Welcome to the team. You just made the smartest decision for your steeplechase career.

Here's your game plan:

Step 1: Start the Water Jump Mastery course. It's sequential — begin with Module 1 and work through it. Don't skip ahead.

Step 2: Jump into the Athletes Lounge chat. Introduce yourself, tell us your current event times, and what you're struggling with at the water jump.

Step 3: Start filming your water jump attempts. Even phone footage from the side works. Post clips in the chat and I'll give you direct feedback on your foot placement.

Step 4: Run the strength program from Module 3 alongside your normal training. 2x per week is all it takes.

Questions? Drop them in the Athletes Lounge. I check it daily.

Let's get to work.

I've analyzed over 300 water jump attempts from college and club steeplechasers. The data is brutal.

The average mid-level steeplechaser loses 0.8-1.5 seconds PER LAP at the water jump compared to elites. Over 7 water jumps in a 3000m race, that's 5-10 seconds left on the table.

The #1 reason? Foot placement on the barrier.

Most athletes land flat-footed or with their toes hanging over the front edge. Both kill your horizontal velocity. The barrier isn't an obstacle to survive — it's a platform for explosive force production.

Here's the fix in 3 sentences:

1. Land on the ball of your foot, 3-5 cm from the front edge of the barrier

2. Use a slight hip drop on your second-to-last stride to pre-load elastic energy

3. Execute immediate triple extension (hip-knee-ankle) on contact — goal is 0.12-0.18 seconds of contact time

I'm a Strongman Log Lift Coach who crossed over into steeplechase technique coaching because the biomechanics of force transfer are identical. A barbell, a log, a barrier — it's all the same physics.

If the water jump is costing you time, I built a full course on this. Link's on my page.