advice needed!

[Birdman]

I am a high jumper, and am experiancing difficulties with putting too much muscle mass on.

To reach maximum strength and power I am doing plenty of the olympic lifts, mixing them with great plyometric workouts. I am having plenty sucess with my jumping ability. I am flirting with 7'1", but as I am getting up to the higher heights i figure every pound is starting to count and go against me.

I am now 6'3" 188 lbs. I used to 165 lbs before the power lifting. Do you have any advice how to be as strong as i am now but without the bulk?

I do not lift upper body, only med ball workouts. Its just my quads and hammys are starting to look more like a 100m sprinters and not a skinny high jumpers any more.

Please help me!!

[Polevaultermom]

At 6'3" you are not carrying to much weight. It sounds to me that perhaps your body image is bothering you more than your jumping performance. Has your vertical leap dropped? If not, I would suggest adding a dynamic flexibility session into your daily workouts (if you haven't already), as well as assessing your plyo sessions to make sure they focus enough attention on the eccentric action of jumping.