Before we begin, I will say up front that this is going to be the longest and largest section of the manual by far.
The SBJ tests “Power of lower limb extensor muscles” according to the MINDEF website.
But to do really well in the Standing Broad Jump (if you are not gifted for it) is the hardest thing to accomplish in the IPPT test.
Let’s get serious about training the most asked about, most talked about and possibly the most failed station in the entire IPPT world.
The SBJ is the most complex to train due to technique. It also takes the longest time to train because it is a power and strength test and these attributes develop MUCH more slowly than endurance.
Endurance for events such as the sit-up (torso muscle endurance) and the 2.4km run (leg and cardiovascular system endurance) is developed in weeks. Strength and power takes months and years.
In your army days you have met people who cut 3-4 minutes off their 2.4km run timings during 10-12 weeks of basic military training. But how many have you met that gained 30cm or more (same percentage improvement) in their SBJ during those 12 weeks? Not many.
Another problem is that strength and power decrease as we get older if we don’t do anything to maintain it. Sad but true. That’s just the way it its.
Get old, we lose muscle if we don’t train so we get weaker, have less strength and power and that leads to poor jumpin.
But with good training it can be done. I had a client who was not overweight or fat, 68kg at 170cm height. He was fairly muscular, and he had been running and lifting weights for the past year. He was what most people would certainly consider healthy.
He did well in all the other stations. Something like 8-10 chinups, no problems with sit-ups and a decent shuttle run and 2.4 timing.
But his broad jump was a surprisingly low 180cm!
With the correct kind of training both for strength, power as well as for jumping technique he took his IPPT five weeks after starting our coaching and jumped 36cm further.
Just like all other tests, the broad jump can be “studied for” and dominated. And as Singapore’s top personal trainer and health expert, I will share some tips on this IPPT-training website. These tips have helped hundreds of my clients get results in weeks, that would never have happened if they had no coaching or guidance.