Burpee Broad Jump · Knee Flexion (Landing)

Why this matters

How the athlete lands dictates the metabolic toll of the movement. A stiff-legged landing forces the skeleton — back and knees — to absorb the braking forces, which is both an injury risk and a momentum killer. A controlled knee bend lets the muscles absorb the load, so the athlete can fall straight into the next burpee without a heavy, momentum-killing stop.

What good looks like

• Knees bend to a partial squat (110–130°) on contact.
• The landing is quiet — the muscles, not the joints, take the load.
• Momentum carries smoothly into the chest-to-deck of the next rep.

Common faults

Stiff-Legged (> 140°)

Lands near straight-legged. Braking forces go into the lower back and knees, and the hard stop kills momentum into the next rep.

Over-Deep (< 100°)

Sinks into a deep squat on every landing — protective, but it costs time and energy on a 100+ rep station.

Coaching cues

• "Land soft, absorb" — names the muscular catch.
• "Catch it, don't crash it" — discourages the stiff landing.
• Tempo box landings — train the controlled catch under fatigue.

How to draw

1. Pause on the frame where both feet first contact the carpet.
2. Line 1 (thigh): greater trochanter (hip) → lateral epicondyle (knee).
3. Line 2 (shank): lateral epicondyle (knee) → lateral malleolus (ankle).
4. The included angle is the landing knee flexion.

Related measurements

• Landing Balance (CoM) — same frame; whether the landing is balanced over the base.
• Knee Valgus on Landing — the front-view safety check the side view can't see.