Standing broad jump test
A vertical jump measures power upwards. Almost all of sport happens forwards. The standing broad jump is the cheapest measure of horizontal power there is, and it needs nothing but a tape measure.
The standing broad jump measures horizontal power. Two feet, swing the arms, land and hold it; measure to the back of the heels. Best of three.
The landing rule decides the score: falling forward to gain distance is the most common way this test gets inflated.
The point of the test
Horizontal lower-body power and the ability to land and control it.
Why it is in the Train Smart battery: Horizontal power — the direction you actually accelerate in.
How to run it
Two feet, swing the arms, land and hold it. Measure to the back of the heels. Three attempts, best counts.
- What you need
- A tape measure · A flat non-slip surface · A marked take-off line
What is a good score?
We are not going to publish a precise-looking table for this test. Reported ranges vary too much with protocol, equipment, level, age and sex for a single table to be honest, and most of the tables in circulation for it are uncited copies of each other.
The comparison that actually changes your training is against your own last score. That is not a consolation prize — it is what the monitoring literature supports, and it is what Train Smart does: re-test every four weeks under the same conditions and let the trend, not the percentile, drive the program. The papers behind that are here.
What people get wrong
Most of the variation between two tests is protocol, not fitness. These are the faults that make one score incomparable to the last.
- Not sticking the landing.
- The score is measured to the back of the heels and the landing must be held. Falling forwards to gain distance is the most common way this test is inflated.
- Measuring to the toes.
- Back of the heels. Consistently.
- Skipping the arm swing.
- The arms are worth real distance. Use them, and use them the same way every time.
How to actually move the number
Horizontal power responds to horizontal training: broad jumps, bounds and sled pushes, all at low volume and maximum intent. Add lower-body strength underneath — trap-bar deadlifts and split squats — because you cannot express force you do not have.
The movements that build a standing broad jump
Testing tells you where you are; these are what change it. Each one carries the coaching cues, the sets and reps Train Smart prescribes it at, and ranked alternatives — and in the app the weight is calculated from your own last top set.
| Movement | Why it is programmed |
|---|---|
| Front Squat | Quad and trunk strength in the upright posture sport actually loads |
| Trap Bar Jump | A loaded jump — peak power output with no barbell skill to learn first |
| Romanian Deadlift | Posterior chain for driving legs |
| Bulgarian Split Squat | Single-leg power + change of direction |
| Jefferson Curl (light KB) | Loads spinal flexion and hamstring length together, then holds there — the range you land and bend in, owned rather than avoided |
| Nordic Curl | Hamstring injury prevention — the #1 AFL injury |
| Nordic Hamstring Lower | The most-evidenced hamstring exercise there is, done as a slow lower into a hold rather than a fall |
| Loaded 90/90 — hold each side | Internal and external hip rotation held at end range — the range that runs out first in cutting sports |
More: quad exercises · glute exercises · hamstring exercises
standing broad jump — questions
Why test a broad jump instead of a vertical jump?
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