Sprinting utilises a stiff chain - minimal flexion at the hip and knee with a high toe/ ball strike and very short ground contact time - to achieve high frequency spring or bounce. Chain stiffness with high frequency spring/ bounce is the basic function of hopping or plyometric exercises. Jumping (low frequency bouncing) involves significant knee and hip flexion to stretch and store energy in the large muscles/ tendons of the legs and hips. Jumping exercises are excellent tools to promote muscle power but they provide only indirect gains to sprinting.
Confusion about what constitutes a hop (high frequency bouncing) or a jump (low frequency bouncing) is common in conditioning programs and research studies, and most often results in poor sprinting outcomes
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