You need to be able to accelerate, hop, step and then jump.

To perform high knees, lift one knee as high as it will go, then switch to your other knee.

Here we explain the main points to work on for each stage of the jump: The Approach: 12-18 step run-ups are most common, with more experienced athletes using the longest.

i.e. the sequence of skills for the triple jump.

The approach run for the Triple Jump is similar to that of the Long Jump and the objective is to create the highest amount of speed that can be controlled throughout the triple jump hop, step and jump phases.

On impact with the ground, the 'jump' leg drives hard against the floor and is fully extended.

Serial Skills are a group of discrete skills strung together to make a new and complex movement. Achieving a good triple jump is all about controlling your speed and body position. The opposite thigh (drive leg) is just parallel to the ground. Continuous skills have no obvious beginning or end.

For good form during your triple jump, you will need flexibility to lift your knees parallel to your hips.

For the approach phase of the jump, the athlete sprints down a runway to a takeoff mark, from which the jump is measured. The movement should look like an exaggerated march. The end of one cycle of movements is the beginning of the next, and the skill is repeated like a cycle. This event has many of the same characteristics that the long jump displays during the approach.

Triple jump technique is much like the game hop scotch that young children play. An athlete must take off and land on the same leg then land on the next opposite leg before landing in the pit. The athlete's strength and technique will determine the optimal run-up distance and speed.

Triple jump or ‘hop, step and jump’ can be broken down into three phases; the approach, take off, and landing. The complementary skills necessary are also reactive jumping strength and a high degree of movement coordination and feel for rhythm, balance and arm-leg coordination.