Strength through jumping: Three exercises can cover the strength spectrum

Jump training and plyometric training are well-established methods for improving athletic performance. They allow us to train a range of lower limb strength qualities depending on the type and execution of the exercise.

This article presents three exercises that support a well-rounded spectrum of strength quality development: a plyometric training option that targets reactive strength development, a jump training option that trains explosive strength, and a unilateral, horizontal plyometric activity ideal for transferring strength qualities to locomotive actions.

Differentiating jump and plyometric training

Jump training, such as box jumps or broad jumps, are typically focused on maximum jump height or horizontal distance. It engages slower mechanisms of the stretch‑shortening cycle because it is less time dependent and usually involves large angular displacement at the hip, knee and ankle.

Muscular contraction times are often in the range of 500-700ms. This allows time for the involved musculature to actively lengthen and develop force eccentrically; and creates additional time and space to express large concentric impulse.

Jump training involves greater contribution from the contractile elements of muscle. The elastic components of the muscle-tendon complex play a secondary or supportive role.

Jump training exercises target the strength qualities of “explosive strength” or “fast dynamic strength,” depending on the exercise variation and constraints used.

In contrast, plyometric training targets the fast stretch-shortening cycle. Plyometric training includes exercises such as depth jumps, repeat hurdle jumps, or bounding variations. These plyometric exercises are typically executed with contact times of 250 ms or less.

Plyometric exercises are characterised by “arrival” and “impact” phases. The arrival phase is when the athlete is airborne and approaching the ground. During this time they can ready themselves for impact via body positioning and muscular pre-activation.

The “impact” phase of plyometric exercises involves a direct, high momentum contact with the ground. As the foot (or feet) contact the ground, the ground effectively blocks further displacement of the limb or further changes in muscle length. The tendon begins elongating ahead of the beginning of the stretch reflexes. Eccentric muscle contraction shortly precedes a fast, high force isometric contraction. This, in turn, transitions into the following concentric contraction, which takes the athlete into their flight phase.

Plyometrics rely heavily on elastic components of the muscle-tendon unit. The strength quality underpinning plyometric performance is often termed “reactive strength.”

There is no hierarchy here. Both jump training and plyometric training can be essential tools for effective programs. Figure 3 outlines the key differences in the exercise types and the implications for training adaptation.

Repeat hurdle jumps

Repeat hurdle jumps are an ideal entry point for most athletes who wish to develop reactive strength via fast stretch-shortening cycle plyometric development.

Reactive strength can be considered an athlete’s ability to produce high levels of force in short time periods (<250 ms), leveraging the fast SSC. It demonstrates an athlete’s ability to tolerate high stretch loads under impact and their ability to transition rapidly from eccentric to concentric contractions.

Reactive strength is strongly related to activities with high eccentric demands, such as sprinting and change of direction actions. These exercises encourage athletes to produce high force outputs in short timeframes, and to tolerate significant ground impact forces.

One of the strengths of this exercise is its adaptability. It can be easily regressed or progressed based on the athlete’s ability, as well as their training and injury history.

A typical introduction begins with walk-in jumps, where the athlete walks forward, jumps over a single hurdle, sticks the landing, and then walks into the next effort. This is an introductory, non-plyometric, technical development exercise. It helps the athlete develop an understanding of the effort required and the degree of hip and knee flexion required for hurdle clearance.

From here, athletes can progress to hurdle jumps with mini-bounces between efforts. After clearing a hurdle, the athlete performs a series of low amplitude mini-bounces to maintain lower limb stiffness and prepare for the next near-maximal jump. This is a bridge between individual jumps and true repeat plyometric efforts. It affords the athlete the time and space to set up for the next high effort jump and take it on their own terms.

The primary exercise, then, is repeat hurdle jumps. The athlete performs consecutive jumps over hurdles with short ground contact times and maximum elevation of the centre of mass.

Contact times should be 180–220 ms, ensuring the athlete remains within the fast SSC domain.

A reasonable session is 3-6 sets of 6-8 repeat efforts, not including warm-up or preparatory jumps. Long recovery periods are necessary. Walk-in jumps and hurdle jumps with mini-bounces are appropriate warm-up options.

Coaches can tilt towards the lower end of this volume range if the athlete has just recently progressed to this exercise variation or if the exercise is being performed on a particularly stiff ground surface. Monitor contact times to gauge progression over time. Clearing the same hurdle height, with good technical proficiency but with decreased ground contact times, is a clear sign of progression.

When in doubt, use lower hurdle heights. Lower heights do not prevent athletes from jumping maximally and achieving full vertical displacement of their centre of mass. However, using hurdles that are too high can induce excessive hip flexion or knee tucking, which often results in over-rotation of the pelvis and compromised postures.

Even for high intensity efforts, hurdle heights that allow the athlete to keep their knees below the hips during the flight phase are optimal. This allows the athlete the required space to “attack the ground” from above, but limits the possibility of a “pendulum effect” at the pelvis, which can incrementally pull the athlete into poor postures at ground contact.

Depth jumps

Depth jumps are a high intensity, slow stretch-shortening cycle activity. They are ideal for developing fast dynamic strength and explosive strength, particularly through an emphasis on eccentric strength at moderate to high velocities.

Depth jumps should be reserved for athletes with a strong foundation of physical preparation. Athletes should demonstrate sound movement competence in jumping and landing tasks, along with well-developed maximal strength, before undertaking depth jumps.

Compared to countermovement jumps, depth jumps enable greater impulse production in shorter timeframes

With an appropriate drop height, athletes can often achieve jump heights close to their best countermovement jumps but in much shorter time frames. More force in less time is a clear win for athletic development.

A useful rule of thumb is a drop height approximately 5 cm below the athlete’s maximal countermovement jump height. The athlete drops, yields into hip and knee flexion, and then accelerates upward with maximal intent.

Build up height over time: dropping from 60-70 cm before jumping 40-50 cm is not uncommon.

A suitable starting point is 3–4 sets of 3–6 reps, with generous recovery between sets.

Depth jumps have an arrival phase (as the athlete falls to toward the ground) and a clear impact phase. However, they also involve large angular displacement at the knees and hips akin to jump training. This makes them a unique hybrid of plyometric and jump training, making them an effective and powerful training stimulus. Some practitioners consider them an exercise type all of their own, which Verkhoshansky called the “shock method.”

Training depth jumps can maintain maximal strength qualities in the absence of traditional strength training methods, given the dynamic correspondence in joint angles, time course of force application, and high eccentric loading.

It’s important not to confuse depth jumps with drop jumps. Drop jumps are ankle-dominant, fast SSC tasks characterized by very short ground contact times. Depth jumps involve longer contact and contraction times, and target explosive strength through slow SSC mechanisms.

Skipping

Repeat hurdle jumps and depth jumps are bilateral, vertically-oriented movements. These are ideal for overloading specific strength qualities but are more “general” in terms of the timing and joint coordination characteristics of locomotive actions.

From the perspective of dynamic correspondence and movement specificity, this creates a gap in transfer potential. Skipping progressions can address that gap.

Skipping is a foundational skill from which a wide array of plyometric exercises can progress. But just because it is a fundamental movement doesn’t mean it is universally well-developed in athletes.

Skipping provides an excellent starting point to progress toward unilateral, high intensity, fast SSC plyometrics, where the athlete is developing reactive strength in specific positions and postures.

The short-to-long foot contact pattern in skipping helps attenuate ground impact forces, making it more forgiving than higher intensity activities like bounding and hopping. This allows athletes to explore movement postures, positions, tempos, and rhythms in a lower risk environment. But these exercises still provide a moderate plyometric stimulus.

Vertical power skips, where the athlete aims to elevate the centre of mass as high as possible while skipping forward, help develop ankle dominant reactive strength. By contrast, horizontal power skipping shifts the emphasis toward fast dynamic strength qualities through the hip and knee extensors, promoting efficient triple extension mechanics.

Skipping also lays the foundation for progression to more intense plyometrics like bounding and hopping.

Athletes develop robustness in unilateral postures, while coaches gain valuable opportunities to reinforce the technical elements like foot contact, pelvic control, and arm action required for high intensity bounding and hopping actions. This prepares the athlete for a controlled, progressive, and safe transition to these high intensity drills.

In large group settings, skipping, bounding, and hopping offer adaptable options based on individual athlete needs. Within a single training space or session, less experienced athletes can work on skipping variations, while more advanced individuals progress to bounding or repeat hopping, ensuring every athlete gets an appropriate plyometric stimulus.