How to ‘Hack’ the Broad Jump

By CJ Easter

In the hierarchy of performance testing, the vertical jump is much more glorious than the broad jump. Every kid wants that elusive “40 inch vert.” However, in most sports, even in jumping sports like basketball and volleyball, power in the transverse plane (i.e. explosive first step) is more important than power in the saggital plane (i.e. vertical jump).

The broad jump also has a high correlation to an athlete’s sprinting ability because of the similarity in force angles. You’ll see a lot similarities between this article and my breakdown of the 40 yard dash start from last week.

Grab your free Athletic Development Playbook by clicking on the image below.

Load

• Feet are hip width
• Athlete extends at the knee, hip, ankle, and reaches overhead to create momentum for the counter movement.

Counter Movement

• Athlete will rip the arms down and slam the heels down to initiate the counter movement
• Arms continue to load back. Torso leans forward as hips and arms load back. Weight shifts forward to midfoot and ball of foot as center of gravity shifts forward with torso.
• Shins should be at 45° and the angle of the shins should intersect the shoulder. These angles will maximize the athlete’s forward propulsion.

Launch

• Athlete throws arms violently forward and triple extends at the knee, hip, and ankle, pushing the ground back as powerfully as possible.
• Launch angle should match shin angle of 45°.
• Athlete should be patient and push into the ground as long as possible because once the feet leave the ground no more force can be produced.

Leg Cycle

• Once athlete leaves the ground, they should quickly cycle the heals to the butt to maximize hang time.

Extension and Landing

• After peak of jump, athlete should extend their legs to stick landing. Arms will pull back to counterbalance the legs.
• Athlete should extend legs as far forward as they can while still sticking the landing. Lower body will absorb the force while the upper body continues with its forward momentum until the center of gravity is back over the base.

Slow Motion Video

If you want a video library of over 100 jump training drills broken down step-by-step and a complete 6-week system to implement these drills today, check out Ultimate Jump Training.