The fitness industry is full of confusing terms that are often given no clear definition or explanation as to why they are important. None more so than ‘triple extension’. Well fear not, today is the day that that is rectified.

What is Triple Extension?

Triple extension refers to the extension of the 3 major joints of the lower body: the hips, knees and ankles. It is a movement that is seen in most sports, with it occurring in skills like sprinting and jumping. It is therefore important that athletes train their ability to exert high amounts of power and speed through lower body triple extension.

CAVEAT - we will rarely hit full extension through all three major joints at once or at all. So, your training doesn’t have to reach full triple extension but instead teach to you produce lots of speed and power during whatever degree of extension you are training.

How Do I Practice Triple Extension?

In understanding triple extension training, it is useful to refer back to the force velocity curve and how we train to improve power output.

Best practise for improving power output is to ‘surf the force velocity curve’ by training high-strength, high-speed and high-power exercises.

We typically consider ballistic and plyometric exercises to be triple extension exercises (for example, Olympic lifting, weighted jumps, unweighted jumps and rebounds), which lend themselves to the high power and high-speed areas of the curve.

So, training high-power and high-speed is where you will be able to train your triple extension capabilities, which will supplement and compliment your strength exercises at the strength area of the curve.

Top Three High Speed Triple Extension Exercises

Sprinting - Run at a Maximal Effort

Sprinting is an essential skill for sports performance. Having a higher tolerance for sprinting may also reduce the risk of injury.

Plyo Box Jumps - Perform an Explosive Jump Onto a Box

Plyo Box jumps are a great entry level ballistic exercise which allow you to work on producing high amounts of vertical force, without heavy landing forces, since you are cushioned by the box.

Broad Jumps - Perform an Explosive Forward Jump as Far as Possible

Broad jumps are a great exercise for developing horizontal force production and for working on your deceleration during the landing phase.

Top Three High Power Triple Extension Exercises

Clean - Lift a Heavy Weight Off the Floor Into a Front Rack Position Through An Explosive Jump-Like Movement

The clean is a great way to produce maximal power through triple extension because you do not have to slow down at the top of the movement and the cushioning nature of the landing means you can load it up very heavy.

Snatch - Lift a Heavy Weight Off the Floor Into an Overhead Squat Position Through an Explosive Jump-Like Movement

The snatch, like the clean, allows you to develop high power through triple extension. The snatch, however, uses slightly more extension at slightly higher speeds to the clean, making it a great exercise alongside your clean to further surf the force velocity curve.

Trap Bar Jump - Perform an Explosive Jump Off the Floor with a Heavy Trap Bar for Resistance

The Trap Bar jump is a great exercise for developing high power through triple extension without the difficult technique involved in cleans or snatches. This makes it a great exercise if you don’t have time to learn Olympic lifts.

So, there you have it. Triple extension in a nutshell. Add at least one exercise from the high-speed list and the high-power list, alongside your high-strength movements, like back squats or deadlifts, to become the most powerful athlete you can!

Written by guest author Ewan Hammond.

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Tags: Misc > Workout