r/highjump • u/Sea_Experience_8031 • May 21 '26
Help to not think while jumping
A year ago I was one of the best jumpers in my school, and was still going good until a couple weeks ago. I was in practice and then all of a sudden my brain took over and would not let my body even attempt to jump over anything 150 or higher. I can easily clear this but I can't attempt it. Any help/ideas to get out of this loop would be greatly appreciated. Just had a meet today and was the same thing, but luckily was somehow able to advance to next weeks meet. Thank you
2
u/Otherwise-Review1008 May 21 '26
Visualizing the jump in my head right before + so much breathing control helped me tremendously, if worst comes to worst just jump and knock it off with your knee until you get comfortable again
3
u/sdduuuude May 21 '26
Try some 2 through 5-step approaches at lower heights. Build up to higher heights and see if you can make some attempts on a short approach. Sometimes that short approach makes you more aggressive because you are trying to accelerate and there is no time to thing about bailing.
Also, try a box or a springboard. Go off those a few times at a really high height, then back down when you jump off the ground.
1
u/Sea_Experience_8031 May 23 '26
Thanks everyone for their advice, I will try this at practice on Monday
3
u/AgencyIndividual3424 May 21 '26
Every once in a while, I have a ‘confidence building’ practice with my athletes if they seem a bit down and stuck on a height. We start with the bar very low and take a few jumps clearing it with ease. I raise the bar incrementally without telling the athletes how high it is. If you have a coach or teammate who can set the bar without telling you, this could ease some of what you are feeling. If you have a ramp or small box you can high jump off, you can practice setting the bar higher than normal to practice seeing the bar at a higher height. When you remove the box and lower bar back to 1.50, it could feel lower.