If you're a long jumper, your approach is your jump. Get the checkmarks right and you're a takeoff away from a PR. Get them wrong and you're scratching every other attempt.
Here's the process my coach and I worked through to set mine. It took two weeks.
Step 1: figure out your full approach length. For me, 16 strides is the sweet spot. Short enough to control, long enough to build. Some jumpers go 18, some go 14. There's no universal number.
Step 2: count backwards from the takeoff board. Walk it. Run it. Have someone film it. Mark where each foot lands. The two checkmarks I care about most are stride 4 (commitment) and stride 8 (acceleration peak).
Step 3: practice the approach without jumping for two whole weeks. Yes, two weeks. Just runs. The board is the goal. The jump comes later.
Step 4: add the takeoff back in once your approach hits the same mark on 8 of 10 reps. Not 6 of 10. 8 of 10. The board is sacred.
If you're scratching a lot, the problem isn't your jump. It's two strides earlier than you think.
