talking about running, the only running jump work I measure is running vertical but that's because my goal is to dunk. You answered before I got a chance to edit but check out the link I edited to the box jump video that guy has a good box jump and it is throat level not to mention he does it from a dead stop.

As for your jump you have to remember a box jump is much more than just leg strength if you can't lift your legs up all the way up to your chest then your box jump, even with a great vertical, will be low. If your legs are really strong enough and you explosiveness is there, I would suggest working on mobility and you'll get chest level.

The guy with the 63' box jump box squats close to 500 lbs and full squats 350 lbs, has a vertical jump over 40 inches, over 10 feet broad jump. Single leg squats 160 lbs. I am posting these numbers so you have an idea of the strength levels required for the box and vertical jumps.