The Ultimate Burpee Guide for Hyrox Athletes

The burpee broad jump is one of the most challenging stations in any Hyrox competition, testing your explosive power, cardiovascular endurance, and mental fortitude simultaneously. Whether you’re aiming to complete your first Hyrox or looking to shave precious minutes off your time, mastering this exercise can significantly impact your overall performance.

What Exactly Is the Burpee Broad Jump?

In Hyrox competitions, athletes must complete 80 meters of burpee broad jumps—performing a full burpee followed by a horizontal jump, then repeating this sequence until the distance is covered. Here’s the precise technique:

1. Start in a standing position
2. Drop into a squat position and place your hands on the ground
3. Kick your feet back into a plank position
4. Perform a push-up (chest must touch the ground)
5. Return to the squat position
6. Stand up
7. Immediately transition into a broad jump, landing with both feet simultaneously
8. Repeat the entire sequence

What makes this exercise particularly demanding is the continuous transition between horizontal and vertical movement patterns while maintaining proper form under cardiovascular stress.

Top 5 Tips to Speed Up Your Burpee Broad Jumps

1. Perfect Your Foot Placement

Efficiency starts from the ground up. When dropping into the burpee, position your feet slightly wider than hip-width for greater stability. When landing from your broad jump, aim to land with your feet already in the ideal width for the next burpee—this eliminates adjustment time between repetitions.

2. Maximize Your Jump Distance

Each extra inch in your jump means fewer total burpees required. Focus on:

• Swinging your arms forcefully forward and up during take-off
• Extending your hips completely at the apex of the jump
• Reaching forward with both legs before landing
• Aiming to consistently clear at least 1.5 meters per jump

3. Streamline Your Burpee Technique

While maintaining proper form, eliminate any unnecessary movements:

• Keep your elbows close to your body during the push-up
• Use the momentum from your push-up to help return to the squat position (THIS WORD IS ESSENTIAL, MOMENTUM). You must try to let the movements flow continuously, don’t stop competely and then start in each repetition, but take advantage of the inertial momentum to ease up the movements. A bit like dancers do when they dance, I don’t know how but their movements seem very continuous, with an endless flow.
• Practice the “scorpion” technique—allowing your chest to touch first while your hips remain elevated, then using a wave-like motion to return to standing

4. Develop a Consistent Rhythm

Establishing a sustainable cadence helps prevent early burnout. Many elite Hyrox athletes use controlled breathing patterns—exhaling during the push-up and inhaling during the stand-up phase—to maintain rhythm and optimize oxygen intake.

5. Mental Chunking Strategy

Break the 80 meters into smaller, more manageable segments. Set mini goals of 10-20 meters, focusing only on the current segment. This prevents psychological overwhelm and helps maintain intensity throughout the station.

Here you have a really good explaning video from JayFit.

Training Beyond Burpees: Cross-Training for Improved Performance

While performing the actual movement is crucial for improvement, supplementary exercises can significantly enhance your burpee broad jump performance.

Plyometric Power Builders

1. Box Jumps: Start with 3 sets of 8-10 reps, focusing on explosive height. This develops the same vertical power needed for the standing portion of the burpee.
2. Standing Broad Jumps: Perform 4 sets of 6-8 consecutive jumps without the burpee component. Focus solely on maximizing distance and quick recovery between jumps.
3. Depth Jumps to Horizontal Jump: Step off a 12-18 inch box, land in a quarter squat, then immediately perform a broad jump. This trains your stretch-shortening cycle—crucial for quick transitions.

Strength Foundations

1. Weighted Squat Jumps: Using a light load (10-15% of bodyweight), perform explosive squat jumps to develop lower body power that translates directly to longer jumps.
2. Deficit Push-Ups: Performing push-ups with your hands elevated on weight plates or handles increases range of motion and builds greater pushing strength, making the burpee portion feel easier.
3. Bulgarian Split Squats: This unilateral exercise builds single-leg strength and stability, enhancing your jump power and landing mechanics.

Conditioning Combinations

1. EMOM (Every Minute On the Minute): Perform 5-7 burpee broad jumps at the start of each minute for 10 minutes. Use the remaining time to rest. This develops power endurance specific to the movement.
2. Tabata Shuttle Runs: 20 seconds of all-out shuttle runs followed by 10 seconds rest, repeated for 8 rounds. This mimics the high-intensity, short-duration nature of the burpee broad jump station.
3. Burpee Ladder: Perform 1 burpee broad jump in the first minute, 2 in the second minute, and so on until you can no longer complete the required reps within the minute. This builds mental toughness alongside physical capacity.

Creating a Progressive Training Plan

For optimal results, incorporate these elements into your training schedule:

• Dedicate 1-2 sessions per week specifically to burpee broad jump practice
• Include 1 plyometric session focusing on jump mechanics and distance
• Incorporate strength training 2-3 times weekly to build the foundation for explosive movement
• Gradually increase the distance covered in practice from 20m to the full 80m

Common Mistakes to Avoid

The burpee broad jump seems simple on paper, but small technique errors can accumulate significant time penalties:

1. Incomplete burpees: Ensure your chest touches the ground and you fully extend to standing. Judges will make you repeat improper repetitions.
2. Premature fatigue: Many athletes start too fast and burn out by the halfway point. Maintain a sustainable pace throughout.
3. Poor jumping mechanics: Landing with straight legs creates excessive impact forces and slows transition into the next burpee. Always land with slightly bent knees.
4. Inconsistent jump distance: Erratic jumping distances create an inefficient energy expenditure pattern. Aim for consistent, manageable jumps.

Final Thoughts

The burpee broad jump represents one of the most significant opportunities for improvement in your overall Hyrox performance. By combining proper technique, strategic pacing, and targeted training, you can transform this challenging station from a weakness into a strength.

Remember that mastery comes through consistent practice—incorporate these elements gradually, focus on quality movement patterns, and track your progress over time. The compound effect of these small improvements will ultimately lead to breakthrough performances on race day.