Split Jump → Stick
Trains the soft, controlled landing that protects ankles + knees
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
Step into a split stance, one foot about a stride in front of the other, and lower into a lunge with both knees bent and the torso upright.
The rep
From the lunge, jump straight up, driving both legs to full extension. Land in the same split stance, same foot forward, with soft knees, the front knee over the toes and the back knee just off the floor, and freeze there for a full second. Finish the reps on one side, then swap the front foot.
On the exercise card
- Freeze the landing
What goes wrong, and the fix
| What goes wrong | The fix |
|---|---|
| Landing on stiff legs | Both knees bend as you land. Sink into the lunge instead of stopping straight-legged. |
| The front knee caving in | Keep it over the second toe on every landing. |
| Leaning forward on the jump | Jump straight up from an upright torso and land back in the same shape. |
Make it easier, or harder
- Easier
- Smaller jumps, or a lunge with a rise onto the toes at the top in place of the jump.
- Harder
- Switch the legs in the air so you land with the other foot forward, and stick that.
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.
In dance the landing is half the movement. This trains a soft, controlled landing in a split stance, a shape a lot of choreography lands in, in the dance program's lower-body power and landing session.
| Program | Session | Sets × reps | Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dance | Lower Power + Landing | 3 × 4/side | BW |
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 |
| Broad Jump → Stick | Horizontal force then a dead stop — the hardest landing to control |
| 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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