Burpee Broad Jump · Hip Hinge (Load)

Why this matters

The Burpee Broad Jump is an 80 m test of the posterior chain and the stretch-shortening cycle. The single most common — and most expensive — error is turning the load into a deep squat instead of a hip hinge.

Load it like a kettlebell swing, not a front squat.

A deep squat drops the hips to knee height, which forces the quads to lift the whole body vertically before any horizontal travel can start. A hinge keeps the hips high and back, pre-stretching the hamstrings and glutes so they can fire the body forward.

What good looks like

• Hips clearly above the knees at the bottom of the load.
• A steep thigh line (the femur points down-and-forward to the knee).
• Weight back through the heels, ready to launch horizontally.

Common faults

Squat-Dominant (< 25°)

The thigh is nearly flat — hips have dropped to a deep squat. The quads now have to raise the centre of mass before the jump even begins, and they fry quickly over 80 m.

Under-Loaded (> 62°)

The knees are barely bent. There is little stored energy to launch — the jumps come out short.

Coaching cues

• "Hips back, not down" — the defining hinge cue.
• "Load the hamstrings like a swing" — borrows the pattern athletes already know.
• Side-by-side film — compare hip height to the knee line at the load.

How to draw

1. Pause on the loading stance — feet planted, chest off the deck, just before the forward jump.
2. First point: greater trochanter (hip).
3. Second point: lateral epicondyle (knee).
4. The acute angle vs horizontal is the reading. Steeper = more hinge.

Related measurements

• Trunk Pitch (Load) — the upper-body half of the same frame.
• Launch Vector (Takeoff) — where the loaded hinge gets spent.