Train Like a Champion: Q & A with Speed Jumper Mark Maurer

Oct 21, 2021Jordan Lindstrom

By Matt Hopkins - Elite SRS Founder

I sat down with Mark Maurer, an accomplished speed jumper from Germany, to learn how he trains, his tips and tricks to success and the philosophical approach he takes to the sport of jump rope. Enjoy! Hint: he uses our ropes.

Table of Contents

Q & A
Workout Routine and Schedule

Mark Maurer is 23 years old and currently studies medicine at the Sigmund Freud Private University of Vienna. All his life sport has been a huge part of him: Track (Decathlon), Soccer, Tennis, Volleyball, Ballet, Gymnastics and lastly Jump Rope! Mark switched from attending nationals in track to starting completely from scratch in jump rope in 2016 when his ex-girlfriend introduced him to the wonderful sport. He was immediately hooked on it!

What keeps you jumping at an older age?

I started late in Oct. 2016 and had to learn so much!

It was tough, but as time went on and I got more practice in the sport and gained a lot of joy and motivation! Not only not hitting myself all the time with my ropes, but also gaining more and more confidence for myself and among my teammates.

I love sport, achieving new things, landing new tricks, and proving people wrong! Anyone can learn things no matter how old you are!

What is your philosophy about the sport of jump rope?

Jump rope showed me what truly is possible! No matter where in life you are, it's you who decides what target to go for next! Seen from a sports perspective... I chose to challenge myself by starting completely new in 2016... I needed a change in my life and in my motivation. I found all this in jump rope! Not only being good at it now, but also sharing my joy with others during kids-practice, online zoom courses (2020...) or even staffing at jump rope camps all around Europe!

What is your philosophy about training for jump rope?

I learned a whole lot about speed from the brutal, but effective, Chinese-style speed practice. After the ERSO worlds 2018 in shanghai, Cen Xiaolin hosted a speed session with some of his coaches! It was all about technique, position, endurance, power, repetition, and his own will. I'm not going to lie...I was mad impressed, and I felt small beside all those talented people doing this sport for so much longer than me. The Chinese way of handling jump rope practice is rough and not made for everyone... only the toughest will make it through but will eventually end up at the very top.

We adjusted our speed practice and I’d say that it worked with almost all jumpers on our team. With the most optimal technique, you only need the will and repetition to achieve goals that are set higher. For me this was running 30sec speed past 100 steps! The first time I ran this was in practice December of 2018, only 2 years after picking up a rope for the very first time!

What is unusual about how you train for speed jumping compared to others?

I'd say my motivation would be unusual. I noticed that I’m naturally good with those fast speed movements and because of mainly my track (I competed in the Decathlon) past I didn't have many problems with conditioning.

As soon as I felt comfortable with my new, smaller, body position (smaller rope --> faster around your body) I started working on my speed. From this point on it's mainly about repetition!

Recovery time:

Depending on where you are during speed practice... less at the beginning but more towards the end because you want to increase your speed and workload during a session. Your muscles need more time to regenerate and not get over-compensated. Try not to risk sore muscles otherwise your next couple practice sessions won't be that effective but, rather painful!

Do you have any secrets you can share about how to get better speed scores?

Do research on what's the most optimal body posture for you during speed runs (jumps).
Get comfortable with this position and speed up slowly.
SET REALISTIC, INDIVIDUAL TARGETS: you will always have something in front of you... so you can keep pushing towards this goal.
YES, YOU CAN! Stay motivated and do lots of repetition.

What does your daily workout program look like?

I practice at least 3x /week or even better 4x (2x 30sec / 2x 3min) and alternate sessions.

Day speed session:

General warm up 15 min (jogging, jumping rope, fun team games)
Specific speed warm up for 10 min (agility exercises, speed balls, different ropes such as beaded, pvc, cable). Arms and legs, especially, should be warm, stretched, and ready!
Speed Ladder 80-90%
5sec/10sec/20sec/30sec/40sec/50sec/60sec and down. Pause in between: 20sec until 20sec / 60 sec until 60sec
3x 30sec speed 80%, 90%, 100%. Pause: 2 min in between
1x 30sec speed 100%

Then switch to some other event (i.e. double dutch, wheel, single rope, but not 3min speed practice!). Use another day for 3-minute training!