Learn the hang technique: flight position with stretched arms, trunk pre-tension and an active landing — with drill sequence, measuring rule, mistakes and safety.
The hang is a flight technique in the long jump: you take off as in the stride jump, bring lead and take-off leg under the body so that the knee angle is about 90 degrees, and “hang” in the air [1]. Then you swing the legs forward, fold the upper body forward and stretch the arms forward to land [1].
The honest answer to whether it is worth it: distance is created mainly in the run-up and take-off. A rule of thumb in a university handbook is: two thirds of the jump performance come from run-up speed, one third from take-off [1]. The flight phase does not add distance, it keeps your balance and prepares the landing [6]. So the hang is a technique that helps you with the landing, not with flying.
And the landing decides centimetres. Distance is measured from the nearest mark in the sand that any body part leaves [3]. In a study of 12 male long jumpers, the hang group landed with the pelvis almost 6 centimetres behind the heels and shortened their distance, while the hitch-kick group landed with the pelvis in front of the heels [4]. That was a small 2-D analysis, but it shows the principle. This guide is for advanced beginners: first the stride jump, then the hang [1].
Practise take-off with bounding jumps and “freezing” the take-off posture [6]. In the stride jump you hold the take-off position as long as possible so the flight curve stays stable [2].
Milestone (practice standard): 8 out of 10 jumps with a stable take-off position.
Take off from 6 to 8 steps [6]. After take-off you bring lead and take-off leg under the body, the arms go up and back, and you build a slight pre-tension in the trunk [1].
Milestone: you hold the position briefly without tipping.
From the hang position you swing the legs forward, fold the upper body forward actively and stretch both arms forward [1]. On landing you put both feet far in front of the centre of mass, the legs give in the knees so you do not fall backwards, and the upper body rises [6].
Milestone: 8 out of 10 landings in a seated position without the hands dropping behind the backside.
After each jump look at the first mark in the sand and at the spot where your backside landed. The learning step: landings in a seated position from a short or medium run-up, also from a raised take-off spot [6]. That way you learn to lift the feet and bring the lower legs forward.
Milestone: the landing is behind the heels in at most 2 of 10 jumps.
Increase the run-up gradually to 12 to 16 steps (U14 guideline) [2]. The last three steps are run in a short-long-short rhythm so that the centre of mass lowers slightly [2].
Milestone: 6 out of 10 jumps with hang and an active landing.
The landing is the part with injury risk. In a study of collegiate jumpers, the most common injury type in long jumpers was ankle sprain (23.3 % of long-jump injuries); the take-off legs experience ground reaction forces that are a multiple of body weight [7]. Look after your sand pit: the sand must be loose and damp [3]. If you land in hard ground, you get hurt faster.
Warm up thoroughly and increase the number of jumps slowly. This guide explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training or a coach.
Landing efficiency is linked to arm action at take-off. The study authors suggest that the hang group could land better if they generated more angular momentum at take-off, which depends on arm speed [4]. That is no guarantee, but it is an approach: swing the arms actively and quickly at take-off. Once you have that, try how the hang feels in the air.
A long jump flight technique. After take-off you bring lead and take-off leg under the body so that you “kneel” in the air with knee angles of about 90 degrees, and you swing the legs forward to land [1]. It is regarded as a continuation of the stride jump.
The stride jump first. The teaching material recommends first learning proper run-up-take-off behaviour with the stride long jump technique [1]. At the end of basic training, hang or stride long jump counts as the training goal [5]. After that you can try the hang.
Because the distance is measured from the nearest mark in the sand that any body part makes [3]. If you fall backwards, that mark counts. In one study, the hang group landed the pelvis just under 6 centimetres behind the heels [4].
In youth athletics 12 to 16 steps are recommended [2]. The higher the sprint ability and take-off technique, the longer the run-up [2]. For beginners, 15 to 20 steps are a possible starting figure [6].
The teaching material describes arms up and back and a hollow back as pre-tension for the landing [1]. Another federation sets “no hollow back” as the goal at the end of basic training [5]. So: clear it with your coach, and do not exaggerate.
Triple Jump: Hop, Step and Jump with Rhythm and Balance