Burpee Broad Jump
The Burpee Broad Jump combines a full burpee with an explosive horizontal jump, creating a high-intensity movement that taxes the entire body. Your legs, glutes, core, chest, and arms all work during the ground-based phases, while the forward jump demands powerful hip and knee extension to cover distance.
Linking the floor-to-standing transition with a maximal broad jump trains both strength and explosiveness under accumulating fatigue. Bodyweight squat-based movements generate substantial quadriceps activation, making exercises like this effective for developing lower-body power without external loading (Pereira et al., 2024). The repeated transitions also challenge coordination and cardiovascular capacity, building the kind of resilience needed for sustained high-effort work.
Resistance and plyometric exercises produce meaningful improvements in muscle performance, functional capacity, and overall conditioning (Abdel-Aal et al., 2025). The Burpee Broad Jump is a staple in functional training, conditioning workouts, and competitive fitness formats like HYROX-style events, where repeated high-output efforts determine performance.
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Technique and form
How to perform the Burpee Broad Jump
- Begin in a standing position with feet shoulder-width apart, arms at your sides, and core engaged.
- Bend at the knees and hips to squat down, placing your hands on the floor just in front of your feet while keeping your back flat.
- Kick your feet back into a plank position, maintaining a straight line from head to heels with your core tight and shoulders positioned directly over your wrists.
- Lower your chest to the floor by bending your elbows at a 45-degree angle from your body while inhaling.
- Push through your palms to straighten your arms as you exhale, maintaining a rigid plank with engaged core and glutes.
- Jump your feet forward to return to the squat position, landing softly with your knees tracking in line with your toes.
- From the squat, explosively extend your hips, knees, and ankles while swinging your arms forward to propel yourself into a forward jump, exhaling during the effort.
- Land softly with bent knees to absorb the impact, immediately beginning your next repetition by squatting down and placing your hands on the floor.
Important information
- Keep your core engaged throughout the entire movement to protect your lower back, especially during the plank and push-up portions.
- Maintain proper push-up form by keeping your elbows at approximately 45 degrees from your body rather than flaring them out to the sides.
- Land softly on the balls of your feet first, then roll to your heels when jumping forward to minimize joint stress.
- Scale this exercise by removing the push-up or performing step-backs instead of jumps if needed for your fitness level.
Common Mistakes: Burpee Broad Jump
Benefits of the Burpee Broad Jump
Muscles Worked: Burpee Broad Jump
The Burpee Broad Jump is a compound exercise that engages multiple muscle groups working together. Here's how each muscle contributes to the movement.
Primary muscles
Quads — Your front of your thighs (quads) extend your knees and drive the movement upward. These are the main muscles doing the heavy lifting during the Burpee Broad Jump.
Glutes — Your glute muscles generate hip power and keep your pelvis stable. This is the main muscles doing the heavy lifting during the Burpee Broad Jump.
Secondary muscles
Calves — Your calf muscles stabilize your ankles and assist foot push-off. While not the main focus, these muscles play an important supporting role.
Abs — Your abdominal muscles brace your core and keep your spine safe. While not the main focus, this muscle plays an important supporting role.
With 4 muscles involved, the Burpee Broad Jump is an efficient exercise that gives you a lot of training value in a single movement.
Risk Areas
FAQ - Burpee Broad Jump
This exercise targets multiple muscle groups simultaneously including chest and triceps during the push-up, quads and glutes during the squat and jump phases, and core muscles throughout the entire movement. Your shoulders, hamstrings, and calves also get significant engagement, making it a true full-body exercise.
Beginners can start with a partial squat depth and press lighter weights or no weights at all. You can also separate the movements initially, mastering the squat first, then the overhead press, before combining them into one fluid motion.
The most common mistakes include rounding your lower back, rotating your hips instead of keeping them square, rushing through the movement, and not hinging properly at the hips. Focus on maintaining a neutral spine, moving with control, and keeping your standing knee slightly soft rather than locked.
For most fitness enthusiasts, incorporating this exercise 2-3 times per week is sufficient, allowing 48 hours for muscle recovery between sessions. Consider including it in HIIT circuits or as a finisher, starting with 3-4 sets of 6-10 repetitions depending on your fitness level.
Yes, this exercise significantly improves power, explosiveness, and conditioning that transfers to many sports. The combination of horizontal jumping power and upper body strength mirrors movements found in basketball, volleyball, football, and track events, while the cardiovascular demand enhances overall endurance for any athletic pursuit.
Scientific References
Marshall RN, Morgan PT, Martinez-Valdes E, et al. · Exp Gerontol (2020)
Pereira NDS, Chaffe LP, Marques MI, et al. · J Sport Rehabil (2024)
Abdel-Aal NM, Kamil RM, Tayel DI, et al. · Physiother Theory Pract (2025)
Sources are peer-reviewed academic publications from PubMed.
Burpee Broad Jump
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