Hyrox Burpee Broad Jump: The Ultimate Guide
If you’re thinking of completing your first HYROX race this year or wondering what to work on to improve your performances, our HYROX Guide series is the place to start.
In this installment we are talking burpee broad jumps.
This exercise is the fourth station you will face in a HYROX race, having completed before the SkiErg, sled push and sled pull. Meaning you will be starting to feel the built up fatigue by the time you reach it, coupling with the nature itself of the movement it’s easy to lose a lot of precious time while completing the prescribed 80m length.
But by keeping a few key points in mind when training the burpee broad jump and then competing you can crush this station and drastically improve previous scores.
Key Takeaways
What is a Burpee Broad Jump?
The burpee broad jump is made up of two separate movements that can be further broken down: the burpee and the broad jump.
How do you perform a Burpee Broad Jump correctly?
The burpee is sectioned in three phases.
The first phase starts by reaching down to the floor with your hands and then kicking out your feet into a plank position. Lower your body until you are at the bottom of a pushup position with your chest making contact with the floor.
The second and third phases almost happen simultaneously: as you complete the concentric part of a pushup ( = the pushing off from the floor) you will also jump your feet close to your hands to come to a standing position. You can also decide to come to a standing position by stepping up from the pushup position one foot at a time.
Note! By HYROX rules you CANNOT jump your feet further than where your hands are set when coming off from the floor.
Once you are standing, you move onto the next part of the movement: the broad jump.
The broad jump is actually where you can make a big difference in performance. But first it’s important to clarify the proper execution steps. Almost all athletes will benefit the most from performing it with the traditional “technique” of hinging + swinging their arms back to gain some momentum before they make the jump forward.
During the jump, you’re going to actively bring your legs forward to gain some extra distance. Once you land, the rep is complete.
If you want to prepare for a HYROX competition we have a training program for you!
Hyrox rules for the Burpee Broad Jumps
As we stated before, the burpee broad jump is the fourth station in HYROX races and requires 80 meters of turf to be covered to complete the station.
When it comes to what qualifies a good rep, and most importantly what NOT to do here are the main pointers to know about:
- When you start your first rep hands must be placed BEHIND the starting line.
- Hands need to be no more than one arm’s length from your body when you descend into the bottom of the push up.
- You cannot inchworm or crawl to the bottom position. Instead you must place your hands no more than a foot away from where you are standing ( = keep those hands close to your feet!) and don’t move them around until you come out of the push up.
- At the bottom of the rep your chest MUST touch the ground.
- When coming to a standing position both leaping up and stepping up are allowed as long as the feet don’t pass the point where your hands were previously touching the ground.
- You cannot step forward or back once you are on your feet before jumping.
- Feet must take off and land together for the jump.
What if one or more of your reps don’t comply to the rules?
A violation to the rep rules will lead to the athlete receiving a warning. If two warnings are handed out then the athlete will receive a 5m penalty. And do you want to add 5 meters to the already terribly long distance you have to cover? NO. So follow the rules and don’t forget if you need to go slower that slow is smooth and smooth is fast in these cases.
If you feel like you are not familiar enough with the rules for each station and what consists of a good rep make sure to check out the RULEBOOK for your HYROX race of choice by clicking HERE.
Common mistakes to avoid in the Burpee Broad Jump
Over-jumping ❌
it’s easy to get caught in the desire to push and start making up some terrain when you reach this station and see the 80 meters you need to cover.
So it’s understandable why some athletes will start their burpee broad jumps with very powerful jumps that aim to cover as much distance as possible.
The issue is this is a movement that requires a lot of effort not just from your muscles but from the nervous system as well and it can catch up to you REAL fast. You may feel like a champion for the first 20 meters and then run out of juice by meter 30.
So unless you have consistently trained big jumps it’s better to start with a specific jump length that is sustainable for you and stick to it.
Under-jumping ❌
Yes this is a bit of a Goldilocks situation where you don’t want to OVER-do you jump but don’t want to UNDER-do it either.
Too small of jumps will mean you are spending so much energy completing the burpee to not make up that much distance despite it. If you are feeling fatigued and find you don’t have it in you to complete a relatively long jump opt for taking a small break before starting the rep or while on the ground.
Relax your body, get your breathing under control and focus on the task at hand. Once you complete that rep make it count and cover some distance with that jump.
Getting penalized ❌
We said it once and we will say it again → slow is smooth and smooth is fast. In such a time consuming exercise such as the burpee broad jump getting penalized can really impact your score.
So if you find yourself rushing and hyperventilating take a big breath, focus on consistency rep to rep and clock in QUALITY reps. It’ll be over sooner than you think.
Not pacing correctly❌
The overarching theme in this blog has been the importance of consistency.
With a movement like this it makes little sense to slow down or go too fast. It won’t give you any advantage and might affect your mind game.
Instead start from making sure that even in training you are practicing consistent reps and finding a speed and jump length that works for your fitness and current abilities.
Training Tips for Mastering Burpee Broad Jumps
Warm-Up and Mobility Exercises ✅
Focus on dynamic stretching giving special attention to your hip flexors, hamstring and shoulders. You want to be fast and explosive here so static hold stretches won’t help you prepare optimally for the movement.
To warm up even more include some activation drills like high knees, plank holds, inchworms and ankle drills to make sure you are not just ready to jump explosively but land safely too.
Tips and Techniques to Improve Performance ✅
Make sure you are implementing plyometric training into your sessions. You can include box jumps and long jumps to work on explosiveness, so you can cover more distance in your broad jumps while exerting the same effort.
Ensure you are practicing competition standard reps and playing around with different techniques (ex. leap VS step up) as well as different jumping lengths to find the perfect set up that works for you.
Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them
As we covered in the common mistakes section it’s easy to get overwhelmed in this station and screw up your pacing because of it.
While with the previous HYROX stations there is not much technique involved and it’s just about putting in the reps here you need to be zeroed in on what you’re doing and not let the distance ahead get to you.
Especially as fatigue will have set in by now and the two sled stations will be affecting your leg power and hip strength.
Here are some tips to keep in mind to bring you best game to the burpee broad jump station.
- Practice practice practice. We can’t stop repeating it, in training you need to practice how you will do the broad jumps at the actual race. Find the distance, and technique, that works for you and hammer it down.
- Breathing. Here’s one of the places where it’s easy to start hyperventilating, but you will be prepared for this! Take some deep breaths before starting your first rep and check in with yourself to make sure you are not redlining too hard, don’t forget there are still plenty of stations to go.
- Your mindset will make you or break you. It’s easy to get lost in the amount of reps needed to complete the distance. But when you find yourself overthinking just focus on one rep at a time and you’ll find things will go by way faster than expected.
- Stay present. Focusing on one rep at a time will also ensure you are not committing mistakes and getting penalized which will save you LOTS of time in the long run.
Integrating Burpee Broad Jumps into Your Training Routine
If you want to improve your performance on this exercise aside from implementing the strategies and tips provided in this blog you need to have a smart and structured training plan to prepare you for your best performance on race week.
Don’t know where to start? CHECK OUT our official HYROX training plan that meets you where you’re at in your fitness journey and prepares you to crush your next race.
If you want to prepare for a HYROX competition we have a training program for you!
FAQs and Misconceptions About Hyrox Burpee Broad Jumps
How many reps do I need to complete to cover the 80m distance?
This will completely depend on what distance works for you on the broad jump. We recommend doing a race pace/race standard test run of 10 to 20 meters to calculate how many reps you should expect doing on race day.
How can I improve my broad jump distance?
Focus on plyometric exercises to build explosiveness, leg strength to support that explosiveness and training under fatigue to maximize explosiveness retention when racing.
What should I do if I can’t perform a full push-up?
Start by training scaled versions like the knee supported pushup or the hands on an elevated surface (against a wall, plyo box or bench). You can also train your burpees at the same time you build strength by coming out of the push-up on your knees and then stepping up one leg at a time to reach standing position.
