Broad Jump
Horizontal shot power on the double-leg
How to do it well
The set-up and the rep in full, then the cues the app shows on the exercise card — the short version, for the moment you are standing in front of the bar.
Set-up
Stand with the feet hip width behind a line, toes forward, on a non-slip surface with at least three metres of clear space in front of you.
The rep
Swing the arms back and sink the hips into a quarter squat, then throw the arms forward and drive out at about 45°, extending the hips, knees and ankles fully. Pull the knees through in the air and land on both feet at once, sitting the hips back to absorb it. Hold the landing for a second before you stand up. A jump you fall out of does not count.
On the exercise card
- Explode + stick
What goes wrong, and the fix
| What goes wrong | The fix |
|---|---|
| Falling forward on landing | Shorten the jump until you can stick it. The distance only counts if you can hold the landing. |
| Jumping too high or too flat | Aim out, not up. About 45° gets the most distance. |
| Landing stiff-legged | Land with soft knees and the hips back, in the same position as the bottom of a quarter squat. |
Make it easier, or harder
- Easier
- A shorter jump to a marked line, with the focus on sticking the landing.
- Harder
- Two or three broad jumps in a row with no pause between them, or a single-leg broad jump.
How Train Smart prescribes it
The sets and reps below are the authored starting point. The actual weight you see is calculated from your own last top set and the week you are in within your four-week block.
It is horizontal power: what drives a shot in MMA, a run-up in gymnastics and the first steps of a sprint. All three programs that use it keep it to three reps a set at bodyweight, in the power block before any strength work, so every jump is a fresh, maximal effort.
| Program | Session | Sets × reps | Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMA | Explosive Power + Posterior | 4 × 3 | BW |
| Gymnastics | Power-to-Weight Strength | 5 × 3 | BW |
| Bodyweight Athlete | Lower Strength + Power | 4 × 3 | BW |
What it trains, and who trains it
- Region
- Lower body
- Classified as
- Plyometric
- Prescribed in
- MMA · gymnastics · bodyweight training
If you cannot do this one
Rack taken, kit missing, or it does not suit you. These are the swaps the app offers, matched by movement pattern and body region — each with the reason it is a fair substitute.
| Alternative | Why it works as a swap |
|---|---|
| Countermovement Jump | The baseline jump — measure it, then chase it |
| Vertical Jump → Stick | Land and freeze: teaches the knee to absorb force instead of collapsing |
| Depth Drop → Stick | Step off a box and absorb — the purest landing-mechanics drill there is |
| Split Jump → Stick | Scissor the legs, land in a lunge and hold — decel in a running position |
| Single-Leg Hop → Stick | One leg absorbs everything, exactly like it does in a game |
| Lateral Bound → Stick | Sideways force absorbed on the outside leg — the classic ACL position |
This exercise, in a program that knows why it is there
Train Smart puts this movement in the right session, at the right point in your block, at a weight calculated for you — and swaps it automatically if you do not have the kit.
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